The Elizabethans
VEN the most prosaic authorities frequently tend to become a little excited and misty-eyed when they turn back to the days of Elizabeth’s reign, and too often the picturesque element comes in for more than its share of emphasis. I was prepared for a portrayal of courtly elegance, lightened with a dash of bold adventure, in the BBC’s production "Dramatised Portraits of Elizabethan England." I was not expecting the far more realistic element of thieves and beggars, corruption and plague, which made this programme something more than the usual glorifiration of the Virgin Queen and her Loyal Subjects. The artist ‘who painted these portraits was not prevented by the folds of his starched ruffle or the strains
of the lyre from seeing and hearing a great deal else that went on. And the result, if not quite so pretty, was at least a great deal more life-like than it
might have been otherwise. I have a susPpicion that the rogues and swindlers of Elizabethan England — the riff-raff of the taverns and the play-houses-should be left out in such cases, for a very good reason: they steal the show!
'HESE notes are not written by the staff of "The Listener" or by any member of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service. They are independent comments for which "The "Listener" pays ‘outside contributors.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19471024.2.32.5
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 435, 24 October 1947, Page 16
Word count
Tapeke kupu
222The Elizabethans New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 435, 24 October 1947, Page 16
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Material in this publication is protected by copyright.
Are Media Limited has granted permission to the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to develop and maintain this content online. You can search, browse, print and download for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Are Media Limited for any other use.
Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
Log in