Life in Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeths England Queen

Life in Elizabethan England

Queen Elizabeth’s England • • Queen Elizabeth ruled England from 1558 -1603 This time was known as the Elizabethan era Elizabethan England was a leading commercial and military power. The country experienced great prosperity!

London Life • Many Europeans came to London to escape their own war-torn countries. • As a result, London became a cultural center with a diverse population. • New cultural influences breathed new life into science, art, philosophy, literature, and theater. • This movement in the arts is known as the Renaissance (Rebirth en François!).

The Renaissance • Renaissance artists were inspired by “the classics. ” • “The classics” is a term that refers to works of literature from the Greeks and Romans. • Renaissance artists, like Shakespeare, reinvented characters* and stories from Greek and Roman mythology. • *Allusion: a reference a writer makes to another artist’s work

Elizabethan Theater • Elizabethan plays, Shakespeare’s included, were secular in themes and topics. • Secular means non-religious or universal (instead of strictly Catholic, Protestant, etc. ) • London was made-up of a mostly Puritan population that held political power. They did not approve of secular theater. • Lucky for Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth loved theater as did the general population. • The theater district was immensely popular and lucrative!

The End of an Era… • During the Elizabethan era, there were constant outbreaks of the deadly Bubonic Plague or The Black Death. • The large audiences who were attracted to the massive theaters posed a real health hazard to the largely populated city of London. • The plague ravaged London killing 33, 000 people and theaters are shut down officially in 1642. • All theaters are closed until 1660 when the deadly outbreak subsides.