Shakespeare’s Social Order Hierarchy and the Chain of Being

A Most Excellent and Perfect Order Every degree of people hath appointed to them, their duty and order. Some are in high degree, some in low, some kings and princes, some inferiors and subjects. Almighty God hath created and appointed all things in a most excellent and perfect order. - Elizabethan Litany

A Most Excellent and Perfect Order Hierarchy any system of persons or things ranked one above the other. Individuals have a fixed place in a rigid social order.  Ex: government, corporations, student body Wealth determined rank and status Dichotomy of tradition and new social mobility

Social Classes Aristocracy people Hereditary titles Hereditary wealth estates Positions of power in government Queen Elizabeth I and James I were the ruling monarchs during Shakespeare’s life.

Social Classes Cont… Gentry 5% of rural population Land Owners Not distinguished by title Many were knights and some purchased the rank of Baron Responsibilities: Provide hospitality for neighbors, treat tenants paternally, and govern. Served as: deputy lieutenants, militia captains, justices of the peace, enforcers of the law

Social Classes Cont… Yeomanry Landowners who cultivated their own land Fairly prosperous Part of rural society Often times the younger sons of gentlemen. Roles : Most owned enough land to serve in government. Elders, constables, tax collectors. Country scene, England 17 th century, from the Roxburghe Ballads. Mary Evans Picture Library

Social Classes Cont… Middling Sort Urban equivalent to Yeomanry Tradesman, artisans and shopkeepers Held same offices as the Yeomanry 17 th Century Shopkeeper, Woodcut Mary Evans Picture Library

Social Classes Cont… Peasants Urban poor Apprentices and labourers Rural Poor Hasbandmen, cottagers, labourers Majority of Population Day to day survival Uneducated diseases

Titles Titles were used to indicate social status and ranking Sir: goes only with a given name Master: when addressing a knight only by his surname Lord: implies a Baron or better and only eldest son of one so entitled

Titles Cont… Territorial Title: associated with land or region Ex: Henry Southhampton, Thomas Rutland Lady: woman married to a knight or better Your Grace: only to someone of royal blood Common, rustic, good folk, lesser folk: peasants Refer to class handout for further instructions on titles and formal address.

Chain of Being An explanation of man’s relationship with his surroundings and the order of power within the universe Explained the system of power from God to the lowliest creatures on earth Serves as the basis of conflict in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama.

Chain of Being

The Wheel of Fortune The idea that man may undergo a change of fortune at any time. At one minute he may be at the top of the wheel, but when the wheel turns he may find himself falling to the bottom, but once the wheel turns he may again find himself at the top. Ambition: The sin of trying to improve one’s station in the universe by an act of personal will.

Wheel of Fortune

The Times are a Changin’ Population growth Concentration of urban population Education Re-discovery of the “classics Increased literacy rates Exploration Expansion of the known world

Changin’ Times Cont… Economy Rising Middle class Shift toward mercantilism Increased social mobility Retaliation Desperate attempt to cling to tradition Clothing Acts b/middle/Lessons/Shakesphere/Images/cloths 2.gif

The World is Out of Joint Offenses against the social order transgression against social boundaries to shirk responsibilities or duties rebellion disrespect These offenses would set the natural world in turmoil and great disasters would occur- storms, droughts, natural phenomenon

For Further Information: elizabethan.html Or read : Shakespeare: Alive! By Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland C. 1988