Question 5

Listen to the recording: One of the most striking aspects of Shakespeare's stagecraft is the use of verbal scenery. In the open-air playhouses of the time, there were no painted backdrops to indicate a forest or a castle, and no lighting effects to simulate darkness. Consequently, the atmosphere had to be generated entirely through the dialogue. Characters described the environment in vivid detail, prompting the spectators to visualize the surroundings themselves. Thus, the lack of physical sets meant that the world of the play was built not on the wooden boards, but in the ...