Theatre History Overview - Part 55 - Romanticism

Romanticism in the theatre happened in the early 1800s to the mid 1800s. However, sometimes a start date of the late 1700s is given and an end date of the early to mid 1900s is given. However, the peak of romanticism happened during the first dates mentioned.

Romanticism was a revolt against the enforcement of established rules for what was considered the best practice of the best writers. However, the moviement didn't depret much from traditional standards of drama. Seeing did become more important than hearing, though. Sets became elaborate and the seats closer to the stage became the more expensive ones and the ones in the upper galleries became the cheapest ones.

The plays had natural settings. They were lit by candles or oil lamps. However, by 1830, theatres used gaslight with the first being Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia by 1816. There were also many special effects. Many of them were used to create the illusion of travel.

Some playwrights of the romantic era were Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Victor Hugo. while he was not a playwright of the romantic era, artists of that time found that the plays of Shakespeare aligned with their ideas, especially of indiviualism, the sentimental love of nature, and feeling emotion being more important than logic. There are still plays produced with these values in mind, even if they were not specifically written with those ideas.

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