THEATRUM MUNDI “The world is a stage,” was the motto of the age during the Baroque period. Baroque architecture and styling was all about using drama and theatricality to inspire awe. The Catholic Reformation began during this period, previously the church had been opposed to the theater, that is until they discovered its power as a tool for religious propaganda. The Catholic Church employed the use of religious plays and theater in its architecture in order to capture the imaginations of existing members (preventing protestant conversions), and to bring in new ones. This reformation of the Catholic Church also called for a reformation of social behavior. There was to be a revival of chivalry and courtly love. “The… most important contributing factor in the triumph of baroque drama. The elaboration of a civilization of manners… exemplified by guide books of courtly refinement and culture… theater became a metaphor for social role-playing as well as a school where spectators learned to improve their own performance at Town or Court.”
http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/10701023/
nicely done.
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