Answers Shakespeare's London - Elizabethan England

• Engels
• Voortgezet speciaal onderwijs
• Leerroute 5

Historical and Social Context

1. Who was Queen of England during the time Shakespeare began to write? Who ruled after her? What was their importance? 

- Elizabeth I: (religious) peace

- James I (= James V of Scotland): very superstitious

2. Give the approximate dates of the Elizabethan period. 

- the Tudor period, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603).

- the golden age in English history.

- Britannia -> the Elizabethan age -> international expansion + naval triumph over Spain.

3. Identify the social classes during Shakespeare's time.

4. Describe the status of women. How would a young woman respond to a request from her father?

"Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man."

Elizabethan Women were subservient to men. They were dependent on their male relatives to support them. They were used to forge alliances with other powerful families through arranged marriages.

5. What is primogeniture? 

Primogeniture is a system of inheritance in which a person's property passes to their firstborn legitimate child upon their death. The term comes from the Latin "primo” which means first, and “genitura” which relates to a person's birth.

6. What was the Bubonic Plague and how did it affect society during Shakespeare's time? 

Plague laid waste to England and especially to the capital repeatedly during Shakespeare's professional life — in 1592, again in 1603, and in 1606 and 1609. Whenever deaths from the disease exceeded thirty per week, the London authorities closed the playhouses.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-shakespeare-actually-wrote-about-the-plague

7. Describe these aspects of Elizabethan life: Food, homes, city life, clothing, hygiene, crime

 It included a small but powerful population of wealthy nobles, a prospering middle class, and a large and impoverished lower class living in miserable conditions. In the filthy, crowded neighborhoods of the poor, raw sewage (waste matter) ran through the streets. Disease and crime were widespread. Laborers who came to London from the country frequently failed to find jobs.  Many turned to small crime, such as begging, picking pockets, and prostitution, simply to avoid starvation. There was little help for the sick, elderly, and orphans. The life expectancy, or average life span, of an Elizabethan was only 42 years, but it was much lower among the urban poor.

Intellectual and religious life

1. Describe the four elements thought to compose the universe. 

2. . Describe the four humours and their relationship to personality. 

3. What was the relationship between humours and illnesses?

The imbalance of humors, or dyscrasia, was thought to be the direct cause of all diseases. Health was associated with a balance of humors, or eucrasia. The qualities of the humors, in turn, influenced the nature of the diseases they caused. Yellow bile caused warm diseases and phlegm caused cold diseases.

4. What type of medicine was administered and by whom was it dispensed during this time period? 

In Shakespearean times the medicinal suggestions were commonly based on superstition and complete guesses. The doctors would commonly prescribe herbal medicine to improve their patient’s health. Back then, many diseases were not recognized, so the doctors would just use the most powerful herbal drugs.

5. Describe the religious climate during this time. 

https://www.hartfordstage.org/stagenotes/hamlet/elizabethan-era

7. Describe the hierarchy of beings or "chain of beings" believed in by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

6. What was considered to be the centre of the universe at this time? Who controlled it? 

Elizabethan England

3. What was the most significant invention of this time and why? What did this lead to a renewed interest in?

Telescope

Pocket Watch

Bottle Beer.

Flush Toilet

Thermometer

Frozen Chicken

4. During this period, what were unexplained events blamed on?

During the Elizabethan era people blamed unexplainable events such as the Bubonic Plague, unexplained deaths or unpleasant illnesses - as the work of witches. Some of Shakespeare's most well-known plays such as Macbeth, Hamlet, The Tempest and Julius Caesar were very much influenced by witchcraft and the supernatural.

5. Why were people of this period superstitious? 

Ignorance and fear of the unknown combined with a false conception of causation and cessation resulted in many Elizabethan superstitions. Fear of the supernatural and forces of nature or God resulted in the belief of superstitions during the Elizabethan era.

6. How was Elizabethan class structure maintained? 

It discouraged education for females and focused mainly on learning how to be a housewife. Men had to learn to read, write, keep accounts, manage a household and estate, make salves and practice surgery.

7. What is the Rotae Fortuna? 

1. Where were most theatres built? (in or out of the city)? Why? Why is the Globe Theatre so famous?

The officials who ran the City of London thought that playhouses were noisy and disruptive, and attracted thieves and other ‘undesirable’ people. So people built playhouses on sites outside the control of city officials. This meant outside the city wall, in most cases. The south bank of the River Thames was outside the city and already had animal baiting arenas, brothels and taverns where people could buy food and drink. So people already went there for entertainment.

2. What time of day did performances take place? How was the public notified about performances? 

The Elizabethan Theatre

3. Who played the female roles and why? 

4. What type of scenery and props were used?

What were the costumes like?

The Globe Theatre props would have started with easily moveable objects such as:

Swords and daggers.

Goblets and plates.

Chairs and stools.

Candles and torches.

Blood soaked handkerchiefs.

Writing materials.

Manuscripts.

Bottles of Wine or ale.

5. What other skills did actors need besides acting ability? 

 They were expected to perform their own stunts. Their skills would include sword fighting skills and they had to be able to fall convincingly. The voices of the actors had to carry well.

6. Who was Richard Burbage? 

Richard Burbage was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owner, entrepreneur, and painter. 

7. Who were the King's Men or Chamberlain's Men? 

The King's Men is the acting company to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged for most of his career. Formerly known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, they became the King's Men in 1603 when King James I ascended the throne and became the company's patron.

Shakespeare's Life

8. Identify: Pit, Groundling, Heavens, Trap door, Tiring House

Shakespeare's Life