A groundling was a person who visited the Red Lion, The Rose, or the

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

theatres in the early 17th century. They were too poor to pay to be able to sit on one of the three levels of the theatre. If they paid one penny (), 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''. The name ''groundlings'' comes from a line in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', first performed around 1600, where the character of Hamlet speaks of a performance "to split the ears of the groundlings". At the time, the word had entered the English language to mean a small type of fish with a gaping mouth—from the vantage point of the actor playing Hamlet, set on a stage raised around from the ground, the sea of upturned faces may have looked like wide-mouthed fish.Gurr, Andrew (2005). ''Playgoing in Shakespeare's London''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 21. . They were known to misbehave and are commonly believed to have thrown food such as fruit and nuts at characters or actors they did not like, although there is no evidence of this. In 1599, Thomas Platter mentioned the cost of admission at contemporary London theatres in his diary:

References

{{reflist Stage terminology 17th-century theatre

See also

References