Elizabeth: Theatre and the Poor

Question 1

Who were the gentry?

Answer 1

People with no titles, but still had power and status because of their wealth.

Question 2

How did the rise of the gentry affect England?

Answer 2

Manor houses were developed and fashions changed

Question 3

How many theatres were there in 1559?

Answer 3

0

Question 4

What law was passed against actors in 1572 and why?

Answer 4

The actors were punished as vagabonds because they were believed to be immoral people who caused trouble wherever they went.

Question 5

In what year was the first theatre opened?

Answer 5

1576

Question 6

Name three theatres.

Answer 6

The Rose, The Swan, The Globe

Question 7

How were Elizabethan theatres designed?

Answer 7

There was an uncovered circular pit surrounded by roofed galleries.

Question 8

Name a famous actor from Elizabethan times.

Answer 8

Richard Burbage

Question 9

Why did the rich like the theatre? (2 reasons)

Answer 9

• It was an exciting night out (often theatres were built in places with bad reputations).
• They could be entertained while separated from the poor.

Question 10

Why did the poor enjoy the theatre?

Answer 10

It was cheap entertainment, often close to where they lived.

Question 11

Who disliked the theatre and why?

Answer 11

Puritans - they thought it encouraged immoral behavior.

Question 12

Why did Elizabeth and the government come to support the theatre despite being initially opposed? (2 reasons)

Answer 12

• It kept the population happy and entertained so they were less likely to rebel.
• They could used plays as propaganda for the government.

Question 13

Which play presented the Tudors and Elizabeth in a positive way?

Answer 13

Richard III

Question 14

What was the Great Chain of Being?

Answer 14

The idea that everyone had their place in society and if this changed chaos would ensue.

Question 15

What were 2 causes of poverty?

Answer 15

• The population rose 43% from 1550 to 1600 making jobs and food harder to get.
• Rising inflation meant prices rose but wages did not.

Question 16

Why did poverty worsen in the 1590s?

Answer 16

There was a bad harvest between 1593-97 resulting in less food and rising prices.

Question 17

Why did poverty worsen in Elizabethan England?

Answer 17

Because Henry VIII dissolved the monistaries which is where the poor would traditionally be looked after.

Question 18

Which group of poor people were seen to deserve help?

Answer 18

The impotent poor - people who were either too young, too old, or too sick to work and provide for themselves.

Question 19

Which group of poor people weren’t seen to deserve help?

Answer 19

The idle poor - people who were capable of working but chose not to and committed crime instead.

Question 20

Give and example of LOCAL government helping the poor.

Answer 20

In Norwich alms were collected and given to the poor, and work was provided in workhouses.

Question 21

What and when was the Elizabethan Poor Law?

Answer 21

The government’s solution to poverty; passed in 1597.

Question 22

How did the Poor Law work?

Answer 22

A poor rate (a tax) was collected and used to pay for workhouses and relief for the deserving poor.

Question 23

Was the Poor Law successful?

Answer 23

Yes - Helped maintain social order and stop rebellion.

No - Poverty continued to increase after the law was passed.