Introduction to Shakespeare and Julius Caesar Created by Mrs. Helmcamp & Ms. Brauneis

Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth I ruled England during the time that Shakespeare wrote many of his plays.

Queen Elizabeth I

She ruled England for nearly 50 years ( ) and was very popular She was such a strong ruler that the time is called the Elizabethan Age or England’s Golden Age. (anyone watch The Tudors????) Elizabeth never married although she had many suitors during her lifetime. Queen Elizabeth had red hair and green eyes, and was known for her love of fashion; she had over 2,000 dresses. Some of her more elaborate gowns weighed over 200 pounds each.

Elizabethan Theater During this time, theater was not the only form of entertainment. People also enjoyed music and dancing. No women were allowed to act in the plays. Young boys acted the female parts. Actors wore clothes from their own time period, regardless of the play’s setting. The costumes were often very fancy. Audiences were very rowdy. They talked during the plays, and if they did not like one, they would throw garbage at the actors.

Elizabethan England England was very dirty Most people bathed only once a year. Doctors worried about the Queen because she took a bath once a month. People dumped garbage into the city streets. It was against the law to kill large birds because they were needed to devour the filth in the streets. Sewage and waste were poured into open drains. Inns were places of gambling, thieving, and brawling.

Elizabethan England con’t School Boys went to school from age 7 to about 15 where they learned math, Latin, and Greek. Girls were usually educated at home

The Great Chain of Being Medieval metaphor illustrating hierarchy of being from God to the lowliest non-being Chain stretched from foot of God’s throne to the tiniest particle of sand: a place for everything, and everything in its place

Angels Just below God Had reason and spirit, but no body With no body, did not die Could fall by free will (so devil was fallen angel)

Man in the Hierarchy Just below the angels Could aspire to greater perfection (angelic or god- like) Had reason in common with angels Had body (mortality), unlike angels; had feeling, understanding Incorporated features of lower classes—thus a “microcosm” Could fall to the level of beast (free will)

Higher Sensitive Class Below human (no reason; no soul) Hierarchy within each subset: Highest mammal? Highest fish? Highest bird?

Lower Sensitive class Have life and feeling Creatures having touch but no feeling or memory (parasites or shellfish, for example) Creatures having movement but not hearing, such as ants

Vegetative Class Existence and life, but no feeling, understanding, movement

Inanimate Elements, liquids and metals No sensation, but durable for centuries Water higher than earth Four elements: earth, air, fire, water

Order and Chaos So long as every member of every class followed its specialty, stayed within its realm, order reigned in a sort of cosmic dance

Disruption Once man disrupted the order through sin or crime… This unnatural disturbance shook the chain and disrupted every other class, especially if the human was high in his class (king or prince)

In the Meantime Chaos-disorder was reflected in all other realms (eclipse of the sun; animals behaving unnaturally) Order must be restored

Any Questions ?