1. Shakespeare
And his time…

2. Social Context
Still very much class orientated. What you did depended on who you were in terms of social class. I.e. religion, monarchy, servant.

3. Social Context
Women were dependent on men to provide for them. Fathers, brothers, uncles and husbands. Women were subservient.

4. Social Context
Communication was very much controlled by class.

5. Social context
Marriage was seen as a means to gain wealth. Dowry or wedding portions were openly discussed. Men and women married to better their social status or financial status.

6. Social Context
Understood the natural world ways…elaborate and unscientific.
Events such as lightening, drought, storm, sudden death was considered evil.

8. Medicine and technology
Witch doctors or God as the cure for many curable diseases.

9. Medicine and technology
Modern day technology did not exist. They did not even have lights. Lamps were used.

10. Entertainment
Games
Church
Gambling
Races
Theatre

11. Religion
Church or England was a huge factor in the lives of people irrespective of class.
However…even though they believed in God, they had strong beliefs on witchcraft etc. These beliefs were remnant before Christianity and the time of pagan gods…

12. Elizabethan laws…
Church and throne, ruled your world.

13. Entertainment Church - actors performed plays based on Bible stories…
Theatre - So Shakespeare…

14. Shakespeare
And his works…

15. His works…
Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays in a new genre – History play!
Macbeth for example, is believed to have been a ruler from pre-Christian Britain.

16. His works… Did Shakespeare believe in God? Did he trust in true love?
His work physicalises emotion – i.e. jealousy in Othello…
Was he loyal to the Monarchy?
His themes are vast – and yet does not reveal much about him as a person.
His works were popular because of the themes he wrote about.

17. Stage Globe theatre. Male actors.
No lighting, sound and special effects.
Seating was arranged into social classes.

18. Stage

19. Stage

20. Macbeth – the focus Appreciating Shakespeare’s work.
Understanding his writing and the key parts of the play.
Identifying the deeper ideas/meanings in his work.
Understanding Shakespeare’s characters.

21. Let’s have fun…