Theatrum Mundi
All the world's a stage, and all are merely actors.
Theatrum Mundi is the idea that the world itself is a stage with all beings playing their parts as actors. This Latin term can be translated into English as 'the Great Theater of the World'. The understanding itself can be traced back to Ancient Greece. However, its significance and major influence came with Christianity. Within the Christian understanding, the author or the playwright of this great play would be the almighty God. Of course, this idea of a theatre was supported by the concept of an afterlife that is present in the abrahamic religions. According to these religions, there would be another life in another plane in which everyone would be judged based on their actions in the mortal realm. Thus, this belief lead people to think and believe that the earthly life may not be as significant as the afterlife or that it is rather a fake life, similar to that of a play manuscript.
Although this idea was present even in the ancient ages, the term itself only dates back to the 12th century. The term was coined by the theologist John of Salisbury. In his writings, he regards the world as a play or a comedy with everyone playing a role. According to him, one of the things that matters is how well we are able to accept and carry out this role until the time for final judgement comes. One should not sway from the role and destiny given from God, but rather focus on performing the said role to the best of their abilities. However, this understanding also lead to contradictions and clashes within theologists and thinkers as well. The idea of an already written script was simply too deterministic. It clashed with the notion of free will and what humanity should be doing. If one was to think that their whole script and ending was already known and written by God, would they try to steer the course of events of their life? For this reason, the idea of a worldly theater can be closely associated with the concept of fate as well.
With time, the understanding grew in its context. Philosophers and thinkers came to the conclusion that roles were not only restricted to religion and were also evident in the societal and political realms as well. One not only had a role given from God to perform, but also had to perform to the audience known as the society. Since the dawn of time, the indivudal has been in a search to find one's self and felt the need to identify with something. To get a better understanding of this we can take a look at an example which still affects us in our present day and age. One of the hot topics of the 21st century is the traditional gender roles. In the context of theatrum mundi, all human beings are expected to perform certain acts and roles based on the gender that they were assigned with. If one was to reject these roles of traditional men and women, there would be a backlash from the audience. However, if they performed well and fulfilled their roles and duties they would be praised. This also leads us to question our identities and to what extent that they belong to us. Do we simply take on a myriad of identities and faces to please our audience and gain their approval, or do we simply exist only for ourselves? So is it possible to agree with Shakespeare when he says 'all the world's a stage'?
Bibliography
Wikipedia
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 1995, ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA2563784X.
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. 1623.
Images
By Dave & Margie Hill / Kleerup - Princeton University Art Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15854865
By Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany (FollowingHadrian); derivative work: Speravir - Mosaic depicting theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy, 2nd century AD, from Rome Thermae Decianae (?), Palazzo Nuovo, Capitoline Museums (12830396085).jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49867373
By Unknown author - [https://www.booktopia.com.au/baroque-rolf-toman/book/9783848000395.html BaroqueTheatrum Mundi, The World as a Work of Art], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113884305