Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon.
It was called the Elizabethan Period because it was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 and England was emerging as a leading power. It was also called the “Golden Age.”
The system of government was a personal monarchy with appointed ministers.
Social structure- Class was determined by wealth, fame, skills and birth. There were 6 classes: Monarch, Nobility, Gentry, Merchants, Commoners and Labourers.
Women’s clothing was dictated by the Sumptuary Laws enacted by Queen Elizabeth They were not allowed to wear whatever they liked. Fabric and colour of the clothes were determined by their class status or position. The Queen’s colour was purple and other lesser status colours went from gold to grey. Also embroidery, buttons and other embellishments were allowed depending upon status.
Hairstyles were designed to complement the upper class fashions of the day. Women wore their hair long which they swept up after marriage. The most visible parts of the hair were the sides and front as much of their hair was hidden by some form of head covering.
Crime and Punishment:
A peasant stealing anything worth 5 pence or more would be hanged
A Capital offence was execution by being cut into quarters. This was done while the person was near death from hanging, released by the hangman then quartered.
Treason resulted in decapitation.
Healthcare was based on the philosophies of Hippocrates and Aristotle. Strong herbal remedies were prescribed for some illnesses, leeches were used to draw out bad blood and if you had a toothache the tooth would be pulled. They also believed the body consisted of 4 humours: blood represented air, black bile was earth, yellow bile was fire and phlegm was water. If all were in balance you considered healthy.
The terrible disease during the 1500’s was the plague. It took approximately 80,000 lives or a quarter to a third of the population.
The Elizabethan education system: Boys aged 5-7 were home-schooled and were taught to read and write and be a good Christian. Ages 7-14 went to school and learned Latin, spelling and grammar.
Elizabethans entertained themselves by going to feasts, dances, playing chess and checkers, but their” favourite “activity was going to the theatre.
12. Sanitation during Shakespeare’s time was basically non-existent. London had no sewage system and people did not bathe regularly. The streets were strewn with trash. The rivers were polluted with raw sewage and other waste which caused sicknesses among the poor who got their water from the public wells.
13. The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 in London by Shakespeare’s playing company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men:
People knew there would be a play by the flags that were put out to advertise the next play. Colour coding was used to describe what type of play would be performed. Black stood for tragedy, white meant comedy and red indicated history.
Actors generally did not know their lines in advance until the play was in progress. This was called “cue scripting”.
Actors travelled from town to town on a cart looking for audiences to pay to watch them perform.
Plays were usually held in the afternoon between 2-4pm. Since it was an open-air theatre they relied on natural lighting.
