SHAKESPEARE'S CONTEXT

SHAKESPEARE'S CONTEXT

1. POLITICS

   • monarchy had all the power
   • The Privy Council was a group of people appointed by the Queen who were in charge of the general administration of the country
   • The job of Parliament was to pass laws and provide the Queen with money when she needed it
   • The government in the Elizabethan era was divided into the monarchy, Privy Council and parliament
   • The job of Parliament was to pass laws and provide the Queen with money when she needed it
   • Queen Elizabeth I was the monarch in the Elizabethan era, and therefore made all ultimate decisions in Elizabethan times
   • Reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603)

2. LIFESTYLE

   • The nobles held great power and frequently lived colorful and extravagant lives
   • Vast majority of the Elizabethan population was quite poor
   • Members of the lower classes in England were mainly uneducated
   • About 95 percent of the population of England lived in these rural districts
   • The peasant farmers performed almost all of the labor
   • Feudal system
   • The queen was believed to be God's representation here on Earth
   • Strict social classes

3. RELIGION

   • The two major religions in Elizabethan England were the Catholic and Protestant religions
   • Reigning Monarchs dictated the 'favoured' religion
   • Queen Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603) succeeded her sister Queen Mary and adhered to the Protestant religion and restored Protestantism as the official religion
   • In the early 1500's the people of England all practised the Roman Catholic religion
   • The convictions and beliefs in these different religions were so strong that they led to the executions of many adherents to both of these Elizabethan religions

4. IDEOLOGY

   • The new ideas, information and increased knowledge about science, technology and astrology led to a renewed interest in the supernatural including witches, witchcraft and ghosts which led to belief in superstitions and the supernatural