The Great Chain In Elizabethan Time

628 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Society in the Elizabethan era

People in Medieval England found themselves within a social and political hierarchy due to their monarchical government, which likely influenced their willingness to believe in the Great Chain of Being. While humans only ranked third in the overall Chain, the subdivisions within humanity gave certain people, particularly kings, a sense of power over those the Chain dictated to be beneath them. Even if they were below kings, angels, and God, plebeians in Medieval England could still take comfort in the fact they outranked lesser beings like animals and plants. Inevitably, the Great Chain changed how those of Elizabethan times viewed the world, as demonstrated by the culture of that time period. Establishing the Great Chain of Being provided many writers inspiration for their stories, but also caused repercussions in European society. …show more content…

On the more optimistic side, writers like Christopher Marlow and Pico della Mirandola would show how humans can break out of their place on the Chain and work their way up (“Introduction”). In literature or plays, moving up the Chain usually meant enduring some sort of philosophical contemplation to be superior to humanity on an intellectual level. However, some writers, such as William Shakespeare, took a more pessimistic view of the Chain and showed what could happen if people tried to leave their assigned place in the world. King Lear and Hamlet both dramatize how kingdoms, and families, fall apart if someone wrongfully makes their way to the top of the Chain, or at least the human section of it. Despite writers viewing the Chain differently, it created some of the most thought-provoking works in literature and drama due to no one knowing the answers to questions raised by the

Show More
Related

  • 1399-1509: The King's Relationship With Parliament

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The key factor in limiting royal power in the years 1399-1509 was the king’s relationship with parliament.”

    Read More

  • Weaponry during the Elizabethan Period

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    The weaponry during the Elizabethan period was the most advance weaponry known to the world. The most common weapons used were crossbows, longbows, war hammers, spears, early forms of pistol and cannons. With all this weaponry Europeans also needed armor, like chainmail and plate armor. Different types of weapons and the different kinds of armor were a key component to warfare during the Elizabethan period, in Europe.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Hamlet And Fifth Business

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many humans desire to be at the top of social and economic ladders, in order to feel a sense of success and accomplishment. Individuals who wish to be at the top, are impelled by ambition and the hunger for power to help reach their goals. However, too much ambition and need for power blinds the individual from the world around them, and causes them to neglect the moralities of their actions. Whether they do certain things with intent or not, they usually manipulate or walk over others to get what they need. In both Hamlet and Fifth Business the theme of ambition and power is explored similarly. In Hamlet, Shakespeare shows how the intentional actions that are driven by greed, ambition and yearning for power can effect the individual. By contrast,

    Read More

  • Elizabethan Caste System

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Elizabethans had a very static and structured social caste system. From rocks to angels and God the Elizabethans in England had a place for them. As seen in the illustration the stairs represent different social classes. At the very top are the spiritual beings of course, because the English in this time period valued religion over all else. In the article the author saw that Shakespearean people had a very organized way to put all objects. First they put spiritual beings with God at the top and human souls at the bottom. After that was living organisms such as humans and plants which is where most attention was payed. From the reading passage it can be seen that as your rank in society increases you start to develop certain characteristics so a king may have some characteristics a peasant doesn’t and therefore is placed on a

    Read More

  • Cue for Treason: Importance of the Hierarchy and Social Status

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...wed that the death of the Queen would have triggered all these tragedies. As a result of all these points the hierarchy definitely had a strong influence on peoples lives back then.

    Read More

  • Fencing In The Elizabethan Era

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Elizabethan ages were very dark, and very violent. War was a common occurrence during Queen Elizabeth’s rule, and it was often quite bloody. slightly before the Elizabethan times, war was only fought with swords and shields. To teach soldiers how to handle these weapons, especially a sword, fencing was a necessity for winning battles and eventually for winning wars. But as guns were being introduced into warfare during Queen Elizabeth’s rule, fencing became more recreational (Elizabethan 1). Even though fencing was becoming more obsolete in warfare, it was still used to train knights, and was also used to keep the people of England entertained.

    Read More

  • Essay On Food In The Elizabethan Era

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Elizabethan Era, the foods that you ate were heavily based on what class of wealth you fit into! If you were part of the wealthy class, you would have a very large assortment of foods at your disposal to eat. If you were part of the middle class, you had some medley of foods to choose from. If you were part of the poor class, then you did not have near as many foods to choose from. However, if you were born into or part of the penury part of society, you had very few possible choices of food to pick from. The different classes in wealth ate very differently, back then (Sharnette.) The food that you ate, in the Elizabethan Era, heavily depended on whether you were wealthy or poor and was much different from the foods that we eat nowadays.

    Read More

  • Sports, Games, and Pastimes of the Elizabethan Era

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sports, games, and pastimes of the time of Shakespeare have not just been set aside and paid no attention to, but they have been effectively abandoned and omitted. The Elizabethan hobbies have been thoroughly overshadowed by many modern sports such as baseball, football, soccer, hockey, and an abundant amount of other games. The 16th century English pastimes included many activities that were impeccable examples of both simplicity and amusement intertwined. With all of these amusing yet transparent games, the era was most acknowledged for theater- a prominent art that is still valued today. The sports, games, and pastimes of the time of Shakespeare are rarely played today because they would be considered illegal, barbarous, and inhumane.

    Read More

  • Differences And Similarities Between The Elizabethan Era And 1980

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Elizabethan era was during the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth ruled England. It was considered a golden age because of the prosperous time, it inspired pride but also saw an expansion of ideas, innovation, literature, and music. The 1980s in the United States was characterized by the end of the cold war which America was directly involved in. President Ronald Reagan was at the forefront of politics and the decade is often remembered for its never before seen level of materialism and consumerism. Dealing with political, social, and economic factors the Elizabethan era and the 1980s in the United States had similarities and differences.

    Read More

  • Upsetting the Social Order during Hamlet Created Disruption

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Elizabethan era, the philosophy that established social order was known as the “Concept of Order”, stating that everything had its own place and contributed to a certain position. Elizabethans believed that establishing order was the only way for a civilization to function and progress. This philosophy that governed the minds of many individuals seems to have been a prevalent thought in Shakespeare’s mind, the evidence being the recurring theme of the disorganization in social order. The disruption of social order, as described by the Great Chain of Being, was to be avoided, because the consequences would be destructive. The conflicts that arise throughout “Hamlet” are due to a disturbance in the Concept of Order, resulting in a disrupted social hierarchy.

    Read More

  • Fashion During the Elizabethan Era

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.

    Read More

  • The Great Chain of Being in Hamlet

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main concept of the Great Chain of Being is that every existing thing in the universe has its “place” in an outlined hierarchical order. Where it is placed depends on the amount of spirit and importance in society it has. The chain commences at God and progresses downward to angelic beings, kings, princes, nobles, regular humans, animals, plants, and many other objects of nature. According to this theory, all existing things have their specific function in the universe, and causing any kind of disorder on the higher links of this chain courts disaster. In Hamlet, Shakespeare dwells on the idea of a disheveled natural social order which restrains human beings’ ability to live peacefully. The society presented in this play is a society of chaos and anarchy that has no light at the end of the tunnel indicating recuperation. The Great Chain of Being is brutally distraught in Hamlet, and until the very end, there is never a point where it is truly serene.

    Read More

  • E.M.W. Tillyard's Elizabethan World Picture: Analysis

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Elizabethan World Picture begins focus on the Order of the Universe. Tillyard explains that God has created an order for everything. Cosmic order is a key characteristic in poetry and plays written in the Elizabethan time period. Tillyard claims that our order is affected by personal connections with each rank. Tillyard uses several examples of order in our lives one of those being, “the sun, and the king, primogeniture hang together”. Primogeniture is the right for the firstborn to inherit the family estates. This order is shown to be in conflict in Shakespeare’s play, Richard the Second. In Richard II the sun was the king, and he was to be respected as he divinely anointed by God for his role. We see an ignoring of this divine order when Henry Bolingbroke and the other nobles take it upon themselves to rebel and pressure the king into giving up his crown. Ironically, primogeniture is used to excuse treason in one case and then ignored to take Richard’s crown. When Bolingbroke arrived he claimed that he was only interested in taking back his God given right and at the end of the play we see Bolingbroke and the nobles ignoring Richard’s divine right to rule because he does not have the ability to rule. A lot of respect was given to cosmic order during Elizabethan times. It was believed that to be out of order, especially the cosmic order caused strife and chaos in the universe.

    Read More

  • Chaos In Macbeth

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 16th century, during the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan citizens believed that the order of power in the universe was based on the Great Chain of Being, which was a hierarchy that ranks entities from most powerful to least powerful. It starts at gods, and is followed by nobles, knights, gentlemen, peasants, animals, plants, inanimate objects, and finally, chaos and forces of darkness. To the Elizabethans, this Chain of Being was a major part of their history, religious beliefs, political systems, family structures, and their overall understanding of humans. They believed that one act of disorder in this

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's King Lear - The Redemption of King Lear

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is said that no other playwright illustrates the human condition like William Shakespeare. Furthermore, it is said that no other play illustrates the human condition like King Lear. The story of a bad king who becomes a good man is truly one of the deepest analyses of humanity in literary history; and it can be best seen through the evolution of Lear himself. In essence, King Lear goes through hell in order to compensate for his sins.

    Read More

More about The Great Chain In Elizabethan Time

Open Document