KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
Chapter 1: His Age
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
The Elizabethan Age
The name “The Elizabethan age” was given to the time from 1558 to 1603.
Many people and historians call it the Golden Age of England. During this period England
was ruled by Queen Elizabeth. She played a very strong and central role in the development
of England as an international power which led to the name “Elizabethan Age”. During this
era the situation in England changed greatly and a lot of new political and cultural
developments happened.
The following factors contributed to the distinct character of the Elizabethan
age:
Religious tolerance:
The time before the Elizabethan era was marked with conflicts between Protestant and
Catholic Groups. The two daughters of King Henry VIII, Elizabeth and Mary, had great
differences during Mary’s five-year reign. Mary, who had a Catholic upbringing, brought in
pro-Catholic laws and made efforts to increase the influence of the pope in England. After a
Protestant uprising, Queen Mary put Elizabeth, who was a Protestant, into prison in the
Tower of London on the grounds of being involved in the rebellion.
After Mary died, Elizabeth was able to defeat a number of Catholic plots against her. Most of
England’s lords were Protestant and supported Elisabeth in hope for greater tolerance by a
Protestant queen. The so-called Elizabethan Religious Settlement achieved an end to the
conflict between the two religious groups. Because of Queen Elizabeth’s law for equal rights,
it was no longer a punishable crime to be a Catholic. The Protestant religion also became
generally more accepted in England due to attacks by Spain, a Catholic country.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
Balance of power between Royalty and Parliament:
The Rulers before Elizabeth had managed to set up a parliamentary system that provided
representation for the people. The newly elected Parliament was not strong enough to
question the authority of the Queen. In the period after Elizabeth a conflict developed
between King and Parliament which led to an English Civil War (1642–1651).
Period of Peace:
The Elizabethan era was a very peaceful and flourishing time in English history. Italy became
dominated by the influence of foreign powers and the Renaissance there had already
reached an end. France was occupied by religious battles called the Huguenot Wars that
were not settled until 1598 after the peace of Nantes. England had also given up any claims
to territory in continental France which meant that there were no wars between France and
England in the period of Queen Elizabeth's rule.
Rise of British Nationalism:
Positive developments in economy and trade along with peace and the popularity of the
Queen provided a good atmosphere for the development of a national identity. Scotland had
been integrated into the Kingdom. Many historians talk of a British Renaissance or the
Golden Age of England . When dealing with foreign powers, Elizabeth followed a strategy of
supporting any Protestant allies while at the same time dividing her Catholic enemies. In
particular, Elizabeth was a problem for the pope, who would not recognize her right to the
English Throne. Her main opponent was Spain, a Catholic nation that had become very
powerful at that time. In 1588, English-Spanish rivalry led to the famous attempt to invade
England by the Spanish Armada which was the most powerful naval force in the world at that
time. Helped by a number of storms, the English navy was able to resist the invasion.
Important Cultural Developments:
The English Renaissance also led to an era of new art, poetry, music and literature. At this
time, London was the cultural centre of England, including all new conditions referring to the
Elizabethan Age. The new character made London a leading centre of culture. Its poets and
writers were mostly the leading literary artists in England. The rise in English culture led to
increased interest in writing in the English language. William Shakespeare for example is
certainly among the most well-known writers of the 16th century. He is very famous for his
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
plays which were completely different to the previous style of England's theatre. All in all the
Elizabethan era was a time of cultural investigation and development to find new ways of
expressing feelings.
Naval Power & Navigation:
The circumnavigation of the globe by Sir Francis Drake was an important achievement.
England had now already developed a name as being a strong marine force. This reputation
was cemented by its victory against the fleet of the Spanish Armada and this gave England a
strong position for colonization and trade. As the English power at sea grew, Elizabeth
sponsored many voyages of exploration. The expeditions of Sir Walter Raleigh to the North
Americas were a further well known example of this type of exploration.
Education:
Elizabeth officially recognized and promoted the Universities at Oxford and Cambridge which
were considered to be the center of the nation's educational activities. Notably, the printing
press was invented in England in 1476. This invention helped to make literature accessible to
the normal public. During this time a wealthy middle class developed who were able to read
and write. For the first time, education became available to normal people rather than just to
priests and noblemen.
Elizabeth was often called the “Virgin Queen” because she was hesitant to reduce her
authority or to weaken her position in any way by marriage. Her long reign saw the
development of a new English Renaissance, which was represented by such great writers as
William Shakespeare. By the time she died in 1603, England had made its way from a weak
country to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the European context and an influential
global power. For these reasons Queen Elizabeth I is recognized historically as one of
England’s greatest rulers.
Queen Elizabeth I - “Gloriana“
Queen Elizabeth I was born on 7 th September 1533 in Greenwich.
She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.
As whole England waited for a male heir apparent the birth of Elizabeth I was on the
one hand a disappointment and on the other hand a step towards the death for her
mother.
When Elizabeth was two years old, her mother was charged with adultery and was
executed. Consequently, King Henry decided that the marriage with his wife was
invalid so Elizabeth should be illegitimate for the succession to the throne. She was
banned from the royal residence and grew up as a sad and lonely child in Hatfield
House.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
Even though Elizabeth was irrelevant concerning the succession to the throne, her
stepmother enabled her a distinguished education. Her studies in literature,
elocution, history and philosophy were successful, in addition to that she spoke a lot
of different languages like Italian, French, Greek and Latin.
The sixth wife of King Henry, Catherine Parr, made it possible for Elizabeth to return
to the royal residence. After the death of King Henry in 1547 Edward who was the
half-brother of Elizabeth took over control - though he suffered from a disease and it
was obvious that his life wouldn't last for long.
After Catherine Parr died in 1549 and Edward in 1553, a half-sister of Elizabeth
called Mary assumed the throne. Mary's goal was to reintroduce Catholicism
whereupon the people started rebellions. The unpopularity of Mary raised more and
more. She died in 1558. Finally it was Elizabeth's turn to take over the throne. When
she became Queen she was 25 years old.
At the beginning of her reign the people were distrustful due to the fact that Elizabeth
was a woman – and at that time women were considered to be less clever than men
and too emotional.
But under Elizabeth’s rule England's position got much better: She solved the conflict
between Catholics and Protestants, tightened Protestantism in England and turned
England into the naval power for several centuries.
These were only the biggest achievements of Elizabeth and that's why she was often
called “Gloriana” or even “Virgin Gloriana” because she never married.
Elizabeth died in 1603 after a reign of 44 years.
Political Structures
The National government of England in the Elizabethan Age consisted of three
bodies: the monarch, the Privy Council, and Parliament. There were also
regional and county governments.
Monarch:
The Divine Right of Kings gave the Elizabethan monarch immense power and authority.
Back then the monarch’s power extended to nearly every domain which is in stark contrast to
the monarchs today, who are mainly figureheads in the constitutional monarchy; e.g. Great
Britain.
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign all these following domains were determined by her: issues
of national religion, time and topics of the parliamentary sessions, when and if the country
would go to war, matters of education and the welfare of the citizens, all that meant that she
had an tremendous influence on the people’s life: Queen Elizabeth was not only allowed to
decide on her peoples clothes and food, no she was as well in the position to adjudicate on
people going to prison or being executed.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
The great importance of the monarch’s power did not prevail over the law and the possibility
to put him or her on trial existed. However the question arises how immense the monarch’s
influence on the judiciary and legislation was.
Parliament:
In the Elizabethan Age, Parliament was divided into two houses: the House of Lords (the
Upper House) and the House of Commons (the Lower House).
The Parliament’s main functions were legislation, taxation, providing money to Elizabeth and
advising her.
Most of the times the Parliament was summoned, the subject concerned a financial matter
because Queen Elizabeth was rarely interested in the Parliament’s opinion, with one
exception in 1586 pertaining to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots - the denouement is
showed by the quote below:
"Your judgment I condemn not, neither do I mistake your reasons, but pray you to
accept my thankfulness, excuse my doubtfulness, and take in good part my answer,
answerless."
(Elizabeth's response to the Parliamentary delegation advising her to execute Mary)
Legislation always required the queen’s consent. In which House the bill, drawn up by
herself, was introduced depended on the issue: bills on money matters in the House of
Commons, bills affecting the nobility: House of Lords.
To sum it up, the law only became an Act of Parliament or statue if the queen had agreed.
Consequently the laws were geared to the monarchs’ ideals and customs; e.g.: Everybody
had to attend church because Queen Elizabeth was a very religious person.
Privy Council:
The Privy Council was composed of wealthy, powerful nobles working together with the
highly intelligent men of the times, not necessarily of noble birth but all chosen by the queen.
The Privy Council was ruled by Queen Elizabeth and had less than twenty members who
were responsible for advising the queen on policy matters.
Even though the counsellors had advised the monarch otherwise, the monarch often ignored
the council and the Privy Council members had to implement the monarch’s wishes
nonetheless- this was a typical behaviour of Queen Elizabeth.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
All in all the Parliament and Privy Council, and therefore the emergence of
democratic elements, have not been a serious danger to the monarch’s
position in the hierarchy and the predominant absolutistic style of government
yet.
Local governments:
The Privy Council needed help to supervise all parts of England. That's why
royal representatives were installed in every county to ensure that the queen's commands
and laws were obeyed.
The Council of the North oversaw Northern England, while the Council of the Marches
oversaw Wales and some border counties.
Society
The society during the Elizabethan age was structured very clearly.
There was a hierarchical structure, in which everyone had to stay on the place he was born
into. This structure of the society was justified with The Great Chain Of Being, which says
that the position of a person in the society is predetermined by god.
The peasantry was at the bottom of the hierarchy which was built like a pyramid.
The lowermost group of people were the so named “ cottars”, their only possession was the
cottage in which they lived. This cottage was mostly rented. Sometimes they possessed a
little acre. These people had to hope for a good harvest to have enough to eat.
One step above the cottars was the tenant farmer. He rented his land from a yeoman or
someone from the country gentry. Some of the tenant farmers were copy holders. This
means that they had to pay every year the same rent for the ground, and this for generations.
Tenant farmers, also called “husbandmen”, and their families had a more or less nice life.
They had enough to eat, because they had much land where they could grow something,
and although they had to work hard, they had the possibility to take a holiday.
After the tenant farmer there was the yeoman. He had a freehold, that means that he had
many acres of land and some tenants on his own.
Because the Lord of the Manor still held the title for the land, the yeoman did not own his
land by law. But in practice there was no difference to a direct ownership.
The yeoman worked on the land indeed, but he was rather eminently respected and at the
top of the village community.
On the countryside was the gentry the elite. The gentry had not to work, these people lived
from the money they got out of the rent from their tenants. As a result of their wealth, they
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
had much power on the countryside. The gentry was also supported by the government. So
they were allowed to observe the abidance of the laws. That’s why the all local offices (sheriff
etc.) were practiced by the gentry.
The nobility was one step above the gentry. In contrast to the gentry, where you could
ascend into, the nobility was a closed group. A nobleman was only a nobleman when he was
born into the nobility.
The nobility had much more rights than the normal people. In addition to this they even could
not be punished for offences.
There were different typical degrees of nobility in this time. The major degrees were: Duke,
Marquis, Earl, Viscount and Baron. The higher the noble rank was, the higher was the status
of the holder.
In the towns the Guilds played a big role. The guilds decided who was allowed to open a
shop in the city or who was allowed to sell which kind of product.
Clothes were something very important in the time of the Elizabethan age. They symbolized
the social status of a person. So you could see if someone was a nobleman, part of the
middle class or a peasant.
As an example: Lower class women weren’t allowed to wear clothes with gold or gold tissue,
this was bound for the upper class.
Religion
To state the distribution of power, Elizabeth’s adherence to the Protestantism is essential: As
in the article about politics already mentioned, the monarch possessed nearly every right;
hence the Queen’s persuasion was as well compulsory for the whole population.
As a result of this schools taught the official religion and the failure to adhere the `favoured`
religion was punished with imprisonment, torture or execution. Although Queen Elizabeth
had succeeded her sister Queen Mary, whose religious denomination on the contrary the
Catholicism was, many Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth still occurred.
The Reformation and the beliefs of men such as the German Martin Luther (1483-1546)
played an important role since this movement succeeded in questioning the Roman Catholic
religion.
To summarize, Queen Elizabeth repatriated England to the Protestantism
because reigning monarchs determined the ‘favoured’ religion.
Despite the importance of religion, there were other sources of belief and ritual: Because of
the religious power struggle, old superstitions and practices arose again and were
widespread, especially among the common people. That had a bearing on Shakespeare’s
plays as well which often included witches, ghosts and fairies.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
Shakespeare and the monarchs of his time
Shakespeare always had a good relationship with the two monarchs that reigned in
his life time: Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Queen Elizabeth ascended to the
throne six years before Shakespeare’s birth and proved herself to be a great lover of
the arts. She was especially fond of the theatre and allowed the building of theatres,
which had previously been forbidden in England.
There are many stories and myths around Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. One
story particularly comes to mind: The queen is said to have visited one of
Shakespeare’s performances and as he was playing a king, she is said to have been
bowing down to him. Later on she is said to have dropped her handkerchief in front of
him to have him pick it up. Of course this anecdote is highly unlikely as the Queen
would not have visited public theatres and costume was to sit far away from the stage
so he could not have picked up her handkerchief being too far away.
Stepping away from myths like this we can say with certainty that Shakespeare
played for the Queen in Greenwich in 1594 and had his plays " The Pleasant
Conceited Comedy of Love's Labour's Lost “ and “King Henry IV Part 1 and 2“
performed in front of her. Queen Elizabeth is said to have taken great delight in the
plays and particularly in the role of Falstaff, the fat knight in “King Henry IV“ , after
which Shakespeare wrote the comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor“ .
Shakespeare’s attraction to Queen Elizabeth I and her court can also be sensed in
his eulogy of the Virgin Queen in his drama “A Midsummer-Night's Dream“. Queen
Elizabeth I has never been praised again in such an admiring way from a poet of her
day.
"That very time I saw — but thou couldst not —
Flying between the cold moon and the earth,
Cupid all arm'd: a certain aim he took
At a fair vestal throned by the west,
And loos'd his love-shaft smartly from his bow
As it should pierce a hundred-thousand hearts:
But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft
Quench'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passed on,
In maiden meditation fancy free." — Act II., Sc. i.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
In the later part of her life Queen Elizabeth I resided at Nonsuch Palace, where Shakespeare
was enrolled as an actor and servant to her majesty.
After the queens death Shakespeare eulogized her indirectly through the eulogy of
the dead queen in „King Henry VIII“ :
“Drop from his honied muse one sable tear,
To mourn her death that graced his desert,
And to his lays opened her royal ear.“
King James I succeeded Queen Elizabeth I on the throne. He as well was a lover of the
theatre and soon enjoyed Shakespeare’s works.
In 1603 Shakespeare’s acting company made a new contract with King James I and was
thus renamed "The King's Men.“ Under this new contract they gave about ten to twenty plays
every year.
King James I, a believer in witchcraft, is said to have greatly influenced the play “Macbeth“ of
which he also became a big fan. Some even go as far as stating that Shakespeare wrote the
play especially for the new monarch. It is also Shakespeare’s work with most bible imagery,
another vital part to King James I who culminated scripture into the “ King James Version of
the Bible“ in 1611.
Under a portrait of King James I from 1610 we can find these engraved lines, that are
supposed to be said by Shakespeare on the King:
"Crownes have their Compasse length of dayes their date
Triumphs their Tombes, felcitie her fate
Of more then earth can earth make none partaker,
But knowledge makes the King most like his maker. “
When Ben Johnson wrote his poetical tribute to Shakespeare in 1623 he included the
following lines about the delight both James I and Elizabeth I had in Shakespeare’s plays.
"Those flights upon the banks of Thames
That so did take Eliza and our James."
While there are certainly many rumours and myths around Shakespeare and the two
monarchs of his time, it can still doubtlessly be said that they were both supporters and
admirers of Shakespeare’s work and that he in exchange hold them in very high esteem.
Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Age
Sources
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www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-i
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England
www.historylearningsite.co.uk/elizabeth_catholic_church
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_era
www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/education/elizabethan-age
www.11aibsh.pbworks.com/f/100_9126_mid.jpg
www.11aibsh.pbworks.com/f/100_9126_mid.jpg
www.dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/theory_history/elizabethan_perio
d
www.static.guim.co.uk/sysimages/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/10/11/1381531053336/WiliamShakespeare011.jpg
www.faculty.tnstate.edu/smcurtis/Elizabethan%20Government
www.elizabethi.org/contents/power
www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-politics-and-government
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_government
www.masser-english.wiki.nhvweb.net/Elizabethan+Society+and + Culture
www.walternelson.com/dr/elizabethan-city-town
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabethanisches_Zeitalter
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie Band 6
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Fiona G. Johanna, Marleen, Sean, Vanessa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
Chapter 2: His World View
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
The Elizabethan era
Painting showing the different aspects of the Elizabethan era
Shakespeare lived in one of the most fascinating and remarkable
periods of English history. England’s Golden Age, the Elizabethan era, is named
after Queen Elizabeth I. In 1558, six years before Shakespeare’s birth, she became
Queen of England being part of the illustrious Tudor dynasty. Her reign lasted 45
years. Being the daughter of Henry VIII she followed Mary I on the throne. Her halfsister is also known as Bloody Mary. Her violent reign forced the Elizabeth to heal
the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants. In 1559, there was the
Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Additionally, being a Protestant she remained
Catholic symbols. Her reign can be marked as time of peace.
However, the period became famous not only caused by the Virgin
Queen but also for the era itself. England had relative political stability and a great
development in the creativity of art. There was a new focus on literature and
London developed to a commercial and cultural centre. Famous writers are
Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and of course William Shakespeare. In fact, in
that era the first theatres in England were established. Elizabeth recognized the
importance of art to the life as well as legacy of the English nation. Additionally,
great explorations were made. Great explorers are Sir Francis Drake and Walter
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
Raleigh. Summing up, the era is remembered by the great wave of English
nationalism and arts flourish.
After Elizabeth’s death King James I was coming to throne. Being a
writer himself he thought high of learning, especially theatre. He even invited
Shakespeare’s theatre company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Therefore, they became
known as the King’s Men.
In brief, the Elizabethan era was a starting point for a new focus on
literature as well as explorations. People still thought high of religion and normal
people more believed in superstitions than in the new skills and ideas. The
aristocrats as well as the poorer population believed in different models trying to
describe the world. These aspects will be discussed in detail in the following.
William Kemp, Clown of the Chamberlain’s Men,
Dancing the Morris
What was the people’s attitude towards supernatural
appearances?
The people of the Elizabethan era (1558 to 1603) enormously believed
of being ruled by good and evil spirits. In order to maintain balance between this
forces they created and practiced superstition. These were rooted to traditions and
beliefs from much earlier times. They were based in old magic and the magical
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
aspects of animals and herbs. The superstition 1 was a result of ignorance and fear
combined with false explanations.
Witches
Shakespeare’s contemporaries highly believed in witches. Witches
were blamed for negative impacts on people’s life such as epidemics but as well as
personal failures or crop failures. They were
reproached for the use of wizardry which was
forbidden. They commonly accused old, poor
and single women of being a witch. The
population also expected them to have brooms
and to be in contact with the devil.
There were a lot of tests to verify
their identity and it was legal to kill them. In fact, it was not often the church but
the royals who leaded the court cases mostly ending with the death sentence. Most
commonly, witches were burned on pyres 2. But scientists are also sure that family
conflicts were solved this way. Furthermore, accusing someone of being a witch
was a useful opportunity to get rid of a rival. Even King James I, who became king
after Elizabeth I, was superstitious about witches and wrote a book on that
subject. For this reason, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth especially to appeal the king.
Religion
The Reformation
As Shakespeare was born in the Elizabethan era, he was living during the
English Reformation, in which the Queen dissolved the relationship to the roman pope.
Her inhabitants were forced to be Protestant including the responsibility of visiting the
church service every day. The confirmation was also necessary. Because of all these
measures, the opposition against the royal faith became lower from time to time. 1574
the pope started a counter resistance by sending his priests to England to persuade the
population. They were successful with the nobility but most of the population had fear
of being Catholic. Finally, Elisabeth reached her goal. Most of the 650 Catholic priest
1 superstition - Aberglaube
2 pyres - Scheiterhaufen
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
were killed by her guards. Therefore, most of the population became Protestant.
Consequently, they learned to believe everything included in the bible. The people
would not question it even if it appears supernatural to modern society.
Tensions
Protestantism was established as national religion just the year
Shakespeare was born. Therefore, Shakespeare would be familiar with its rites and
ceremonies. Moreover, they became very passionate on it. Still, Catholicism and
Protestantism were the two main religions in the Elizabethan England with Protestants
being the majority. There were tensions between their supporters. Elizabethans feared
that the current violent civil War of the Roses would help starting a religious civil war.
Historians even believe that Shakespeare was a covert Catholic and strongly influenced
by his religion.
Religion in Hamlet
The tragedy of Hamlet being one of the most famous and important
Shakespearean plays includes religious aspects. Christianity influences the protagonist
Hamlet and the other characters from Danish society. Hamlet is even more
fundamental than his religious community. After murdering his father he fears being a
sinner. The murder and the shock of his mother marrying his uncle make him seeing a
ghost. In fact, it is a sign of mental illness and his attitude is based on religion. Since
the protagonist is punished with a disastrous ending it can be said that Shakespeare
uses a religious message about the church to show his own attitude toward right and
wrong. However, Shakespeare uses additionally to Christian aspects Grecian religious
symbols. Summing up, Hamlet is one example how Shakespeare uses rhetoric to create
a religious message.
Superstition
Many people of the population believed in superstition during the
Elizabethan area. Superstition is nothing else but the believe of the supernatural
which is strengthened by the fear of unknown or the faith in magic.
Habits due to superstition
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
Additionally to religious believes, there was a variety of saying and
rules people thought high of. For example, the seventh son of the seventh son was
believed to have supernatural powers. They also thought that the right hand of an
executed prisoner was lucky. These hands were said to
have the power to heal and it could give the bearer
stealth. Besides, a retention of the egg was said to
cause sickness. Additionally, the number thirteen was
an unlucky number and inns3 had no rooms with it and
also no houses. Moreover, the British population
avoided going through a ladder leaned against a wall.
This triangle symbolizes the trinity but going through it
shows your loyalty to the devil. The Christians believed
also that a dark cat would deliver bad luck as an
assistant of a witch.
The habits caused by superstitious believing during that time are still
part of our daily life. We do not even think that the origin is superstitious. One
example is the action of saying “Bless you!” after somebody sneezes. In the
Shakespearean time, people thought that when you opened your mouth during the
act of sneezing you gave the devil an entrance into your body. The blessing was a
protection towards any harm. No demon could remain in a place where Christian
blessed each other.
The Church’s attitude towards superstition
Normally, the church did only accept the Christian superstition. People
believing in holy trees portrayed a danger because they could convert other parts
of the population. They were afraid of losing their control as the organ of belief.
Without it , it has been impossible to rule the population. People who declared the
support of superstition were followed just like witches.
3 inn - Gastwirtschaft
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
What is the Chain of Being?
The Chain of Being or Divine 4 Order describes the in the Elizabethan
times predominant philosophy. It says that everybody and -thing has an own place
in a chain. At the bottom of this chain is the nothingness, at the very top God, the
creator of this ladder.
The Great Chain of Being
At the bottom, right above the nothingness, there are minerals. One
step higher, there are plants, followed by animals. In the
chain's middle, there are the humans and between humans
and God himself, there are angels. Furthermore, one can
further differentiate between these classes. An eagle is
above the rabbit and a king has an higher status than a
farmer. This way, everything, even different minerals, had
an unique place on the ladder.
The status is determined by the object's
capabilities of movement, intellect and general ability. As a consequence one
assumed that the higher object was an authority to the lower objects. For
example, a plant had the authority to use minerals to grow because it possesses an
higher rank in the Chain of Being. Humans were therefore allowed to use minerals ,
plants and animals for their own use. But even if the higher ranks had the
authority, they needed the lower ranks as well to grow and live. This way, an
interdependence is created, which means that all parts of the chain are affected
when it is broken. This could happen by anyone or -thing disobeying against the
given order.
History and Origins
The concept of a given hierarchy was not new at that time. In fact,
already in the ancient history philosophers thought about this idea. Plato thought,
that the world we experience is secondary to the world of ideas and plans. This
means, that first there are thoughts and concepts, then, as a consequence, there is
4 divine – göttlich
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
our experienced world. Later, Aristotle tried to order all living beings of the world
in one ladder and created the so called scala naturae. Plotinus (*205 † 270) then
combined both ideas to a hierarchy as an underlying principle for the whole
universe. The Chain of Being was born. In the middle ages this concept became
more and more popular and was developed further.
Influence on Society
Of course this world view had consequences on the society. In general,
there are four realms heavily influenced by the Great Chain of Being:
Morality & Ethics
Everybody had to behave according to his status, thus nobody was
allowed to behave like a lower or higher ranked. A farmer was neither allowed to
behave like a king nor like a poor beggar. If somebody disobeyed by behaving in a
way he was not supposed to, this was considered a sin. Especially for humans this
was hard, because they were in the middle of the chain and therefore could
commit two different kinds of sins:
The fleshly sin:
behaving like an animal, sex, etc.
The intellectual sin:
pride, envy, arrogance, etc.
Animals were only capable of committing the fleshly, physical sins.
Angels on the other hand could only commit the intellectual sins. Humans as the
transition between animals and angels were able to commit both of them.
If somebody sins, the balance of the Divine Order is lost and people
believed that bad things would happen. For example, people thought of natural
disasters as consequences of a disobeying part of the chain. This way the society
explained the Theodicy 5 problem.
Politics
The Divine Order was used as an explanation for the monarchy. This
way, the king was not only a man ruling the kingdom, he was picked by God to do
5 Theodicy – theological question, why God allows bad things to happen
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
this. An act against the king was therefore not only a crime, but an act against
God's will. Furthermore, people accepted their own status as given by God and did
not try to rise, thus rebellions became rare in that time.
Science
The thought of a given order even influenced science. One assumed
that God created order in the universe, hence the scala naturae was so popular.
Even the idea of the Copernican world view was induced by this concept. Before,
people believed, that all stars moved around the earth and because God would only
create something perfect, one thought, that these stars were moving in perfect
cycles. By and by more stars were explored and the mathematics became more and
more complicated. At this point, Copernicus doubted that God would create such a
mess and had the idea of the now modern Copernican world view.
Literature
The Divine Order's influence in literature can still be found in many
plays of that time, for example in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After King Duncan is
killed by Macbeth, the day becomes as dark as night and horses run wild. In the
end, Macbeth dies, which should be considered as the restoring of the given order.
But the Chain of Being is not only recognizable in Macbeth. In most of
Shakespeare's plays you can see him using the ladder in metaphors or as the
underlying principle of the hole play. Furthermore, the Divine Order spread so that
even the Italian writer Machiavelli wrote about it in his book Prince.
Influence on modern Society
In our modern societies, the idea of a strict hierarchy is not that
relevant anymore, nonetheless its traces are still visible. A dying dog would make
almost every spectator sad, but nobody cares for a dying fly. The idea of more
important, “higher”, and less important, “lower” living beings still exists even
though we know that our fauna and flora are more an interdependent web rather
than a hierarchy.
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
What did the Wheel of Fortune mean to the common man?
A way to attempt explaining everyday occurrences was to believe in
images of fortune, coincidence or destiny. During the Middles Ages, concepts
accrued which tried to answer how the world works and gathered ideas from
ancient philosophy and religions. Thus, some thought gods shape our future and
control our fate.
The Idea
One concept is known as the Wheel of Fortune
or Rota Fortunae . It is about the goddess of luck, Fortuna,
who is actually a part of the Roman Mythology but became
evermore popular in the Middle Ages. The icon of the Wheel
of Fortune is made up of the wheel, Fortuna, who spins the
wheel at will, and four men riding it. The man on the top is
labeled as “I reign”. Following the wheel clockwise the
next man has “I have reigned” written next to him. Then
the man at the bottom is marked with “I have no kingdom”. The last man is rising
again and labeled as “I shall reign”. In most of the medieval illustrations the person
at the bottom falls of the wheel and is sometimes deceased. The consequences of
the spinning wheel impact their lives sometimes instantly. But some do not occur
for multiple centuries. Due to this image, some underscore her double-edgedness 6.
One the one hand she brings luck to rising kings while on the other hand changing it
to the opposite. This allegory explained the fall and rise of a common man and
should point out that every earthly thing is temporarily.
Shakespeare’s literature
Throughout his plays, Shakespeare uses recurring symbols such as
fortune, coincidence or destiny, one of them being the tragedy Macbeth. Analyzing
its plot, the concept of the Wheel of Fortune obviously plays a part in the life of
Macbeth. First, he starts on the left side as a successful general (“I shall reign”, as
mentioned above) but then, as the witches said, he swings up causing him to
become king of Scotland. At this moment he is on top of the wheel (“I reign”) and
6 double-edgedness - Zweischneidigkeit
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
has a superior rank by comparison. According to the image of the wheel, Macbeth
swings down again to the right side (“I have reigned”) and falls of the wheel (“I
have no kingdom”). He lost everything including the life of his wife and his own.
Keeping that in mind, the plot becomes easier to explain and we get a deeper
understanding of Shakespeare’s convictions.
What is the idea of ‘humours ’ about?
The word humour or humor is originated in the Latin languages and
can be translated as “liquid” or “fluid”. The theory of the four humours or
humorism is an early Western medical theory. The model tries to describe the
behaviour of the human body and psyche by focusing on the four body liquids, the
four humours. They are
· Blood
· Yellow bile or choler 7
· Black bile or melancholy 8
· Phlegm9
The idea of humors and humorism was developed by the ancient Greek
and Roman physicians and philosophers. It says that an excess or deficiency of any
of the four known body fluids, or humors, directly influences their temperament
and health. All diseases and disabilities supposedly resulted from an excess or
deficit of one of those humors. To cure the excesses or deficits, people were told
to drink a lot of water to wash the bad humors out of their body or they were given
recipes or food advices. Until the 19th century, the humoral theory was the most
commonly held view of the human body.
7 yellow bile/choler – gelbe Galle
8 black bile/melancholy – schwarze Galle
9 phlegm - Schleim
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
References
The Elizabethan era
·
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvU7uLSjFKw
·
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/
·
http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/theory_history/eliza
bethan_period.htm
·
http://study.com/academy/lesson/queen-elizabeth-i-and-englands-goldenage
·
http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/education/elizabethan
-age.html
Pictures:
·
http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-age-2.jpg
·
http://ndla.no/sites/default/files/images/Queen_Elizabeth_I_by_George_G
ower.jpg
·
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/kempsmorris.jpg
What was the people’s attitude towards supernatural appearances?
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt
·
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-superstitions.htm
·
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zmjnb9q/revision/3
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_era
·
http://www.saintives.com/essays/superstitions.pdf
·
http://classroom.synonym.com/elizabethan-era-superstitions-beliefsspitting-fire-5517.html
·
http://richardiiicasebook.blogspot.de/2010/02/protestants-versus-catholicsreligion.html
·
http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379517458_Alsaif.pdf
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation#Act_of_Supremacy_1558
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)#Lucky_and_unlucky
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His World View
Pictures:
·
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/A_Black_Cat.jpg
·
http://www.cyberwitchcraft.com/image-files/witchandfamiliars.jpg
What is the Chain of Being?
·
·
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html
Dr. L. K. Wheeler
web.cn.edu/kwheeler
·
·
http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/macbeth/historical/elizaborder.html
Prof., Steve Snyder, 2011
http://faculty.grandview.edu/ssnyder/121/121%20great%20chain.htm
·
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-marino-phd/the-scala-naturae-isaliv_b_4719171.html
·
http://palaeos.com/systematics/greatchainofbeing/index.html
Picture:
·
http://swh.schoolworkhelper.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The-Great-Chain-of-Being.jpg?c71720
What did the Wheel of Fortune mean to the common man?
·
http://www.enotes.com/topics/william-shakespeare/critical-essays/fateand-fortune
·
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/early%20tragedies/
medievaltragedy.html
·
http://vanorabennett.com/book/the-peoples-queen-the-wheel-of-fortun/
·
http://www.themiddleages.net/wheel_of_fortune.html
·
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/arts/wheel/whe
el.php
·
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/themes_motifs/
fortune/iconography.php
·
http://sites.cdnis.edu.hk/students/090255/2011/02/09/shakespeare-histheatre-and-audience/
Picture:
·
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/L%E2%80%99Hortus_Deliciarum.jpg
What is the idea of ‘humours’ about?
·
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/humours.aspx
·
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276301/humour
·
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/shakespeare/fourhumors.html
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism
Picture:
·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism
Jakob B., Jannes, Jasper, Lennart, Michelle,
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
Chapter 3: His Life
Alina, Colin, Fiona, Jannik, Nele
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
His life
characteristics
name: William Shakespeare
last name: Shakespeare
first name: William
day of birth: 23rd April 1564 in Stratford-upon- Avon,
Warwickshire, England
day of death: 23rd April 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon,
Warwickshire, England in the age of 52
family:
father: John Shakespeare (1531-1601)
mother: Mary Shakespeare (1537-1608)
spouse Anne
spouse: Anne Hathaway (1582-1616)
children:
Susanna Hall (1583-1649)
Judith Quiney (1585-1662)
son: Hamnet Shakespeare (1585-1596)
occupation: Playwright, poet, actor
period: English Renaissance
Important events in Shakespeare’s Life
Judith
Susanna
Date
Age Event
April 23,
1564
April 26,
1564
1566
1569
1571-78
-
William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, the fourth of the
Shakespeare’s eight children.
Shakespeare is christened at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.
2
5
714
7
10
15
16
His brother Gilbert is born.
His sister Joan is born.
SP attended King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon.
1571
1574
1579
1580
His sister Anne is born.
His brother Richard is born.
His sister Anne dies aged just 8.
His brother Edmund is born.
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KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
Nov.
27,
1582
May 26,
1583
Feb 7,
1585
1585
1592
18
Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway (26) at Temple Grafton.
19
Their first daughter Susanna is born.
21
Their twins Hamnet and Judith are born.
21
28
1592
28
1593
29
April
1593
1594
29
HIS WIRTING CAREER BEGINS, his first play Henry VI, Part One.
He has moved to London and establishes himself as a popular
dramatist.
Playwright Robert Greene pens a scathing critique of Shakespeare,
calling him an “upstart crow” who doesn’t belong with Greene’s
university-educated dramatist crowd. Thanks to this diatribe, we know
now that Shakespeare has become successful enough as a playwright
by 1592 to make his peers jealous.
London theatres are closed due to an outbreak of bubonic plague that
eventually kills about five percent of the city’s residents. Shakespeare
uses the break to write poetry.
SP publishes “Venus and Adonis” his first long poem.
30
The London theatres reopen to the public. Over the next five years
Shakespeare’s troupe, the Chamberlain’s Men(acting company),
becomes one of the most popular acting groups in London, They
accept frequent invitations to perform in the royal court of Queen
Elizabeth I.
1594
30 He writes Romeo and Juliet, the classic tragedy about star-crossed
lovers.
1594
30 First recorded performance of “The Comedy Of Errors” at Gray’s Inn
Hall
Aug 11, 32 Hamnet dies at the age of 11. of unknown causes. Shakespeare was
1596
devastates by the death of his only son, and it is argued that the
character of “Hamlet Prince of Denmark”, written four years later, is
evidence of this.
Dec,
33 First recorded performance of “Love’s Labours Lost” a private
1597
performance for Queen Elizabeth.
1598
34 He writes “Much Ado About Nothing”, one of his best-loved comedies.
1599
35 The Globe Theatre opens in London, where many of Shakespeare’s
most famous plays are performed for the first time.
1599
35 He writes “Julius Caesar”.
1600
36 He wrote “Hamlet” possibly in response to the death of his son.
1601
37 William’s father John Shakespeare dies.
1605
41 “MACBETH” first performed at the Globe Theatre.
1608
44 William’s mother Mary dies.
1609
45 Publisher Thomas Thorpe prints a collection of 154 of Shakespeare’s
sonnets.
1610
46 He writes “The Tempest”, his last sole-authored play.
161046- S. retires from London and moves back to his home town of Stratford-
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1611
1612
47
48
1613
49
1613
49
April 23, 52
1616
April 25,
1616
1623
upon-Avon, where his wife and daughters live.
First recorded performance of “King Henry IV, Part 2”; performed in
celebration of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to the Elector Palatine.
SP composes his final plays- Henry VIII, Two Noble Kingsmen and the
now-lost Cardenio-in collaboration with John Fletcher, replacement
playwright for the King’s Men.
Shakespeare believed to have retired from writing.
Shakespeare dies on his 52 nd birthday.
He was buried in Holy Trinity Church, where he was baptized.
(You can still view his grave.)
John Heminge and Henry Condell, Shakespeare’s former colleagues in
the King’s Men, collect 36 of their late friend’s plays and publish them
together in a volume now known as the First Folio.
Some concrete dates are unknown, therefore we chose approximate dates.
Shakespeare’s living conditions
Place of living
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon
(locally known as Stratford), which is a market town in south
Warwickshire, England. At the time of Shakespeare, Stratford
had about 1500 inhabitants and is now the largest
and most populous town of the non-metropolitan
district Stratford-on-Avon.
The city is visited by over two million tourists each
year and the main attractions are the places, which
show a connection to Shakespeare and his work:
Especially Shakespeare’s place of birth , a house
in the Henely Street , is often visited and shows the
house which Williams Father John Shakespeare
purchased in 1556 and where William was born in
1564.
Furthermore there is the Grammar School in Church Lane , where Shakespeare was
probably a student and Halls’s Croft in the street Old Town, a half-timber house
owned by William’s son-in-law Dr. John Hall.
Inside a little cemetery on the outskirts of Stratford is the Holy
Trinity Church with the grave of Shakespeare, a memorial
stone and a Shakespeare bust.
More places referring to Shakespeare are in close proximity.
The place of birth of William Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is in the
little village Shottery right next to Stratford, and the home of Mary Arden (his mother)
in Wilmcote, about 5 km away.
Alina, Colin, Fiona, Jannik, Nele
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
Another important and newer building lies at the river Avon and was build in 1933
with the name Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. It was renamed to Royal
Shakespeare Theatre in 1961.
The old Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre from 1879,
which was destroyed by fire
in 1926.
The daily life in Shakespeare’s Time
Shakespeare was born 1564 under the rule of Queen Elizabeth. She came to power
at the age of 25 and reigned from 1558 to 1603, so most of his life time. On average
the normal people was just able to live for 30 to 40 years because of the bad
circumstances, but Elizabeth managed to get 70 years old.
Since nobody was expecting a long life time they didn’t have such a long education
time. Boys went to grammar school at the age of 7 and learned until the age of 15 a
lot about Latin and Mathematics. Brighter boys often learned Greek too.
On the other side girls didn’t go to school at all, they were trained to be capable
housekeepers. They learned to cook and they got to know everything about herbs
and cures. Even though there were medical doctors but most people couldn’t pay for
such services, so they tried to solve all illnesses in person. Women were the house
doctors with their knowledge about herbs and how to use them correctly.
Additionally everybody had to know how to sing, dance and had to be able to read
notes.
Why was nobody expecting a long life? Because of the minimal sanitation in every
city or village. Dirty water went through the open sewer in the mid of every street.
Also most people didn’t bath more than once every year. The Queen was an
exception, she bathed every month. Death was part of their normal life. So it wasn’t
surprising when a kid died and some people gave their children the same name
because they knew that one child would presumably die early.
Also the plague broke out in London 1592 and another 30.000 people died because
of this disease. If it doesn´t sound like a big number you have to know the total
population was only about 200.000 people. So 15% of London died within 2 years.
Because the Queen didn’t understand how the disease plague did really work, they
thought it would spread through bad smells. So every woman who could afford it, had
loads of flowers around them so they could save their health.
Also the Queen made laws about the clothing you were allowed to wear. These laws
were called „sumptuary laws“, it was depending on the class you were in. Especially
imported wool or silk were restricted for people of higher ranks. She often dressed
herself in fine clothes. Her dresses often weighed more than 200 pounds!
Alina, Colin, Fiona, Jannik, Nele
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
Unknown facts and unsolved secrets
The myth about the great writer and poet William Shakespeare already begins at his
birth. It is only passed down that he was baptized on 26 th April 1564 but there is no
clear date of his birth. In regard to the then traditional way that children are baptized
three days after birth it is said that he was born on 23 rd April 1564. Furthermore he
was born under the old Julian calendar. That means after the today’s Gregorian
calendar his birthday is the 3 rd May. But not only his date of birth, also his name is a
puzzle. There are more than eighty variations of the spelling of his name. No records
of him ever spelling it the way that is known today exist.
As eighteen years young he married a woman surprisingly named Anne Hathaway who
was eight years older than Shakespeare. On their marriage she was already three
months pregnant so there was no other choice than get married.
Shakespeare himself never got a high degree. His parents never learned to read or
to write but his father had another important and respected job: He was Ale taster.
Ale was beer made with top fermenting yeast and was drunk by the poorest farmer
to the Queen herself.
Maybe realized before, there is a gap in Shakespeare’s resume. After the birth of his
twins 1585 is a seven year’s period of time which is called “the
lost years”. It is not known what he did in this time but theories
exist that he was an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire or
that he worked as a horse attendant at some finer theatres in
London.
Because of his low education level and sudden fame scholars
today argue about the real identity of the man who wrote all the
plays. Rumours that the seventeenth Earl of Oxford, Edward de
Vere, wrote the plays under the pseudonym “Shakes-spare”
keep the historians occupied. As a noble de Vere could not write for the normal folk
and only for the nobility and so it is suspected that he used an assumed name.
But also the in those days famous writer Christopher Marlowe is a prime candidate.
Officially he died in 1593 in a brawl. But short time after his
Edward de Vere
death astonishingly Shakespeare’s works are published.
Marlowe’s brilliance of writing fits to the Shakespearean way of writing. Also the fact
that Shakespeare comes of an uneducated family raises questions how a man like
that could write such plays. Even comparing Marlowe’s portrait to one of
Shakespeare’s shows a not to miss similarity. Because of that many scholars believe
that Marlowe published his works only under Shakespeare’s name.
Alina, Colin, Fiona, Jannik, Nele
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Life
Even the appearance of
Shakespeare is a mystery. Most
images that show him were
painted after his death.
a portrait of C. Marlowe: could it
also be Shakespeare?
sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323#married-life
http://shakespeare-gesellschaft.de/info/faqs/shakespeare/biographie.html
http://www.know-britain.com/cities_towns/stratford_upon_avon_3.html
http://8th-grade-english-shakespeare.blogspot.de/2008/07/daily-life-in-shakespearestime.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portraits_of_Shakespeare
http://www.hoerzu.de/wissen-service/wissen/william-shakespeare
http://www.skygaze.com/content/mysteries/Shakespeare.shtml
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/blackfriars.html
http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-facts/
Alina, Colin, Fiona, Jannik, Nele
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
Chapter 4: His Works
Finn, Hanna, Isabelle, Jakob S., Madelaine, Marisa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
Shakespeare is known all over the world for his talent and creativity as a playwright and poet,
as well as for his distinct way of transporting the emotions and conflicts of his characters
through his language. This style is a product of, for his time, usual patterns as well as ingenuity
or genius on his part when it came to adapting and mixing styles.
Development:
In his first plays, Shakespeare used a very conventional style of writing with little natural fit for
drama. His poetry is relying on extensive metaphors and conceits while often being rhetorical all in all more for actors to declaim on stage rather than speak normally. This might result in a
pause of the action or sounding unnatural or forced.
Over time, Shakespeare adapted this traditional form, mixing in a freer and more natural style.
This fluent integration runs through his whole career and is possibly most noticeable in Romeo
and Juliet and other works from the mid-1590s, tuning his metaphors more towards the needs
of his drama.
1589
~1596
first publications,
adaptation for own use,
very conventional style,
mix of free and traditional style,
may create unwanted pauses
when performed
tuned towards drama
->Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer
Night's Dream
1600
emotion scenes in particluar, more varied and
twisted, irregularity in
structure, effect of
spontaneity
->after Hamlet
With growing mastery of the blank verse he used in his sonnet form, Shakespeare was able to
change the flow of the play and give it more flexibility, thus improving his previously used style.
The blank verse in his sonnets was composed in iambic pentameters and him making
extensive use of puns and imagery, while often sounding nice, had a tendency to monotony
due to very similar structure when looking at multiple poems.
Further variation of Shakespeare's style can be found in his plays succeeding Hamlet were
particular improvement can be found in his emotional scenes. Here, his work became more
varied and concentrated while having a more twisted plot. He achieved this by varying
extremely in sentence structure and length as well as using run-on lines and quick succession
of metaphors, not rarely leaving the reader to make sense of it all by himself. In some of his
romances, shifts of time and surprising plot twists cause an effect of spontaneity.
Form:
In Shakespeare's plays, monologues or soliloquies are often used as a method of showing a
characters motivations, inner conflicts and/or aspirations through his own thoughts, enabling
the reader to get a clearer picture of his character. Furthermore, play on words and double
meanings paired with humour as a key element of most of his plays, including controversial
sexual puns in practically every one of them, are commonly found in Shakespeare’s work. This
Finn, Hanna, Isabelle, Jakob S., Madelaine, Marisa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
went as far as dominating over the historical material in Henry IV and not only playing a role in
his comedic plays.
When it comes to his general style, Shakespeare could be compared to Christopher Marlowe,
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. In addition, as was and is common practice, he used
material from other writers for plays like Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet and produced more than
enough to be copied after his death.
What really sets Shakespeare apart from other popular writers of his age was that his
characters, while often enough seeming deeply disturbed or flawed, were able to command the
sympathy of his audience through their natural and "human" character design and
development. In his plays he goes far beyond the usual flat or stereotypical characters of his
generation and displays the whole range of human emotions through his characters. A good
example for that is Macbeth, who murdered friends and families for his position of power but
keeps the reader’s sympathy by showing his complex and human feelings and thoughts and
gets away with being flawed, by human. By making the development of his characters the
central role of his plays, Shakespeare changed what could be accomplished by drama.
Shakespeare's religious attitude
William Shakespeare is well known as a mystery which stays interesting even after more than
150 years. Nobody knows if he wrote all the plays and sonnets or if he even existed. It's the
same for his religion. His attitude towards religion is still debated controversially. There are two
religions which are discussed mainly: the Anglican Church and Catholicism.
There isn't really any evidence which would be able to proof one of the two possibilities. The
more reasonable possibility seems to be the Anglican Church because this is the first result you
can find on the internet. But on the other hand Shakespeare's family may have been Catholic.
Shakespeare's play " Romeo an Juliet" is very influenced by religion. The scene where Romeo
meets Juliet for the first time is full of religious words, word plays and phrases. Of course the
audience knew all the puns, words and meanings because the religion had a big influence on
the daily life in Shakespeare's time. It's also interesting that "Romeo and Juliet" is set in Italy
which was Catholic at that time. Furthermore there is Friar Lawrence. He secretly marries
Romeo to his 13 year-old love Juliet. Friars were expected to be full of human weaknesses but
Shakespeare's character did not fulfill this cliché.
But the most interesting scene was the one where both lovers commit suicide because this
action leads to the question if they both go to heaven or to hell. Suicide is forbidden by church
and by God. The fact that all this took place in Italy shocked the audience in Shakespeare's
time even more.
Shakespeare: Sonnets
Finn, Hanna, Isabelle, Jakob S., Madelaine, Marisa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
The main theme of an English sonnet is usually the love for a beautiful but unattainable woman.
Often there is a twist at the end of the sonnet where the mood changes (heroic couplet), a
feature Shakespeare often made use of in his sonnets that were published in 1609 (without his
permission). His famous sonnets are:
o
o
o
o
o
Sonnet 18: „Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer´s Day?“
Sonnet 116: „Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds“
Sonnet 29: When In Disgrace With Fortune and Mens´s Eyes“
Sonnet 73: „That Time Of Year Thou Mayst In Me Behold“
Sonnet 1: „From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase“
Now I’d like to take a closer look at a Shakespearean sonnet. Therefore I chose „Sonnet 18“
which we have already talked about in class. On the left side is the original text and the right
side is a version in modern English for better understanding:
Sonnet 18: „Shall I Compare Thee to s Summer´s Day?“
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
You are more lovely and more constant:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
Rough winds shake the beloved buds
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
And summer is far too short:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
At times the sun is too hot,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
Or often goes behind the clouds;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
everything sometimes will lose its beauty
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
By misfortune or by nature's planned
out course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
But your youth shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor will you lose the beauty that you posses;
Finn, Hanna, Isabelle, Jakob S., Madelaine, Marisa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, Nor will death claim you for his own,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
Because in my eternal verse you will live
forever.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long as there are people on this earth,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
So long will this poem live on, making you
immortal.
® The sonnet has 4 stanzas, the first three all have 4 lines each and the last one has 2 (heroic
couplet)
® The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
® Shakespeare compares the woman he loves to a beautiful summer’s day
® The theme is love and beauty. Shakespeare writes about a woman he loves dearly. He
thinks she is very beautiful.
® editor’s note (Ne): perhaps its about the art of writing a sonnet!
® The attitude of this poem is romantic; Shakespeare wants to flatter the woman he loves
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His most important works
dramas
Shakespeare's works are popular in the whole world. Especially in schools you get to know
them. Nearly every play is a classic of the English literature. Also they are counted among the
most significant and performed dramas in the world. In most cases the dramas are tragedies
and have five acts. The central themes are love or crime and often the main characters have a
bad destinies. Often he used dramatic effects like switching between comedy and tragedy. His
most important works are Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet.
Hamlet (1601/1602)
Hamlet is a mixture of a love and a crime story. Hamlet is the son of the king of Denmark.
Hamlet's father dies and appears as a ghost and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by
Hamlet's uncle Claudius. Hamlet is nor sure if that really happened and if he can trust the
ghost. He investigates and finds out that Claudius is guilty. In the end everything is revealed but
everybody dies.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
“To be, or not to be: that is the question!”
Romeo & Juliet (1597)
Romeo & Juliet is a mixture of a love and a crime story, too. It's the most popular work during
his lifetime. The title characters are still regarded as archetypal young lovers.
The tragedy is about two families and they are at enmity. The son of the Montagues (Romeo)
and the daughter of the Capulets (Juliet) fall in love but in the end they both die.
“When I saw you I fell in love and you smiled because you knew.”
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“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou
wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet
Hamlet
Romeo & Juliet
The life of Shakespeare as rumour has it
Shakespeare is a name that every man or woman, who enjoyed a tiny bit of education, knows.
When you ask them who that man was they will probably look at you with a bit of a bewildered
expression and answer something like 'well, you must know Romeo & Juliet'. And that's mostly
it.
Over three centuries of historians, scholars and biographers tried to unveil the greatest literary
genius in history. The result may be a bit frustrating because Shakespeare definitely is still not
uncovered and laid open for everyone to examine him and his life . In fact we don't even know
for sure when he was born or when he died, let alone if Shakespeare was just one person or a
group or even a man. But for sure this is what keeps him alive until today.
Ever since People had the natural need to discover and question everything; and Shakespeare
is no exception. All the rumours, tales and whispered words from back then tell you something
else about the legend.
There is, for example, the belief that he was God's own spy. Shakespeare’s plays are full of
conspiracies. The idea that he didn’t just write conspiracies but lived one as well is an
entertaining theory of his early life. Maybe this is not so true. But the tale that he ruled all of
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England? Perhaps Shakespeare was actually Queen Elizabeth I herself?! And that are not even
the strangest theories you can find out there.
It is also said about Shakespeare that in reality he was a boring, colourless and pessimistic
person who could have never been able to write such powerful and famous dramas which are
richly portraying the range and depth of human nature. Mark Twain (*1835, † 1910) sulkily said
that when Shakespeare died in (probably) Stratford it would not have been an event. It would
have made no more excitement in England than the death of any other forgotten theatre-actor
did. Nobody would have come down from London; there would've been no lamenting poems
and no national tears - there would've been merely silence and nothing more.
This is called the 'Sour Grape' theory. They think that the only thing possible is that a group of
men wrote his works and just published under a common pseudonym. The representatives of
this story believe that Shakespeare was just a man who had only money on his mind and was
an unlikeable guy who lent money to people at high rates. At last this would support the 'verynear-to-a-fact' fact that Shakespeare died, unlike the most of his colleagues in this era, not
hungry and poor on the road but quite rich. It is more likely though, that there is a hint of envy,
reputational damage and claptrap involved as the fellowship of this theory is based on a lot of
authors.
Above all we know pretty sure that Shakespeare had more than one job. He wrote an
impressive amount of dramas, comedies and sonnets but was also an actor. And after all there
is nothing known of what happened in Shakespeare's life between 1583 and 1592. He may
have taught at school, worked in a lawyer's office, served a rich man's estate or travelled with a
company of actors. In conclusion – we can't be sure how and where or even when exactly he
earned his money, for it is said that he didn't publish his works in his lifetime; two of his friends
are held responsible for this.
To come back to Shakespeare being the Queen, there are more propositions of him being a
woman. Amelia Bassano Lanier, a furtive Jew and the illegitimate daughter of an Italian-born,
Elizabethan court musician, was just recently added to the exhaustingly long list of persons who
could have been Shakespeare. But her name is not new to Shakespeare studies. In 1979,
British historian A.L. Rowse suggested that Bassano Lanier, with her family's Mediterranean
skin colouring, was the famous 'dark lady of the sonnets'. Bassano is said to have written the
sonnets about herself; as with the plays, Shakespeare was simply a name used to hide her
identity. Taunted at the time, that view is now commonplace among academics.
Furthermore it was claimed in 2004 that Mary Sidney Herbert was the true father of
Shakespeare's works. Ms Herbert was the Countess of Pembroke, a soignée literary dame,
well-read and energetic; she ran a literary society and wrote plays and poetry. And, unusually
for this time, she was educated, having studied history, geography, medicine, languages,
music, alchemy and - needlework. There are of course more personalities who could've been
able to compose such brilliant work. But it would take certainly a whole book to just list them,
left aside explain.
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There are for sure more rumours about his authorship and a lot of things to discover and
explain –or making the attempt to do so- but this are already some good to know things that are
worth mentioning when the time is right.
Shakespeare is an impressive and, when you think about it, rather unknown personality who is
kept alive by these wafting and again and again reboiled stories. Even while he was alive he
represented a person who was much speculated -and therefore loved- about.
The ongoing identity problem
Oxfordians vs. Stratfordians
The Stratfordians say that is was the young William Shakespeare from Stratford Apon Avon,
the actor, born in April 1564, who wrote all the plays and sonnets.
They say that there's no doubt although it is still a theory and could never be proven.
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
The Oxford Theory is the most famous theory about Shakespeare’s authorship and exists since
1920. It was originated by J.Thomas Looney a British English teacher who became church
leader of the "Religion Humanity" later on.
Oxfordians say that it is impossible that young William Shakespeare wrote the plays because
he couldn’t have the knowledge to write about all these things.
Edward de Vere was born on 12th April 1550 in Hedingham Castle and died on 24th June 1604
in Hackney Wick, Middlesex. He was the 17th Earl of Oxford and a ward of Queen Elizabeth.
His father died 1562 when Edward was twelve years old and his mother married another man.
He was sent to live in the household of Queen Elizabeth's advisor Sir William Cecil and married
his daughter Anne Cecil later on. Furthermore he was a trained writer and earned some awards
for his works.
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Oxfordiens say that the real Shakespeare was Edward de Vere and that some of the plays are
autobiographical. There favourite example is Hamlet and the role of Polonius the father of
Hamlet's love. Hamlet is autobiographical because his father died early and his mother married
another man and Hamlet was in love with Ophelia the daughter of Polonius who wasn't noble
like Oxford's wife. They say that Sir Cecil was his model for Polonius. They also say that there
is no advice in Shakespeare's testament that he has ever written any word.
Disputants say that the awards he earned for his writing were very slightly. The main argument
against this theory is that Oxford died 1604 and that eleven Shakespearean plays were
published later.
Who is William Shakespeare?
If you take a look at this portrait by Martin Droeshout published 1623 in the fort folio showing
the man we call William Shakespeare there are some details you might think about.
There is a line on the right side of his face you can't explain anatomically. It looks like the man
would wear a mask to hide his real face.
This picture shows his doublet but not in the correct way. It isn't symmetric. The left side is
shown as if you would look in a mirror standing behind this man.
People think that the painter wanted to tell the people that this man isn't the writer himself but a
mask and that they have to turn the whole thing around.
Ben Jonson another English playwright from this time said about this portrait:
„for gentle Shakespeare cut"
Maybe it was only manufactured for Shakespeare but not showing the man behind this name.
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The Marshall-Portrait, a replica of the Droeshout-Portrait from 1640 doesn't show these
mysterious details but is subtitled with the words:
„This Shadow is renowned Shakespeare's?"
There is no reason for young William Shakespeare to hide himself behind a mask, a mirror or a
shadow but for Edward de Vere there is...
Another hint are some pictures in the First Folio from 1623 which appeared in Thomas
Watson's Hecatompathia 42 years ago.
The Hecatompathia was dedicated to Edward de Vere.
There's another picture from Hecatompathia which appears in the first redaction of Hamlet from
1603.
Hecatompathia,1582
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Hamlet, 1603
There is no connection between Shakespeare and de Vere so why should Shakespeare use
these symbols if he isn't Edward de Vere himself? That's the theory of many Oxfordinas and
Stratfordians can't say anything against it.
The words shake spear appeared firstly in 1578 in the translation of a Latin speech to Lord
Oxford written and held by Gabriel Harvey. He used the words:
"vultus tela vibrat"
These words were translated as:
„thy countenance shake spears"
Harvey wanted to say to Oxford that he should throw the sword or spear away an should
capture the pen. He underlined the contrast between "arms and letter" which was said by the
use of "shake a spear" and "pen". Theorists say that Harvey said that Oxford should use
"Shake-spear" as "pen name".
Ben Jonson's play "Every man in his humour" (1599) is also interpretated as an apparentness
of Shakespeare's real identity.
1596 buys John Shakespeare the peerage of a gentleman and the permission to wear a coat of
arms for his son William. This peerage cost £30, more than his yearly income.
Shakespeare's heraldic motto was:
„Non sans Droit" (not without droit)
There's a scene in Jonson's play where Sogliardo tells his friend Puntarvolo that he bought a
peerage for £ 30. Puntarvolo asks him about his coat of arms showing a boar without a head
and makes a proposal for a heraldic motto:
"Not without mustard"
Lord Oxford's heraldic animal was a boar...
Shakespeare's sonnets were published in 1609. In the dedication was written by Thomas
Thorpe: "to our ever living poet". The phrases "ever living" and "our" are only used for dead
people. The title is also unusual. It isn't "Sonnets by William Shake-Speare" but "ShakeSpeares's sonnets" also only used for dead authors.
Shakespeare died 1616, Oxford already 1604...
Shakespeare's first two works were dedicated to the Earl of Southampton and the First Folio to
the Earles Pembroke and Montgomery.
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It wasn't possible to dedicate a book to noblemen without their permission.
There is no relation between these men and William Shakespeare but between them and
Oxford: Montgomery was married with Oxford's daughter Susan and Pembroke and
Southampton were engaged with his daughters Elisabeth and Bridget.
Shakespeare's bust
1656
nowadays
So, where does the paper and the feather come from?
Did he really write anything?
Or is he just a myth?
We will never know...
Finn, Hanna, Isabelle, Jakob S., Madelaine, Marisa
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Works
Sources
Shakespeare's sonnets. (2015, May 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia .
William Shakespeare. (2015, May 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia .
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/54422/bogus-bard-5-stories-about-shakespeare-we-wish-weretrue
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/much-ado-about-will-the-legends-ofshakespeare-475138.html
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-collar-theory.htm
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/
http://www.shmoop.com/shakespeare/
http://whatculture.com/history/6-myths-about-william-shakespeare-that-you-wrongly-believe.php
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Chapter 5: His Theatre
Anna, Alvar, Kimberly, Mareike, Shellie
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Theatre
Shakespeare and his theatre
The Theatre of England between 1562 and 1642 is known as` English Renaissance Theatre` or
`Elizabethan Theatre`. In the 16th century a cultural boom caused the appearance of professional
troupes of actors. This century was stamped by an imbalance of interests between middle classes
and nobility because feudalistic structures began to disappear and the regional government
authority was reformed. Due to England’s global power and the economic ascent the middle class
grew continuous and with it their material prosperity. So more and more people were able to
require co-determination. Furthermore the level of education became unitary which made a social
ascent easier. The changed social condition is a crucial factor for the Elizabethan Theatre. Now
the audience recruited craftsman and merchants as well as nobility.
Particularly the medieval morality plays, for example the everlasting battle between good and bad,
and also the mystery plays that contain biblical events influenced the Elizabethan Theatre.
Allusions to everyday life were current too.
Because the London city government refused professional acting, the building of playhouses was
temporarily forbidden. Therefore actors were forced to receive permission by the Lord Mayor and
Aldermen. Afterward they were limited to the interior yards of inns. It was also common to give
performances on removable stages.
(The planks-on-barrels booth stage was easily set up in an inn-yard)
1576 the English actor and entrepreneur James Burbage was the man who built the first public
theatre under protection of a royal patent. Altogether there were almost twenty Elizabethan
theatres built during this epoch.
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Shakespeare's plays were performed on stages in provincial theatres, private and public
playhouses. Although London was the center of theatre, some performances took place in
provincial towns. However there did not exist special buildings for acting performances.
private playhouse
In private playhouses the stage was surrounded by the audience on three sides like in the public
playhouses. The big difference were the so called lord boxes at the side. In general the admission
charge was higher which caused a completely different audience. Only rich people could afford
these tickets meaning that the audience was much smaller. So while public playhouses had space
for about 3000 people, private playhouses could only host approximately 800 people.
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public playhouse
The Globe is the most well-known of all the
Elizabethan theatres, which all have more or less
the same structure.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 along the south bank of the Thames in London. Designed and
constructed for the Chamberlain`s man (company of actors) by Cuthbert Burbage, it became the
most attractive theatre.
The lease for the land on which the Globe stood was co-owned by Burbage, his brother and by a
group of five actors including William Shakespeare, who acquired much of his wealth from
holdings in the Globe. 1613 a misfired canon ball set the Globe's thatched roof on fire and the
whole theatre was destroyed. It was rebuilt with a tiled roof and opened in the following year.
Structure
The theatre is a round
or octagonal timber
frame construction (diameter about 30m). Altogether it has three floors and space for
approximately 3000 people.
The viewer could choose between different seats:
-The courtyard, in open-air and only with standing room, was
located directly around the outer stage.
-It was possible so sit in the framed gallery. Seating became more
expensive in the higher floors.
The stage had two
parts:
-The outer stage, which was a rectangular platform extending into
the courtyard, from the back wall.
-The inner stage was between two outstanding wings at the back of
the outer stage. This stage was used by actors who were in a scene
but not directly involved in the action of the play.
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Below the outer and inner stages was a huge cellar called "hell". It was as big as the two stages
together, and it had at least two trap-doors on the outer stage and one trap door (also called "the
grave trap") on the inner stage. This allows for example the sudden appearance of ghost.
left: trap-door; right: Reconstruction of the Swan tiring-house and stage superstructure
Behind the stages was the tiring-house with the dressing rooms, the prop room and the musician's
gallery as well as passages to the stage.
Above it was a superstructure consisted of huts called “heavens”. From this place it was possible to
hang down props over the stage or for actors to even descend to the floor. Also the often fired
cannon was located in the huts, likewise the trumpeter who announced the beginning of a
performance.
A flag was on the top of the playhouse. The raised flag was a signal to the people that a play would
be performed that afternoon.
In what ways was it different to today´s stage?
Differences between Elizabethan theatre and Modern theatre
Elizabethan:
•
The most famous theatre is of course the Globe
Theatre, which was constructed for the playwright William
Shakespeare, as you all know. The architect was probably a
man called Peter Street.
•
The audience was seated around three sides of the
stage. Poorer people stood in front of the stage, this area was
called the 'open yard'. Wealthier people wanted to be
segregated and chose to sit more comfortable and expensive
'Galleries'. The poor people would often talk through the plays
and occasionally would throw old and rotten food on the stage.
•
Most plays were seen in the afternoon and outdoors in
Elizabethan times. These were lit by the afternoon sun. Indoor theatres were lit by candlelight,
although it was a bit dangerous because the stage might catch fire.
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•
The costumes were not good quality, because they were
mostly second hand, that caused that the choices were limited.
There were also laws on the costume an actor can wear due to
the fact that it all depended on the background and social
status. Moreover the costumes were not really period specific,
sometimes the actors just wore the clothes from their day.
Modern theatre:
•
Nowadays there are a lot of big and famous
theatres, nearly in every big city. Also the shape is very
different, especially the really modern ones, most times
they look really imposing. But a lot of theaters are very
old buildings either. A theatre play will now play for
weeks, month and even years, which is much longer than
back in Elizabethan times.
Sydney Opera House
Staatsschauspiel Dresden
•
Seating arrangements are very similar. The classic view for the theatre is the three-sided
view of the stage, and that tradition carries on now. But the seating prices have changed for the
opposite. Where the price was once cheaper for seats in the front row, they are now some of the
most expensive seats. Seats further away from the stage have become cheaper because of the bad
view of the stage.
•
Although there are still some afternoon performances
but rare, nowadays most people go to theatre in the night. Fancy
dinners are also popular choices before or after going out.
According to the special effects, the theatres now are lit with
high quality lights, spotlights and occasional disco lights. The
technology is mainly computer-controlled. Furthermore
nowadays we have microphones, so we use them to our advantage. They are used to protect voice,
sound and musical instrument and that the audience is able to listen to the actors more clearly. We
can use sound effects and music to create an atmosphere, but in the 16 th century they could only
use the voices.
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•
Nowadays there is a big spectrum of costumes, for
every period there are special clothes and it is payed
attention very well. Furthermore there is the work as a
costume designer who had studied in art academies,
sometimes he also designs stage elements. The costume
designer works closely to the regisseur, they have to
discuss which colors and materials should be used for the
costumes and other things. The costume designer ' plays a big role’ in the production of a play.
Differences between Shakespeare’s and the modern theatre
To show the differences of the audience and the actors between theatre in modern times and
theatre in Shakespeare’s time I want to introduce you to two social stratums. Moreover I will give
you some differences between the plots of the theatre plays.
The audience
The audience of a Shakespeare’s play was composed of tanners, butchers, iron-workers, millers,
seamen from the ships docked in the Thames, glovers, servants, shopkeepers, wig-makers, bakers,
and countless other tradesmen and their families.
There have been three different types of spectators. The first called “groundlings” would pay one
penny (which was almost an entire day’s wage) to go to the play. They were standing in front of the
stage. Often they’ve been very loud-they talked, they shouted and they were throwing thing, even if
they thought the play was bad.
"[There are] separate galleries and there one stands more comfortably and moreover can sit, but one
pays more for it. Thus anyone who remains on the level standing pays only one English penny: but if
he wants to sit, he is let in at a farther door, and there he gives another penny. If he desires to sit on a
cushion in the most comfortable place of all, where he not only sees everything well, but can also be
seen then he gives yet another English penny at another door. And in the pauses of the comedy food
and drink are carried round amongst the people and one can thus refresh himself at his own cost."
(Diary of Thomas Platter)
The typical spectator in nowadays has to have enough money to pay for the play. It costs more
than in Shakespeare’s times. Often the spectator is well-educated and cultured, otherwise he would
not like to go to theatre, because sometimes it is hard to follow the plot. The audience is about 3560 years old and always dressed-up in robes and suits.
In comparison, the audience in Shakespeare’s time was far more boisterous-loud, hot-tempered
and as interested in the happenings off stage as on stage.
The actors
To be an actor in nowadays is very different from being an actor in Shakespearean times.
Only men and boys have been allowed to play. Often they started, when they were young. The
female part in a play was played by the boys, because their voice was still high. The actors were
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expected to be able to sword fights, to sing and to dance and to have a good memory for learning
lines. Most of the actors worked in theatre companies. Examples for a company are the
“Chamberlain’s Men” and the “King’s Men”. The actors earned money with the shareholder
system. They shared the costs and the profits the company made. They earned more money, when
they played in cities. An actor was practicing his role in the morning and was playing in the
afternoon. He did not have much time for rehearsals. Plays were performed in repertory, so the
same play was never performed two days in a row.
There are different types of actors today. The ones, that studied it at a university and the one who
are supernumeraries. The traditional low prestige of an actor is often modified by the appreciation
from the fans. It is hard to earn as much money as you need to live on it. Men and women are
allowed to play.
The plots
It was very important for a play in Shakespearean time to be funny. Otherwise none wanted to
watch it. The plot had to be simple and understandable.
It was for example about
· Love
· kingdom
· wars
The plots in plays today are about
·
love
·
social problems and differences
·
formerly times
The plays in nowadays are often to learn something and of course to have fun. It is much more
quietly in the theatre today. The audience is allowed to applause in the end-sometimes in the
middle of the play.
There is a big difference in the reputation of the theatre. To go to a play now, seems to be much
more intellectual than in Shakespearean times.
Influence on theatre:
William Shakespeare totally transformed everything we know as theatre; this is evidenced by his
moving storylines, complex characters, and current day Broadway shows.
Shakespeare's works have been a major influence on the theatre today. He created some of the
most admired plays in Western literature (with Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear being ranked
among the world's greatest plays), and transformed English theatre by expanding expectations
about what could be accomplished through plot and language.
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Specifically, in plays like Hamlet, Shakespeare "integrated characterization with plot", such that if
the main character was different in any way, the plot would be totally changed.
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare mixed tragedy and comedy together to create a new romantic
tragedy genre (previous to Shakespeare, romance had not been considered a worthy topic for
tragedy).
Through his soliloquies, Shakespeare showed how plays could explore a character's inner
motivations and conflict (up until Shakespeare, soliloquies were often used by playwrights to
"introduce (characters), convey information, provide an exposition or reveal plans").
Many times critics, for instance, compared a character in a modern play to one from Shakespeare.
For example, in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," the women characters, Rosa, Parritt's
mother, and Hickey's wife, Eva evoke Shakespearean characters. The deficiency of maternal love
in "Iceman" reminds the viewer/reader of Hamlet's mother whose selfish desires cause her to be
unconcerned with her son.
The ability to charm, distract, and influence men by women is portrayed in both Shakespearean
and modern plays. Of course, Lady MacBeth comes to mind. A musical that has a character who
parallets Lady MacBeth is Bizet's "Carmen Jones". George Bernard Shaw's plays often examine
women's influence on men as in, for example, "Candida“ in which Candida and Miss Prosperine
Garrett affect men's actions.
Thematic parallels to Shakespeare exist in musicals such as "West Side Story," (Romeo...) and
Hollywood's version of "A Comedy of Errors," "Big Business" with Bette Midler.
Finally, Anton Chekhov's play, "Seagulls" is thematically similar to "Hamlet" as Chekhov
redefines some of Hamlet's dilemmas. Shakespeare wrote real events and added feelings of
emotions that span all cultures. While they all started happily, they always ended in death.
Sometimes the protagonist began in a bad place and, by the end, the events changed for the better.
Shakespeare revolutionized theatre because he wrote shows that appeal to the masses, shows that
people could relate to, shows that are still performed today. And all the shows that appear on
Broadway today are due to the great works of Shakespeare. With moving story lines, complex
characters, and current- day Broadway shows, it is impossible to deny that Shakespeare did not
transform everything we know as theatre.
So Shakespeare had extensive influence on modern theater from the physical aspect to the thematic
(social, political) to the development of genres such as comedy/parody. And, character development
is one area of great influence.
Anna, Alvar, Kimberly, Mareike, Shellie
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Theatre
What was it like to be a playwright during Shakespeare’s lifetime?
During the sixteenth century a playwright had a different role than today.
Playwrights were not motivated by money. Often the authors of literary works were anonymous or
they let their works publish posthumous. Partly, this had special reasons, which will be illustrated
later on.
In contrast to poets who were highly accepted and viewed as educated intellectuals playwrights
were not that respected. Because writing was not a commen occupation, playwrights used to have
civil jobs or they worked as actors as well. They worked on their plays more as a hobby and
therefore they got rarely paid. Even though it was not a high payment, it was still important for the
authors of literary works.
The person who paid the author was called patron and usually a rich aristocrat. An author used to
have different patrons during his life or career but the number of different patrons was variable:
An author called Robert Greene wrote seventeen books during his lifetime and was signed at
sixteen different patrons. Although it is an extreme example, it shows how difficult it was to find
someone under whose patronage an author could write for his whole lifetime. This depended on
different reasons such as the relationship between patron and playwright or financial success. So, it
was difficult to find such a patron but it was not completely impossible.
William Shakespeare had only one single patron namely Henry Wriothesley, the 3 rd Duke of
Southampton.
But not only the payment was important to the playwrights.
Another considerable function of the patrons was protection. It
happened that acting groups that did not possess sponsorship from
Shakespeare‘s Patron: Henry Wriothesley
a nobleman were classified as vagabonds and thus punished
extremely. The list of possible penalties included branding,
whipping, enslavement (after re-establishing slavery in 1598) and
even the death sentence (repealed in 1593). Therefore it was
inevitable for the acting groups, actors and authors to be
patronized by aristocratic noblemen.
However, to be a patron also had some advantages. The name of
the aristocrat was carried across the country as the acting group
travelled. This brought prestige and publicity.
Later on, the commercial theatre became more and more popular which opened a new potential
market for playwrights. Theatres represented a better source of income than publishers or
patrons, so that playwrights started to collaborate with theatres.
Anna, Alvar, Kimberly, Mareike, Shellie
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Theatre
I have mentioned before, authors often let others publish their work. Especially Shakespeare is
popular for this. Most of his works were published 1623, seven years after his death. The reason for
that phenomenon was the censorship. It was too dangerous to publish plays which included
political criticism. Back then, the stage was the only place that allowed to reach a large audience.
There it could be able to bring a political message to many people at the same time. The
“spymaster” of the Queen, Sir Francis Walsingham, noticed that after a while and censorship
began. A noticeable number of playwrights were tortured or even killed and from there on the
authors started to use pseudonyms to conceal their true identity. Thus they could escape a
punishment.
Another way to avoid that danger, was to hide their criticism by setting the play in the past. This
and other tricks make Shakespeare’s plays timeless and even increase their value from today’s
perspective. To put it into a nutshell one can say that being a playwright during the Elizabethan
Age was way more difficult than nowadays because of social, financial and political difficulties.
Anna, Alvar, Kimberly, Mareike, Shellie
KfE Ne 2015: Shakespeare and His Theatre
References
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schauspieler#Ausbildung_und_Beruf
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/essays/shakespeareaudience.html
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2014/01/actors.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_influence#Influence_on_theatre
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-types-influences-does-shakespeare-have-all-40623
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabethanisches_Theater
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wriothesley,_3._Earl_of_Southampton
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/events/event91.html
http://www.literarygenius.info/william-shakespeare-playwright.htm
http://www.n-tv.de/leute/buecher/Shakespeare-und-wie-er-die-Welt-sah-article12720131.html
http://www.zeit.de/2014/16/shakespeare-der-groesste/seite-2
http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/education/elizabethan-theater
Anna, Alvar, Kimberly, Mareike, Shellie