Elizabethan Era Research Paper

The Elizabethan Age was the start of a new era in history. The era began in 1558 and lasted until 1603. The age was known as a brief period of peace within England. With the flourishing economy and the Queen’s love for the arts, the era is also referred to as the English Renaissance and the Golden Age of England.
Queen Elizabeth’s reign is what sparked the era. Growing up as a member of the royal family, she received special tutoring. As the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she also grew up in difficult and complex circumstances. When Elizabeth was only two-years-old, her mother, Anne, was beheaded by her husband based on uncertain charges of adultery and conspiracy. After Anne’s death, Elizabeth and her half sister Mary

The theaters were all open arenas, but had different shapes. (Singman) Some were octagonal and others were circular. These theaters took on average six months to build and were made of timber, nails, stone, and plaster. The overall designs featured open air arenas called the pits. The arenas had raised stages with three to four rows of roofed galleries and balconies. The theaters could hold around 1,500 people and the grounds surrounding the theater could hold 2000 more people. These grounds were crowded with people and vendors selling merchandise and refreshments. Bathrooms did not exist, and if someone had to go, their sewage was buried in pits or thrown into the River Thames. Also, actors often had to deal with the weather. Heating did not exist and profits dropped in the winter months because of the open arenas. Because of this, plays were performed in the summer months. The actors were frequently rained on, but the show must go on! (“Elizabethan Plays and

Among the plays were comedies, histories, tragedies, and jigs. (“Elizabethan Plays and Playwrights.”) Comedies during the age were a bit different than the comedies we see in the movie theater today. Instead, a comedy was a play with a happy ending. These plays usually consisted of characters who were common people rather than royalty. Examples of comedies that were written in the Elizabethan age are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Shoemaker’s Holiday, and A Comedy of Errors. Histories were written about a certain event or person, often a king, and included Henry IV and Richard III. Tragedies were very popular during this period and featured works like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and The Jew of Malta. In addition, revenge tragedies like The Spanish Tragedy and MacBeth brought in sizeable crowds. Tragedies usually involved the murderer or death or one or all of the main characters. Jigs were a lesser-known type of Elizabethan play. Jigs were performed after the main play and featured rude, sexual content and singing and dancing.