King Lear Context

King Lear Context

1. James I - attitudes to kingship

   • When Elizabeth I died in 1603 there was no direct heir to the English throne as she had no children. James VI of Scotland was then asked.
   • Introduced 'the unite' the first coin with Britain written on it
   • He was overwhelmed by England's wealth and began to live an extravagant life

2. Women - attitudes and legacy of Elizabeth I

   • She is the most filmed British monarch
   • The Portrait of Elizabeth I glorified her, masking her age. She was sometimes shown holding a sieve, a symbol of purity
   • Elizabeth I: Collected Works
   • Queenie (Blackadder)

3. 'The Great Chain of Being' - The Elizabethan world picture

   • The Great Chain of Being was a religious hierarchal structure of all matter and life. It is believed to have been decreed by God.
   • It is a concept derived form Aristotle and it was further developed in the Middle Ages. It reached full expression in early modern Neoplatonism
   • God, angels, demons, stars, moon, kings, princes, nobles, commoners, wild animals, trees, other plants, precious stones, precious metals, other minerals.

4. 'Primogeniture', inheritance laws and c.17th attitudesto legitimacy

   • Fathers of an illegitimate child were obliged to care for a child financially
   • Poor Law 1601-1834 included settlement and removal
   • Act of 1575 punished parents of illegitimate children. The father was committed to jail until the next Quarter Session
   • Act of 1609-10 "any lewd women having had a bastard chargeable may be sent to the house of correction