1. When and where was Shakespeare born?
Though no birth records exist, church records indicate that William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 at the Holy Trinity church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
2. Why was his time period called the Elizabethan Period?
Shakespeare lived during the Elizabethan Age- a remarkable period of English history. Elizabeth I became the Queen of England in 1558, six years before Shakespeare’s birth. (His time period was known as the Elizabethan Period because this time was during Queen Elizabeth’s reign as Queen of England)
3. Describe the system of government during Shakespeare’s time.
The system of government during Shakespeare’s time was a monarchy which meant that one person (Queen Elizabeth) held all the power in the country.
4. Describe the social structure of the time: rich, poor, nobility, commoner, etc.
There were four social classes during the Elizabethan period: the Nobility (the noble families), the Gentry (knights, squires, gentlemen and gentlewomen), the Yeomanry (farmers, tradesmen, and craftworks), and the Poor (makes candles, soaps, ropes).
5. How were women dressed?
The upper class women wore clothes that were coloured yellow, purple, and red. The lower class women wore black, brown, and green; the colour, material, and fabric of the clothes were specified toward certain classes. Women wore dresses, but soon Elizabeth started enforcing women to wear corsages.
6. Describe or provide an illustration of typical hairstyles.
Hairstyles were highly elaborate for the upper class, not only for women, but men often spent more time on their hair than women. The ideal beauty was light hair-coloured and many upper class woman followed this fashion by dying their hair yellow with a mixture of saffron, cumin seed, and oil. Wigs were also commonly used. In fact, beards received a similar amount of attention!
7. Describe crime and punishment during Elizabethan England.
Crime and punishment during the Elizabethan Age differed between the upper and the lower class. The upper class was usually charged for crimes such as treason, and would result in losing their heads. The lower class was charged for crimes such as theft and trespassing. These crimes would result in burned with iron or crushed by weights into rocks.
8. Describe health care (treatment, humours).
During the Elizabethan Age, there were many plagues and diseases that swept through Europe. Doctors would be clothed from head to toe and would wear beak shaped masks that contained herbs. They believed herbs were a remedy towards the diseases, herbs were usually used to treat the sickness.
9. What was the terrible disease during the 1500s? How many people died?
There were two deadly illnesses that was ravaging Europe during Shakespeare’s time: the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) and Typhoid Fever. These sicknesses was the cause of the death of nearly 1/3 of the Elizabethan population, roughly 25 million people in Europe and 43 million people worldwide! The cause of the diseases was the lack of sanitation, especially in major cities such as London.
10. Describe the Elizabethan education system.
Education was given to the upper and middle class boys. The girls were not permitted to attend school, except the upper class girls. The schools were petty, so the upper class children got tutored privately after, but other children, ages 7-14 attended Grammar school. Religion was an important subject in school and was always heavily reinforced.
11. How did Elizabethans entertain themselves?
The most popular activity for the upper class was either fencing or hunting. The entertainment source that appealed to everyone was going to the theater to watch a performance or a play. Games like chess, checkers, and tennis were also extremely popular.
12. Describe sanitation during Shakespeare’s time.
Sanitation in Elizabethan Age was nasty. People did not bathe regularly and everyone was drunk and threw up everywhere. People threw their trash around; they did not take the time to care for it and live in a healthy environment. Water was also a large problem for the people in the city of London. The upper class people had a well to take their water from, but the majority of people grabbed their water from the public fountain. Back then, there was no filtering or water cleansing. The water came from a disgusting river, but people did not know where the water came from.
13. Describe the origins of the Globe Theatre.
The globe Theatre, located in London, England, was a theatre associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend. The Glove theatre was open to the audiences in the summer and the performances took place by daylight; it began to play in the month of May. It was an exciting event and was publicized to everyone; the theatre was always bustling with people. The actors, which were viewed as no better than rogues and vagabonds, were expected to perform their own stunts. They needed lots of skill, such as having sword fighting skills, and also having good memory to memorize their lines and actions.
