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: -If they paid one penny (equivalent to £1 in 2021), they could stand in “the pit", also called “the yard", just below the stage, to watch the play. Standing in the pit was uncomfortable, and people were usually packed in tightly. The groundlings were commoners who were also referred to as stinkards or penny-stinkers.

Detailed explanation-4: -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-5: -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.