way in interpreting what was
presented.

II. In the case of such public theaters as the Globe and the Fortune,
even their roofed parts, which extended around the pit and back of the
stage and which contained the galleries and the boxes, were all
exposed to the open air on the inner side. The pit, which was
immediately in front of the stage, had the sky for a roof and the
ground for a floor. The frequenters of the pit, who often jostled each
other for standing room, were sometimes called the "groundlings."
Occasionally a severe rain would drive them out of the theater to seek
shelter. Those who attended the Elizabethan public theater were in no
danger of being made drowsy or sick by its bad air.

[Illustration: THE BANKSIDE AND ITS THEATERS

1. The Swan Theater. 3. The Hope Theater. 5. Old St. Paul's.
2. The Bear Gardens. 4. The Globe Theater. 6. The Temple.]

III. The audiences did not attend merely for relaxation or amusement.
They often came for information and education, and they were probably
glad to learn about alchemy from one of Ben Jonson's plays. The
audience doubtless welcomed long monologues if they were well
delivered and presented ideas of worth. The theater took the place of
lectures, newspapers, magazines, and, to a certain extent, of books.
We know that in 1608 the Blackfriars Theater acted the part of a
newspaper in presenting a scandal about the French king and that at
another time it gave some humorous information concerning the English
monarch's newly discovered silver mine in Scotland.

IV. The Elizabethans loved good poetry for its imaginative appeal.
Shakespeare was a poet before he was a dramatist. Beautiful poetry
presenting high ideals must have met with vigorous appreciation, or
Shakespeare could not have continued to produce such great work.

V. The Elizabethans also demanded story and incident. Modern critics
have often noticed that the characterization in Shakespeare's fourth
acts, _e.g._, in _Macbeth_, does not equal that in the preceding part
of the play; but the fourth act of _Macbeth_ interested the
Elizabethans because there was progress in the complicated story. To
modern theatergoers this fourth act seems to drag because they have
acquired through novel reading a liking for analysis and dissection.

Shakespeare succeeded in interesting the Elizabethans by embodying in
story and incident his portrayal of character. Because of admiration
for the revelation of cha