{"id":1091,"date":"2014-05-01T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2016-08-04T10:29:17","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T14:29:17","slug":"flags-fly-for-plays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/flags-fly-for-plays\/","title":{"rendered":"Flags fly for plays"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Early<\/a>
Early drawing of Globe Theatre with its flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year marks the 450<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> birthday of William Shakespeare (see last week\u2019s posting for examples of his use of flags in his plays). Besides being a writer, he was a co-owner of the Globe Theatre, located across the Thames River from London. The site used flags to attract play-goers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The pennants were necessary because communication media were scarce. While the printed word allowed the announcement of plays to be widely known, few people could read. So the playwright needed a simple system to let his fans know when one his works was being mounted and what sort of play it was.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 1612 document affirms that \u201ce<\/span>ach play-house advanceth his flagge in the aire, whither quickly at the waving thereof are summoned whole troops of men, women, and children.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The theater flags could even announce that a new playhouse was opening. A flag displaying an image of Hercules with the world on his back, for instance, first proclaimed that the newly built Globe was open for business<\/a>. The theater debuted with a performance of Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cJulius Caesar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Scene<\/a>
Scene from ‘Richard III’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flags were color-coded so that potential audience members were alerted to what type of play was being put on:<\/span><\/p>\n

*White meant a comedy was being enacted, such as \u201cA Midsummer\u2019s Night Dream\u201d;<\/span><\/p>\n

*Black indicated a tragedy, \u201cHamlet\u201d perhaps;<\/span><\/p>\n

*Red signaled a history play, for example \u201cRichard III.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a 1919 edition of the script of \u201cJulius Caesar,\u201d Samuel Thurber, the editor, traveled back in time to describe to readers what it was like to go to a new Shakespeare play:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"British<\/a>
British stamp of Globe Theatre and its flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe front of the stage and the whole center of the theatre is open to the air\u2026.We notice that a flag is flying from a short pole on the roof over the stage. This is most important, for it is announcing to the city across the river that this afternoon there is to be a play. It is bill-board, newspaper notice, and advertisement in one; and we may imagine the eagerness with which it is looked for among the theatre-loving populace of these later <\/span>Elizabethan years. When the performance begins the flag will be lowered to proclaim to all that \u2018the play is on.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The original Globe burned to the ground in the 17<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> century. When a replica was constructed in the 1990s, it was faithful to the original\u2019s appearance, right down to the presence of a flagpole.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year marks the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare (see last week\u2019s posting for examples of his use of flags in his plays). Besides being a writer, he was a co-owner of the Globe Theatre, located across the Thames River from London. The site used flags to attract play-goers. The pennants were necessary because communication… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,188],"class_list":["post-1091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-history","tag-shakespeare"],"yoast_head":"\nFlags fly for plays - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/flags-fly-for-plays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flags fly for plays - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This year marks the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare (see last week\u2019s posting for examples of his use of flags in his plays). Besides being a writer, he was a co-owner of the Globe Theatre, located across the Thames River from London. The site used flags to attract play-goers. 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