Background Information
Henry VIII
Married Catherine of
Aragon (stillborn daughter, son –
died at 7 wks, miscarriage, & daughter, Mary)
Wanted to divorce her, to obtain a male heir
but Pope refused
Withdrew from Roman Catholic
Church and established the Anglican
Church
Divorced Catherine
Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn
(Anne of a Thousand Days)
Elizabeth
Several miscarriages, last one was a 15 week-old son
Final miscarriage occurred on the day of Catherine’s
funeral.
Anne now out of favor
Beheaded Anne on counts of incest and treasonable
adultery
Real crime = no son
Henry VIII + Jane Seymour
Married immediately after Anne’s
execution
Gave Henry a son,
Prince Edward
Henry VIII’s Death
Throne goes to Edward –
age 9/ dies at age 19
Lady Jane Grey named to throne
(granddaughter of Henry’s sister) - deposed
Mary takes over throne – time is filled with
violence, treason, upheaval, etc, because she
was empathetic to Roman Catholicism
Ruled for 5 years
Elizabeth I’s Ascension
Reigned from 1558 – 1603
Historically – time was right for prosperity
WHY??? ALL threats were eliminated
 War with France ended in 1564
 Mary, Queen of Scotts – beheaded in 1587
 Church of England established and strong
 1588 – Sir Francis Drake defeats the Spanish Armada/frees
England of any invasion threat
 Waterways become peaceful
Resulting in…
A time of peace with other countries that
have caused unrest for years
A time of trade – flourishing
Internal political unrest quelled
London becomes both the national and
international center of life
England experiences a time of great peace
in all areas.
During this time in England there is a sense
of greatness, confidence, and hope.
Creates the opportunity for art, trade,
business, etc, to flourish
First public theater built in London (1576)
Up to this time – Actors – bad reputation
(pickpockets, crime, plagues were rampant –
public needed entertainment)
Influence of Puritans
Believed stage and actors corrupted morals
Believed theater should be banned
Advocated to have theaters banned – were
successful later on
Philosophy of the Renaissance
Great Chain of Being
Everything has a
special place
Rocks, inanimate
objects, plants,
animal, man, angels,
God
Philosophy of the Renaissance
Parallel Planes of Existence
Everything must balance
No chaos – only order
Philosophy of the Renaissance
Great Cosmic Dance
Belief in stars and earth in harmony
• Results in belief in astrology, leads to ideas i.e. star
crossed lovers
Philosophy of the Renaissance
Humours
Physicians of the Middle Ages believed that
four fluids, or humours, made up the human
body and mind. An improper balance of these
fluids caused mental and physical illness.
Theatre in Renaissance England
First playhouse built in 1576
6-7 more built in next 30 years
Often built outside town – avoid conflict
with authorities
Puritans especially – disapproved of plays,
play-going – on political /moral grounds
Fearful it would spread plagues –
Globe built partially due to plague
Globe Theater
Small by modern standards
Octagonal (less than 30 meters = 97 feet)
Accommodated audience of 2,000 -3,000
people
Globe Theater
Performances advertised by playbills posted
around the city
Flag flown to show all was well and a play
would go on to save playgoers a wasted
journey
Plays took place during daylight and good
weather
Globe Theater
White flag = Comedy (something lighthearted)
Black flag = Tragedy (black represented death)
Red Flag = History
Theater
Admission = one penny (75 cents today)
This amount admitted one to the pit
Groundlings – stood on ground in open air
Poor, uneducated, lower class
Shakespeare often inserted crude, sexual humor
even in most serious plays to hold attention of
this group (Bawdy humor)
If they didn’t like what was happening, jeering
and throwing of rotten fruit & vegetable
Better off playgoers bought seats under the
roof.
Higher the tier, the more paid
Best seats cost about one shilling ($7-10)
Full house = approx 800 groundlings and
1,500 in the galleries
May have had about a dozen “exclusive”
seats on stage
New play would run for 6-16 performances
Moved quickly – 2 hours or less
Costumes = Elizabethan dress/not period of
play
Females not allowed to participate
Young boys played parts of females
Globe Theater burned to ground in 1613 –
cannon misfired during performance of
Henry VII
ALL theaters in London closed in 1642
when Puritans were able to gain complete
control of the government.
Parts of the Globe
Tiring-House- The important backstage area
which provided space for storage and business
offices.
Stairs- Ascending to the first level, theatre goers
reached the galleries by wooden staircases
enclosed by stairwells.
Trap Door- Leading down to the Hell area
where equipment included the winch elevator
that raised and lowered actors or properties.
William Shakespeare
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
April 23, 1564
Married: Anne Hathaway (1582)
He was 18, she was 26.
three children
• Susanna
• Hamnet
• Judith
Died on April 23, 1616
his 52nd birthday
Shakespeare: The Lost Years
After Shakespeare’s twins were born, he left Stratford. This
began what is known as Shakespeare’s “Lost Years” (15851592; there is not much documented about him during this
time period).
There is speculation that William might have offended Sir
Richard Lucy by poaching a deer on his grounds and had to
leave Stratford to avoid prosecution ( No documented
evidence supports this theory).
But it is reasonable to assume that there must have been a
strong reason to leave his wife, children and family to follow
the life of an actor in London ( In Elizabethan times actors
were classed as low-lives )
There are many mysteries which surround the life of William
Shakespeare - the Lost Years are the first of many!
http://www.william-shakespeare.org.uk/william-shakespeare-lost-years.htm
Shakespeare, con’t.
Shakespeare was in the acting company, Lord
Chamberlain's Men (later called the King’s Men)
He wrote:
37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 long poems
His work was not published during his lifetime
but four years later in the "First Folio" book
Shakespeare is considered a "man for all
seasons" because his plays appeal to everyone
(all ages and across time)
Many of Shakespeare’s manuscripts were lost due to the
burning of theaters by the Puritans.
The Shakespeare Debate
There is much speculation as to whether or not
there was an actual “Shakespeare.”
Many historians claim that “Shakespeare” is
actually a collection of several poets and
playwrights’ works, while others claim that it
was a pseudonym for another writer.
The three men most associated with the
“Shakespeare Debate” are Edward De Vere,
Francis Bacon, and Christopher Marlow.
The Shakespeare Debate
The reasoning behind the controversy seems to
lie in the fact that many people find it difficult
to accept that a man of poor education and
upbringing could write such eloquent
masterpieces and have such a strong command
of the English language.
It is important not to focus on whether or not he
was real, but instead we should focus on the
great pieces of literature that we have attributed
to him.
How Many New Words Did
Shakespeare Coin?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary all the boldfaced words below (and some 500 more) are attributed
to Shakespeare:
“[f]rom the spectacled pedant to the schoolboy, all
gentlefolk recognize Shakespeare as a fathomless fount
of coinages. The honey-tongued Bard had no rival,
nor could he sate his never-ending addiction to
madcap, flowery (or foul-mouthed!) neologisms.
Even time-honored exposure cannot besmirch our
amazement at the countless and useful words that
lend radiance to our lackluster lives. All in a day’s
work!
http://www.folger.edu/template.crm?cid=862
Shakespearean Insults
Combine one word from each of the columns below. Add
“Thou” to the beginning to create the perfect insult
Example: Thou rank rump-fed hedge-pig!
Column A
peevish
grizzled
greasy
jaded
waggish
purpled
rank
saucy
vacant
yeasty
Column B
clay-brained
dog-hearted
evil-eyed
lily-livered
mad-bred
onion-eyed
paper-faced
rump-fed
shag-eared
whit-livered
Column C
canker blossom
clot pole
hedge-pig
dogfish
egg-shell
nut-hook
pantaloon
rabbit-sucker
snipe
younker
Shakespearean Compliments
Combine one word from each of the columns below. Add
“Thou” to the beginning to create the perfect insult
Example: Thou precious young-eyed wafer-cake!
Column A
rare
sweet
fruitful
brave
sugared
flowering
precious
gallant
celestial
delicate
Column B
honey-tongued
well-wishing
fair-faced
best-tempered
tender-hearted
tiger-booted
smooth-faced
thunder-darting
sweet-suggesting
young-eyed
Column C
smilet
toast
cukoo-bud
nose-herb
wafer-cake
pigeon-egg
welsh cheese
song
true-penny
valentine