Elizabethan general public or people who were not nobility were referred to as groundlings. They would pay one penny to stand in the Pit of the Globe Theater (Howard 75). ... They joined in on the action occurring on stage, interrupted the actors, and even sometimes got on the stage.

Who were the Groundlings in Shakespeare's audience?

The lower middle class paid a penny for admittance to the yard (like the yard outside a school building), where they stood on the ground, with the stage more or less at eye level—these spectators were called groundlings. The rich paid two pennies for entrance to the galleries, covered seating at the sides.

What were groundlings and how did they influence Shakespeare?

It is thought that Shakespeare coined the word 'groundlings', which became the nickname for those audience members who stood at the theatre. ... In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the prince commissions a group of visiting actors to perform a play at court. Before they begin he gives them some acting advice.