Theatre of the World

by Frances A. Yates

Originally published in 1969, Theatre of the World is the third book in a series, extending and refining arguments put forth in Frances Yates’s masterworks Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (1964) and The Art of Memory (1966). Here, Yates explores the influence of Vitruvius’s works in late Tudor and Jacobean England, particularly in their relation to Renaissance philosophy and outlook. The book centers on John Dee and Robert Fludd, with special reference to evidence in their works of Vitruvian ideas. Yates discusses the Renaissance revival of the classical author and examines the English public theater as one of the products of the Vitruvian movement. She suggests that the London public theatres, including the Globe, were an adaptation of the ancient theatre as described by Vitruvius; that is, a theatre with cosmological proportions. From this daring vantage point, it is possible to situate Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre within the context of great European movements, as the expression of a Renaissance outlook on man and the universe. Though no attempt is made to reconstruct the Globe Theatre, fresh approaches to the problems of its ground plan and its stage are outlined. Above all, it is the “idea of the Globe,” the meaning of the theatre, which Yates seeks to interpret by placing it in new contexts. As she does in all her writings, Yates illuminates, deepens, and broadens our understanding of the currents and undercurrents of Renaissance thought. Praise for the author “Among those who have explored the intellectual world of the sixteenth century no one in England can rival Miss Yates.Wherever she looks, she illuminates. —Hugh Trevor-Roper, The New Statesman

Genres: History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theatre, Shakespeare, Art, Science

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE FBA was an English historian who focused on the study of the Renaissance. In an academic capacity, she taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years, and also wrote a number of seminal books on the subject of esoteric history.

Yates was born to a middle-class family in Portsmouth, and was largely self-educated, before attaining a BA and MA in French at the University College, London. She began to publish her research in scholarly journals and academic books, focusing on 16th century theatre and the life of John Florio. In 1941, she was employed by the Warburg Institute, and began to work on what she termed "Warburgian history", emphasising a pan-European and inter-disciplinary approach to historiography.

In 1964 she published Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, an examination of Bruno, which came to be seen as her most significant publication. In this book, she emphasised the role of Hermeticism in Bruno's works, and the role that magic and mysticism played in Renaissance thinking. She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance.

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Specific as hell but fun nonetheless, even for the lay reader with no interest in the theatre architecture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras and who thinks Vitruvius is a Pacific Northwest craft beer.
It would be almost impossible to describe this book, but I am hesitant to be so impressionistic. It's a history of how classical Greek ideas about mathematics, harmony and architecture influenced guys like John Dee (yes, yes, crystal-sniffer he dabbled in the occult, but as is made clear here, he was much more than some bare-chested New Age Fabio) and Robert Fludd. From them, Yates dives into the guesses as to how theatres in the just before and during Shakespeare's career were planned and built according to very specific parameters and with certain intentions in mind.
Beyond that, if I can break impressionistic now, Yates gives the lay asshole a nice insight into how people perceived the relationship between art and science at the time, and the meaning of what theatre actually was and should be.

[Gionysius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough to chew through but very worth it. Funny enough this seems to be the one book by Yates that hasn't been reprinted for a long time. I wonder why since it is contextually related to - and in some ways a continuation of - most of her other books (Giordano Bruno + Art of Memory specifically).

I recommend this book (and the others) highly to those who are interested in Elizabethan Engeland, and the history of theatre and the occult. There are few books more informative on these subjects than those written by Yates.

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, academic read. Important context for those of us who enjoy watching the Bard's work on stage. I think I may finally understand "The Tempest".

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

relates how the sixteenth-century intellectuals like Fludd, Dee, and Inigo Jones are bridge from medieval scholasticism to more modern intellectual content also some early theatre design that was used by the Elizabethans came into being.

[Jolliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fundamental book about elizabethan theatre. Involves you in the tough world of making theatre in 1600. At the some time, one can understand the meaning of "classical": why and how the antiquity (Vitruvius for example) was such an important reference to
Renaissance people.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have notes about this book here at my blog...

http://gnosticminx.blogspot.com/2010/...