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Elizabethan age social conditions
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The TV shows we watch today will not be understood in the future. Our culture has changed through time and so has our entertainment. Inside jokes from movies nowadays may not be understood in the far future. However, Shakespeare's plays and poems can be understood and liked all throughout history. Even though his plays (and poems) are entertaining even now, his world was much different. In Shakespeare's time the theatres were not advanced, women were not thought of, actors were seen as nobleman's servants, and the heroes in plays were always so perfect. One way Shakespeare's world was different than the modern world is that the theaters did not use technology. This was because it wasn't even invented yet. The article titled "Shakespeare: not of an age, but for all mankind," by Douglas A. Burger, says "there were no artificial lights, no conventional sets, no fancy rigging." Instead, the theaters had open roofs as to let in the sun and were playing in the afternoon. They actually had to go to the theater in the afternoon in order to see the play. This is unlike the modern world, in which we use artificial lights, cameras, and computer technology and can watch it at home on our TV's or go to theaters where we use aritficial …show more content…
lights to see a certain part of the play or to set the mood. Another difference between Shakespeare's world and the 21st century is women were not often thought of.
They were seen as lower than males. The men ruled the house and the women had, basically, no rights. They couldn't even be in the plays. The women parts were played by men. According to the article called, "Elizabeth's England," by Exxon, Metropolitan Life, Morgan Guaranty, and C. P. B. Marriage, for example, was often arranged to bring wealth or prestige to the family, with little regard for the feelings of the bride. Meaning that the groom got to choose who he would marry and often times the bride and groom hardly knew each other. Conversely, nowadays women get to choose who and when they marry and the bride is mostly in charge of the
wedding. A third way Shakespeare's world differs from our own is that actors were viewed differently. We worship actors today and want to be like them. We establish them as our rule models. The article titled "actors in Shakespeare's day" by Stephanie Chidester says "actors were classified as 'vagabonds and sturdy beggars'... and as servants of noblemen." This is because nobleman liked the actors and what they did so they protected them on the streets to keep them safe from haters. And if they nobles hadn't protected the actors the actors would have been discriminated by society.Now, actors need saving from their fans and paparazzi. This shows that they didn't worship actors as we do today. A final difference between Shakespeare's world and modern times is the heroes in the plays were perfect. In the essay "Elizabeth's England," Morgan Guaranty writes, " ...he was expected to take the time to examine his own nature and the cause of his actions and to make the right choices." This means that they always did the right things and made sure that they were doing the rights things. This illustrates a significant difference because in the modern world the heroes often make mistakes and sometimes don't even make the right choices. Which creates more drama and helps the audience relate to the hero since nobody is perfect. Even though our world is so different from Shakespeare's we are still entertained by his works. When, nowadays our entertainment will not be so entertaining in the future. He was truly gifted with this and may not have even meant to make it so that we could also be entertained. This is what makes Shakespeare so famous and looked up to.
The first way that Shakespeare's world was diffreent than the modern world is that they didn't have fancy lights or sound producers. They just had to speak up and hope for good weather. The article titled" Shakespeare: Not of Age, But for All Mankind" by Douglas A. Burger says," There are no artifical lights, no conventional sets, no fancy rigging." By this he means that there were no specail effects that we are used to. This is unlike the modern world, in which we have artifical lights, small microphones so
In Shakespearean time and even up to the turn of the 20th Century men were expected to be the sole provider of the family, entailing them to be either well educated or hard working. They were also expected to be good with the handling of finances and property. It was also acceptable for them to be barbaric, boisterous and socially well connected. This has given the men of this time an overwhelming sense of power, respect and freedom; rights which were not given to women at this time. Far from what was socially acceptable in regards to men, the gender identity of women was of a somewhat weaker nature. Women during Shakespearean time were regarded as docile, quiet and non-opinionated. Their socially acceptable role in many cases was to be domestic, entailing them to spend countless hours in the home, tending to basic familial needs, such as cooking and cleaning. This position prevented many women to receive an education or to socialize outside of the home. As a result of their inferior social status, they were expected to be submissive and to cater to her husband’s needs at all times. Women in Shakespearean time were also treated as property, either by their husbands or fathers, which diminished any sense of self-worth they may have possessed. This gender ideology ultimately paralyzed women, as the majority were helpless to alter their social standing or designated familial role.
In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.
Although it was common for a woman to give birth just a little more than every year, she still ended up with a small family. The woman taught her children appropriate manners and how to dress from a young age. The Sumptuary Laws dictated what people wore, women wore clothes that were dictated by that specific law. The law told what colors and fabrics were allowed for each rank of people. For example, Upper class women were allowed to wear fabrics made of fur, silk and velvet that had gold and silver colors. But the lower class people had to wear dull colors like brown, beige, yellow, green, grey and shades of blue, and the fabrics were less appealing; they commonly used wool, linen and sheepskin. Women had less freedom than they do now. Social activities, such as voting were not allowed for women to participate in. In fact, politics could not have women involved. They were not allowed to perform plays onstage, as it was seen dishonorable by the church, and all female roles had to be acted by males. They could only write literature if society deemed the subject of her writing was appropriate (Seeley, “Role of Women in Elizabethan
During the Elizabethan time period women were considered the weaker sex. They were thought to always need a man in charge of them. The man in charge of her could be her father, employer or husband. Children were expected to obey their parents and help out whenever needed. I believe women were more equipped to be the head of the family since they had to care for the children and manage the house daily.
The Shakespearean world of the late 1500's and early 1600's was very, very different from our own. Though there are differences, there are also some similarities. The world of Shakespeare is a unique, and again, is much different than our own.
Men would trade off their (female) family members for other things. Women were treated as property and not given rights to do as many things as they wanted or the same things men could do. Women were not thought to be as high,strong,or brave as men but they are! Queen Wealtheow, for instance, is a beautiful queen “Adorned in gold”(41). She is only looked at for her beauty and being a cupbearer.
The other reason is that Shakespeare is a man for our time. He may have been a man "for all times". He certainly speaks directly to the students in my charge. The passions and emotions which he describes find deep echoes in the hearts of the youngsters at the close of the 20th century. He probably was modern when he wrote his dramas. He has retained that modernity seemingly for three centuries.
William Shakespeare often examines the personal transformation of characters in his works. His frequent illustrations of changing players most likely suggests that he is a true believer in the idea of people being able to emotionally grow. Moreso, the author essentially endorses the thought of developing humanity as a living being. Parallel to King Richard in Richard II, he illustrates many characters throughout his works whom undergo similar personal growth. Oftentimes these personal changes occur when a character suffers great loss in life. In this particular play these changes give the readers a chance to develop a bit of fondness in the once ignorant king. Most readers would normally accept positive changes within the mind and soul of characters. In Richard II, Shakespeare depicts the personal stages of King Richard. Ultimately, Richard is illustrated as one who finally embraces humanity, and, in turn, affects the readers’ final response to the ever-changed king in a positive way.
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
In today’s world the quality of the art form called writing is said to be somewhat diminishing, it is important for English literature to keep some studies of classic literature, such as Shakespeare. I think well rounded education must have a strong foundation in both modern and classical literature, for the foundation in classical literature, an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s works would be more than sufficient. Not only was Shakespeare so skilled in his writing that he has become a significant point in the history of literature, but a majority of his works were written on such basic human themes that they will last for all time and must not be forgotten.
During the times in which Shakespeare lived, women had certain roles which ensured they were a permanent underclass to men. In Women in Shakespeare’s world by Theresa D. Kemp, Kemp states that “The roles of early modern women included daughters and wives, sisters and mothers; they learned and worked and played but for the most part they were not expected to be school girls (whining or otherwise) As women they were expected to be the slightly beautiful beloved and not the balladeer. Women were not seen as fit to play soldier or the judge. And as keepers of the homes and the households, as in our own time, women withdrawn from a “world too wide” ( 29). This quote from Kemp shows how victorian women were seen a just a pretty face to do as told. They were to be obedient and non opinionated. A woman of that time period was very objectified and used, basically women weren't real people.
Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:
The Elizabethan Era is considered to be golden age in English poetry, music, and literature. William Shakespeare uses the theater as a place to display the latest styles in clothing, poetry and music. Clothing plays an important part in Shakespeare’s plays. Clothing helped the audience understand the character and components of clothing are mentioned literally and metaphorically in several of his plays, often used as a plot device, and used in appearance versus reality.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during the Elizabethan Era? To see the works of great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson firsthand? The theater was one of the cornerstones of Elizabethan life, and many people knew the works of Shakespeare and Jonson. While Shakespeare was arguably the greatest of the time, many other playwrights, including Jonson, flourished during this time period.