Just as the Irish peasant is even now content to describe a mere squad
of soldiers as "the army," so Shakespeare's audiences were willing to
regard a few "blue-coated stage-keepers" as a formidable body of
troops. And certainly the poet sometimes exercised to the utmost the
imaginations of his patrons. He required them to believe that his
small stage was immeasurably spacious; that his handful of "supers"
was in truth a vast multitude. During one scene in "King John" he does
not hesitate to bring together upon the boards the three distinct
armies of Philip of France, the Archduke of Austria, and the King of
England; while, in addition, the citizens of Angiers are supposed to
appear upon the walls of their town and discuss the terms of its
capitulation. So in "King Richard III.," Bosworth Field is
represented, and the armies of Richard and Richmond are made to encamp
within a few feet of each other. The ghosts of Richard's victims rise
from the stage and address speeches alternately to him and to his
opponent. Playgoers who can look back a score of years may remember a
textual revival of the tragedy, in which this scene was exhibited in
exact accordance with the original stage directions.
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