illustrated portrait of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

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Student Question

What was the architectural shape of the Globe Theater?

Quick answer:

The Globe Theater was architecturally shaped as a polygon, often described as an octagon, but it had more than eight sides. It featured an open-air design with a thatched roof prone to fire, which has since been updated with sprinklers. The "Wooden O," as Shakespeare called it, relied on natural light through its open center. The modern reconstruction follows this original design, using wooden pegs and maintaining the open roof concept.

Expert Answers

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It is commonly noted that the Globe Theatre was an octagon, though it did have more than eight sides, as noted above.  It was constructed with wooden pegs, and the reconstructed Globe was built in the same manner.  The structure was open to the sky in the middle, since the best lighting of the day was natural light from the outside.  The roof was thatched with straw--and was the reason it burned at least one of the times.  Today, the structure does have an open roof and relies on natural lighting for most productions (though when I attended a production they did use Christmas lights for the benefit of the audience who needed to see well enough to find their seats and get in and out of the theatre).  The roof is still thatched, but sprinklers have been installed in order to prevent a fire.  Shakespeare referred to his theatre as the "Wooden O," and that's exactly what it looks like, especially from above.

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