Background Context

Elizabethan England 

1558–1603

During Elizabethan England, time was very hard for the average person. The different classes were very divided. Their was even a system to separate the different kinds of poor within society. The deserving poor, the deserving unemployed and the undeserving poor. Systems and classes such as these were used to ensure that there were always a hierarchy. poverty was a huge thing during this time because science was still developing and people weren't aware of the connection between germs and bacteria and how that effects the human body. many people were ill at the time because of the consent outbreaks of diseases being spread. for the lower class, areas were usually filthy with animals roaming the street which was one of the main causes of bad health amongst the people.  

Crime & Punishment 

The Elizabethan era was a violent time. Where every crime had a violent and cruel punishment met, differing depending on the person, their status and the type of crime committed. Many punishments and executions where witness by the general public which would be around many hundreds of people. The death penalty was a common use of execution. Executions by beheading were considered the least brutal of methods and where mostly done on people of a higher status or noble birth such as royals. there were many other methods of punishments that tortured individuals but this was mostly undertaken with people who's comitted many crimes or prisoners. 

Elizabethan England - Religion - Protestants, Catholics and Jews

The two major religions in Elizabethan England were the Catholic and Protestant religions. 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. 

Elizabethan Life for Women

Elizabethan Women were subservient to men. They were dependent on their male relatives to support them. 

There was little dispute over such arrangements as Elizabethan woman were raised to believe that they were inferior to men and that men knew better. Elizabethan women were tutored at home - there were no schools for girls Elizabethan women were not allowed to enter University Elizabethan women could not be heirs to their father's titles (except female royals) Elizabethan women could not become Doctors or Lawyers Elizabethan women did not have the vote and were not allowed to enter politics There were no Elizabethan women in the Army or Navy Elizabethan women were not allowed to act in the theatres  lower classed women didn't have the same opportunities as higher classed women. They wouldn't of had an education, instead they would have stayed at home and learnt skills to run a household and learn to be perfect house wives. All women are expected to have been married as soon as possible and if that then their local community and family would look down on her as if something wasn't right with her. also it was known that their could become speculation of a women being a witch if she wasn't married. If this was the case women would of lived off of their male relatives to do anything which must of been hard for the lower class. Usually the family of the women would discuss a dowery which means they showing off their worth in money, goods and property in order attract wealthy suiters, however you could imagine how difficult this could be for the lower classed women. women had no choice of who they married because their opinion wasn't regarded which was the social normality.                                                              Clothing & Appearance A woman's beauty and appearance was a very important thing and dictated how they were seen and treated. Because of how young a female would usually give birth took a toll on the women over time. it was fashionable for the woman to be quite pale and makeup was used to achieve this look. corsets were used to give women the desirable fashionable figure of the time, which gave the women great posture but often led for the women to often faint and pass out because of the tight restriction of clothing.       Shakespeare’s London and Elizabethan Theatre audiences Elizabethan theatre audiences   The Elizabethan theatres attracted many people of all classes. The higher classed people and nobles would pay around 5d for better seats in the lords room. Commoners would stand in the theatre pit and would have paid 1d entrance free and 1penny for entrance. The theatre was the only source of entertainment at the time and was a great way for people to socialise.  Theatre Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's time  It was common at the time for actors to tour in theatre companies and travel the country to perform in towns and private homes. the acting profession had a negative connotation of being unruly and a threat to peaceful society. the profession was not deemed as honourable. many tried to shut down theatres Actors would usually start young and become an apprentice or shadow older actors. All actors were required to sing, dance and act and most importantly be able to sword fight. But also have a good memory for learning and retaining lines. This is because a lot of the time the shows were very last minute. Some actors would receive their lines just before the play. Some even got them as they were performing. They used a technique called “cue acting”. This was when someone sat behind the curtains and whispered the lines to the actors. This then eventually led to a technique called “que scripting”. This was where the actors got only their lines, instead of the entire play. Most of this was because there was very little time for the actors to practice their lines before the play.During Shakespeare's time only boys and men were allowed to be actors within England. women acting in Europe and finally was able to act publicly in England 1660. In Elizabethan production older female parts were played by the men and young boys who hadn't of gone through puberty played young female characters because of their voices were higher pitched. its been stated that Shakespeare acted in some of his own plays but the specfic ones are unknown.  Performances were usually performed in the afternoon during natural daylight, instead of the morning because the sun would be to light and not at night because it'll be to dark. Techniques used Rhythm is used alot to create a feeling almost like a beat to a song, it adds characteristics to the otherwise boring words. Alliteration, Repition, Rhyme and Assonance are all used alongside rhythm to help create a more distinct beat to his plays Repition is also used alongside rhytm to help create a beat Onomatopeia was used alot in plays because in Shakespeare's time there was no electricity to produce sounds artificially Source The shakespearian tripod