CHORUS.
The first chorus is omitted in the First Folio. The second chorus at the end of the first act, or beginning of the second act, is included. Most critics would deny to Shakespeare both these compositions.
STAGE.
Is now the two hours’ traffic of the stage.
Chorus I, line 12.
The opening chorus of “Romeo and Juliet” contains the interesting information concerning the duration of an Elizabethan play. In those early days there were no long waits between the acts, no scenic effects to be staged, and but few properties required. Even allowing for the quick action without interruption, two hours is all too short for the proper representation of a Shakesperean play. There is evidence to prove that three hours was the limit. Ben Jonson, in the “Induction to Bartholomew Fair,” acted in 1614 at the Hope, refers to the space of two hours and a half, and somewhat more. Dekker, the prose writer and dramatist, mentions three hours: “Ye shall be glad to play three hours for twopence to the basest groundlings in London, whose breath is stronger than garlick and able to poison all the twelvepenny rooms.” The last phrase refers to the best places in the house.
Whetstone, as early as 1582, in his Civil Discourses, would allow three hours for a performance. If we bear in mind that a jig, which we should now call a farce, was performed after the regular piece and lasted at least half an hour, it must be conceded that three hours is none too many for the entire afternoon performance.
In winter the play commenced about two and lasted till dusk; in summer, three o’clock was the appointed hour. In a letter from Lord Hunsdon to the Lord Mayor in 1594, it is stated “that where heretofore they began not their plays till towards four o’clock, they will now begin at two and have done between four or five.” By this evidence about two hours and a half was the time required to act an Elizabethan play.
The quarto editions are not divided into scenes or acts. The text forming some of these plays was actually taken down from the actor’s lips, either by stenography or from memory, and if any interval had occurred it would have been recorded, which goes a long way to prove that the play was continuous throughout, otherwise three hours would be all too short to see the play through, especially a lengthy one like “Hamlet,” which has nearly four thousand lines. It is quite possible that a break of a few minutes may have taken place during certain scenes, but no stage directions exist sanctioning the usage.