The Renaissance brought a rebirth of interest in ancient Greeks and Romans and a flourishing of the arts. The Renaissance appeared at different times in different parts of Europe, and each society developed its own artistic expression, such as painting and sculpture in Renaissance Italy. The Renaissance arrived relatively late in England, during the 1500's; the art of the theater became the trademark of the English Renaissance. How was it that England was able to take a debased form of popular entertainment, drama, and make it high art? Compared to the crude humor and mawkish sentiment of early English plays, the complex relationship between Macbeth and his wife, shown here in a modern production, seems light years away. The rise of professional English theater happened quickly, but it sprang from several different sources, some of which go back centuries.

At least five hundred years before Shakespeare began writing, the ordinary people of Europe started to recreate stories from the Bible in primitive kinds of folk re-enactments. These were called mystery plays because of they sought to explain some key concepts or mysteries of Christianity. Initially these proto-dramas were encouraged by the local priests and may actually have been staged inside churches. They quickly outgrew the church, moved outside and became folk festivals. The picture here illustrates a Nativity scene mounted on a wagon drawn through the streets, sort of a precursor of the Rose Parade. The few surviving scripts of mystery plays reveal vigorous language of ordinary people having fun. There doesn't seem to be any identifiable author. These "skits" were apparently handed down from generation to generation, with each occupational guild always doing the same parts. The carpenters may have played the part of St. Joseph, while the tailors portrayed the Virgin Mary, who exhibited comically all the symptoms of pregnancy.

This folk tradition of play-acting on sacred themes was important in the development of Shakespeare's theater. We see a reminder of it in the play "Pyramus and Thisby" by the "rude mechanicals" in Midsummer Night's Dream.