Shakespeare and His World

absolute adherence to the patriarchal order to the law to the church Imagine a culture of… absolute adherence to the patriarchal order to the law to the church

You are now being initiated into a society sharply divided between the nobility and the servant class

Bloodshed was common in the streets of Elizabethan England

Welcome to a world of feuds faith & filial obedience

Elizabethan Society FAITH: Protestantism Reigns Supreme Queen Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603) restored Protestantism as the official religion -She believed that people should be allowed to practice the Catholic religion without fear of recrimination so long as it presented no threat to peace in the realm and her rule over England. -There were many Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth I. -Many Catholics wanted to replace Elizabeth with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. These plots eventually led to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots

Elizabethan Society FEUDS: A Society of Violence and Aggression -”A gentleman carried a weapon at all times, and did not hesitate to use it.” -Ben Jonson; Christopher Marlowe; John Day -Sharp distinction between the upper and lower classes -Mistreatment and violence toward servants was not uncommon -Archery was prescribed for the lower orders, and tennis was restricted to gentlemen with an income of over 100 pounds a year -Forks were an Italian invention that did not come into use, in England, until 1611.

Elizabethan Society FILIAL OBEDIENCE -Parents had absolute rights over their children -”There were similarities between the position of servants in the household and that of children in the family.” -For a marriage to be permissible, the minimal age was at least 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl. -“In the fifteenth century a daughter unmarried at fifteen was a family disgrace.”

A Rapidly Changing Europe Intellectual horizons expanded -Greek and Roman texts were translated and printed Cosmological horizons expanded -Galileo’s telescope allowed scientists to see that Copernicus had been correct: the universe was not organized with the earth at the center -This impacted people’s religious, scientific, and philosophical beliefs. From the early 1590s to around 1610 London became an exciting metropolis. -Overcrowding, poverty, recurring epidemics of the plague -Also a mecca for the wealthy and the aristocratic

William Shakespeare: playwright, poet, & actor (April 1564-April 1616) Born in Stratford-upon-Avon John Shakespeare, his father, was a yeoman and a bailiff Mary Arden, his mother, came from a family of landed gentry. Most likely attended the King’s New School, a remarkable school for Latin grammar and literature 1582: He married Anne Hathaway at the age of eighteen 1583: Had a daughter Susanna 1585: Had twins Judith and Hamnet, but we don’t know how he supported himself or where he lived. He left Stratford

William Shakespeare: playwright, poet, & actor 1592: had carved out a reputation in London as both an actor and a playwright 1593: Shakespeare became a published poet -published his long narrative poem Venus and Adonis Wrote poetry when the theatres were closed due to the plague 1594: Shakespeare became a leading member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later named the King’s Men, a company of actors for whom he would be a principal actor, dramatist, and shareholder for the rest of his career. 1599: Shakespeare’s company built the Globe Theatre

William Shakespeare: playwright, poet, & actor Many plays were performed at court (both for Queen Elizabeth I, and, after her death in 1603, for King James I). 1613: In a performance of King Henry VIII the Globe caught fire and burned to the ground. 1610-1613: Returned to live in Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare’s Life - He had a large house and considerable property - His wife and his two daughters and their husbands lived in the house. (His son Hamnet had died in 1596.) During his time in London, Shakespeare had become a wealthy man from - the acting company’s profits - his own career as an actor - the sale of his play manuscripts to the acting company - his shares as an owner of the Globe Died in Stratford on April 23, 1616 Seven years later, his collected plays were published as Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (the work now known as the First Folio).

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre Heavens- above the stage; decorated with stars Upper Stage- Juliet’s balcony scene Columns- for the actors to hide and eavesdrop on others The Trap Door- another entrance/exit The Orchestra- preferred seating for rich nobles right beside the stage Two penny Galleries- the gentry paid an extra penny to gain entrance to the galleries covered from rain; a better view; benches The Pit- the “groundlings,” or commoners, paid 1 penny to stand