William Shakespeare: Elizabethan England
iteachicoachiblog.blog...
During Shakespeare's lifetime Elizabethan playwrights cared little about seeing their
work in print. Only the rare drama was actually intended to be read as well as
performed. Writers would usually sell their plays to the theatrical company which
staged the performances,
Queen Elizabeth's England: "The Golden Age"
What types of entertainment did they have in Elizabethan England?
In Elizabethan England, during the times when plays were not completely outlawed, going to the theatre was
the favourite activity of the masses. When the Black Plague killed 1/3 of the population in London,
actors would travel across the English countryside, entertaining farmers. Games like chess, checkers, and
tennis were extremely popular; Queen Elizabeth herself was known to love the game. Reading was also very
popular, and most educated people could read their favorite books in more than one language. The upper
classes participated in fencing tournaments and hunted for sport. All classes seemed to delight in the vicious
form of entertainment known as bear-baiting, but it was without doubt Queen Elizabeth's favourite pastime:
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/entertainment.html
The common people in Elizabethan England wre an ignorant people. Those of the highest rank were well and
laboriously educated according to the contemporary standard; but the rank and file paid no attention to
learning. They neither read, wrote, nor thought.
work in print. Only the rare drama was actually intended to be read as well as
performed. Writers would usually sell their plays to the theatrical company which
staged the performances,
Queen Elizabeth's England: "The Golden Age"
What types of entertainment did they have in Elizabethan England?
In Elizabethan England, during the times when plays were not completely outlawed, going to the theatre was
the favourite activity of the masses. When the Black Plague killed 1/3 of the population in London,
actors would travel across the English countryside, entertaining farmers. Games like chess, checkers, and
tennis were extremely popular; Queen Elizabeth herself was known to love the game. Reading was also very
popular, and most educated people could read their favorite books in more than one language. The upper
classes participated in fencing tournaments and hunted for sport. All classes seemed to delight in the vicious
form of entertainment known as bear-baiting, but it was without doubt Queen Elizabeth's favourite pastime:
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/entertainment.html
The common people in Elizabethan England wre an ignorant people. Those of the highest rank were well and
laboriously educated according to the contemporary standard; but the rank and file paid no attention to
learning. They neither read, wrote, nor thought.
Shakespeare Background Info:
| shakespeare_background_info1.pdf |
The Globe Theater:
http://www.squidoo.com/type=text
| globe1.htm |
| globe_theater1.pdf |
Shakespearean Plays
shakespeare-online.com
1. Tragedies: elements of sadness/tragedy
2. Comedies: humorous/comical
3. Histories: based on historical figures/ times
2. Comedies: humorous/comical
3. Histories: based on historical figures/ times
