HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Elizabethan England
 The Elizabethan Era is the epoch in English history marked by the reign of
Queen Elizabeth 1 (1558-1603.) Historians often depict it as the golden age
in English history. The Elizabethan age saw a renaissance that inspired
national pride through classical ideals, international expansion and
economic success. Historian John Guy (1988) argues that "England was
economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the
Tudors" (the family of Queen Elizabeth 1) than at any time in a thousand
years. Queen Elizabeth also quiets the religious turmoil that had been
going on during the reigns previous to her. She decides not to prosecute
people for their religion. She however, is a Protestant which is a large shift
in the Protestant reformation.

 This "golden age" of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of
poetry, music and literature. The era is most famous for theatre, as William
Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England's
past style of theatre. At this time, London was the heart of England,
reflecting all the vibrant qualities of the Elizabethan Age. This atmosphere
made London a leading center of culture as well as commerce. Its
dramatists and poets were among the leading literary artists of the day. In
this heady environment, Shakespeare lived and wrote.
Elizabethan England
 The Queen's marital status was a major political and diplomatic topic. It
also entered into the popular culture. Elizabeth's unmarried status
inspired a cult of virginity. In poetry and portraiture, she was depicted as
a virgin or a goddess or both, not as a normal woman. Elizabeth made a
virtue of her virginity: in 1559, she told the Commons, "And, in the end,
this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a
queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin.“ The public
defended her virginity and publically protested when it was rumored she
was in marriage negotiations with the Duc d'Alençon from France.
 In contrast to her father's emphasis on masculinity and physical
prowess, Elizabeth emphasized the maternalism theme, saying often
that she was married to her kingdom and subjects. She explained "I keep
the good will of all my husbands — my good people — for if they did not
rest assured of some special love towards them, they would not readily
yield me such good obedience," and promised in 1563 they would never
have a more natural mother than she. Historian Christine Coch argues
(1996) that her figurative motherhood played a central role in her
complex self-representation, shaping and legitimating the personal rule
of a divinely appointed female prince. Queen Elizabeth I never married
and never bore any children.
Women in Elizabethan England
 Despite having a powerful female queen, women did not have the same
rights that men did. Even Queen Elizabeth I, had she married she would
have had to obey the wishes of her husband. Many Elizabethan royalty
became of the victims of their powerful husbands.
 Primogeniture was the rule, which meant that eldest sons inherited land
and titles, even if the eldest child was a girl. Wives were considered
property of their husbands, and women who took longer to marry were
considered financial burdens to their families. Even widows, were
encouraged to remarry because a woman’s signature did not carry the
clout that a man’s did and it was just simply not in the woman’s best
interest to not have a man own the land and house, especially if she had
minor children
 Noble families allowed their girls to be sent away to other rich families to
be tutored in languages: Latin Italian and French. However, no women
were allowed to go to the University. Education on manners and
etiquette were most important. They were taught music and dancing and
archery. These ladies were taught how to act as servant to the ladies of
the castle, their duties were to look after the fashion and clothing and to
assist the ladies with dressing. High born ladies would take on the role of
ladies in waiting to the queen. Of course, even noble women would learn
house keeping duties.
Women in Elizabethan England
 Lower class women would be expected to obey male members of their
family without question. They would not have attended school or
received any formal education. Their education would have only
consisted of learning on how to be a good house wife and how to
maintain the home. All career options for all Elizabethan women was of
a domestic nature, and all Elizabethan women were expected to marry
and bare children and be dependent on her husband all of her life.
Women were expected to bring a dowry to the marriage: an amount of
food, goods and money to the marriage.

 Since women were not allowed many rights outside of the home, they
were not allowed to act inside of the play houses. Therefore, any time
Shakespeare had to write in a woman, he had to use a male actor to play
the role. This may be the reason that 84% of his plays have only male
parts, and only 8 leading women have over 500 lines, which fails to
compare to the leading men. Some speculate that Shakespeare did not
know how to write women, some say that he had a problem with
women, and some probably more reasonably say that he just couldn’t
find actors to play them. He tried using young boys to play the roles, but
the young boys did not capture the more powerful female roles. The
rules changed in 1660, when women began to act in the theaters, but
Shakespeare died in 1616.
James 1 descends to the Crown in 1603
 Formally King James IV of Scotland, he is now King James I of England
and Ireland. James gets the crown because he the closest living heir to
the unmarried childless English queen. King James is considered the
smartest man to ever take the thrown in England and is a writer and
scholar himself.
 England sees much continued stability under King James as they saw
under Elizabeth, although King James and is reign causes as much
controversy as his relative Henry VIII. King James is most famous for
authorizing and financing the translation of the Greek and Hebrew
versions of the bible, which remains today the most widely read book in
the world with over a billion copies. James did not do any translating or
writing of the project himself, but James did write other books.
 James also dissolved the English Parliament, because he was unhappy
they stood between a marriage arrangement between his son Charles
the I and the Princess of Spain. James is also the target of the Gunpowder
Plot which took place on Nov. 5th 1605.
 There are also rumors that King James is an open bisexual. He had
ambiguous relationships with a number of men on his court, and it is said
that he is buried next to two of his favorite suitors.
James 1 descends to the Crown in 1603
 James's visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch-hunts,
sparked an interest in the study of witchcraft,[36] which he
considered a branch of theology. He attended the North Berwick
witch trials, the first major persecution of witches in Scotland
under the Witchcraft Act 1563. Several people were convicted of
using witchcraft to send storms against James's ship, most notably
Agnes Sampson.

 James became obsessed with the threat posed by witches and

wrote the Daemonologie in 1597, a tract inspired by his personal
involvement which opposed the practice of witchcraft and which
provided background material for Shakespeare's Tragedy of
Macbeth. James personally supervised the torture of women
accused of being witches.

 King James died in 1625 with a healthy legacy written behind him
despite the years under his son, Charles I, that followed.
 William Shakespeare: The Nation’s
Playwright
 While there are no records of his birth, Shakespeare is thought to have been born
somewhere around April 23rd, 1564. There are records of his baptism at the Holy Trinity
Church in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon about 103 miles west of London on
April 26th, 1564. William was the third child of local leather merchant, and his mother
was a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters and then later three younger
brothers.
 William would have received free public education where he learned reading and
writing, but nothing much past petty school, and no university schooling.
 William married Anne Hathaway in 1582 when he was 18 and she was 26. Anne was
pregnant with their first child Susanna at the time. Two years later, Anne would give
birth to twins Hamnet and Judith but Hamnet died of unknown causes at age 11. After
the death of his son, there are 7 years in which there are no records of William
Shakespeare. Scholars call these the “Lost Years.” Some suspect at this time, he made
his way to London and became a caretaker to the horses at the finer theaters in London
where he met actors and playwrights there.
 In 1592 there is evidence that Shakespeare was trying to make a living as an actor and
writer in London. Queen Elizabeth was a fond of the theater and Shakespeare and his
acting troupe “The Chamberlains Men” started doing very well.
 In the late 1590’s, Shakespeare had established himself in London as a playwright and
actor. In 1599, Shakespeare and his acting troupe had enough money to build
themselves their own theater: The Globe.
William Shakespeare: The Nation’s
Playwright
 When James 1 inherits the throne from Elizabeth, Shakespeare and
others are worried if James will continue to be a patron of the arts and
theater as Elizabeth the first was.
 Shakespeare is not a fool so upon his audition for James, he writes
Macbeth. Macbeth is written with James in mind.
 The play is set in Scotland.  James is from Scotland
 The play includes witches and witchcraft James is fascinated by
witchcraft.
 A main character is named Banquo and is portrayed positively and is told
he with father a line of kings. Fleance, Banquo’s son is a relative of
James’
 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who kill King Duncan come to grisly ends
it’s a good thing to discourage regicide.
 It is believed that James had a short attention span Macbeth is
Shakespeare’s shortest and most bloodiest play.
Shakespeare is successful and James becomes Shakespeare’s patron. To
further honor the king, Shakespeare changes the name of his troupe to “The
King’s Men.”
William Shakespeare: The Nation’s
Playwright

 Shakespeare was not a starving artist, or one that

did not enjoy his fame during his time.
 Shakespeare lived a very rich, successful life while he
was alive in London not only as a playwright to
royalty, but as a business owner and actor.
 Tradition says that Shakespeare died on his birthday
in 1616—although most scholars believe this is a
myth. However, it is believed to be correct that he
died in 1616 and that he was 50 years old when he
died. Church records show that he was interred on
April 25th, 1616. All of his assets were believed to
have gone to his daughter Susanna.