ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Those who paid just one penny would be known as Groundlings, because they stood on the ground in what was known as “the yard, ” which is the area closest to the stage. For another penny, they could sit on a bench just behind the yard. For a penny more, they could sit more comfortably on a cushion.

Detailed explanation-2: -Elizabethan general public or people who were not nobility were referred to as groundlings. They would pay one penny to stand in the Pit of the Globe Theater (Howard 75). The upper class spectators would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort.

Detailed explanation-3: -Taking its name from the group of lower class audience members who stood on the ground in front of the stage to watch plays in Shakespeare’s day, “The Groundlings” was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization.

Detailed explanation-4: -groundling • -ling • noun. 1 a : a spectator who stood in the pit of an Elizabethan theater b : a person of unsophisticated taste 2 : one that lives or works on or near the ground.

Detailed explanation-5: -The groundlings were very close to the action on stage. They could buy food and drink during the performance – pippins (apples), oranges, nuts, gingerbread and ale. But there were no toilets and the floor they stood on was probably just sand, ash or covered in nutshells.