life in elizabethan times Flashcards
the theatre
When Elizabeth became Queen, there were no theatres in the country. So-called
mystery and miracle plays, based on Bible stories and the lives of saints, had been
popular since the Middle Ages, but they were performed on temporary platforms
in open places such as market squares and inn yards, not in permanent theatres.
Groups of actors would tour the country to perform, but the government did not
like them. Actors were thought to be a threat to law and order, and acting was
not considered to be a respectable profession, with actors being thought of as no
more than beggars. In 1572, Parliament passed a law that said that actors were to
be punished as vagabonds. PURITANS also strongly disapproved of the theatre on
religious grounds, associating it with the Ancient Romans and thinking it the work
of the Devil. When a great earthquake struck the south east of England in 1580,
many considered it a sign of God’s anger at the theatre.
theatre law 1572
A new law in 1572 required all bands of actors to be licensed. The law was brought
in because of government suspicion but had an unexpected effect. It encouraged
the actor companies to organise themselves and four years later the first purpose-
built London theatre opened. Simply named The Theatre, it was a commercial
success and this inspired others to copy: The Curtain opened in 1577, The Rose
in 1587, The Swan in 1596 and, most famously, The Globe in 1599. By the end of
Elizabeth’s reign there were seven major theatres in London and 40 companies
of actors.
opposition to the theatre
As a result of the authorities’ opposition to them, theatres were located outside
the city walls. Most were in the Bankside district in Southwark, on the South
Bank of the Thames (see Figure 7). The area had a bad reputation, with lots
of TAVERNS, bear-baiting rings, pickpockets and
brothels. Although crime was common in the
area, the performances were exciting, and a
visit to the theatre was not just about the play.
Theatre-goers could also purchase refreshments,
such as meat pies, fruit, nuts, beer and wine, and
SHOREDITCH
such visits allowed people to socialise, to show
off, to network for business purposes, and to
meet prospective husbands and wives.
design of theatre
The design of Elizabethan theatres was influenced
by the earlier informal performance of plays in
Stree
inn yards and marketplaces. The theatres were
USS
Fenchurch
therefore made up of an uncovered circular
pit with surrounding covered galleries. They
ndon
Bridge
were also similar in design to bear-baiting pits,
The Tower
of London
as unsuccessful theatres could then easily be
converted. As there was no artificial lighting,
plays were always staged in the afternoon, with
a flag above the theatre signalling a performance
that day and a trumpeter signalling the start of the play. A different play would be
performed each day. Women were not allowed to perform, so boys played female
roles, and the conditions faced by actors were difficult. Behind the stage was a
hectic area called the ‘tiring house’, where the actors would dress in their costumes
and collect their props. Some actors, such as Edward Alleyn, Will Kempe, Thomas
Pope and Richard Burbage, did well, achieving wealth and fame. Indeed, Burbage
eventually formed his own company of actors and became the owner of The Globe.
audience of the theatre
Theatres were enormously popular, with cheap entrance fees
making them affordable to everyone. Audiences came from
a wide cross-section of society, ranging from poor craftsmen,
to merchants, to wealthy nobles. However, the rigid social
order was upheld inside the theatre, with the cheapest tickets
(costing one penny) being for ‘the pit’ or yard’. Here, the
audience - known as ‘groundlings’ - would stand in noisy
and smelly conditions, exposed to the weather. The stage,
with its pillars and a balcony, projected halfway into the pit.
The groundlings were often badly behaved, throwing food
at the unpopular characters during the plays. It was more
expensive, at two or three pennies, to watch from the three-
tiered galleries, which could seat up to 2000 spectators. The
galleries offered the comfort of seating and a thatched roof
provided protection from the weather. For an extra penny,
a cushion would be provided to sit on. The richest audience
members would watch from the ‘Lords’ rooms’ above the
stage or even sit on the stage itself.
play writes
Successful playwrights included Ben Jonson, Thomas Kyd,
Thomas Dekker and Christopher Marlowe. However, the most
famous Elizabethan playwright was William Shakespeare.
Tragedies such as Hamlet, histories such as Henry VI, and
comedies such as Love’s Labour’s Lost, were enormously
successful. The themes reflected the interests of Elizabethans:
violence, romance, magic, the ancient world, exploration and
patriotism. There was little in the way of scenery, but each
individual play held the attention of the audiences through
skilful characterisation, intelligent dialogue, clever dramatic
devices, music, varied subplots and even basic special effects.
Trapdoors in the stage allowed dramatic entrances and exits.
An area of the theatre above the stage called ‘the heavens’
directed the special effects and ‘the hut’ provided storage
space. Cannonballs were rolled to generate thunder claps,
such as in the opening of Macbeth. Pigs’ bladders filled with
blood and hidden beneath clothing were used for dramatic
stabbing scenes, such as in Romeo and Juliet.
themes of theatre
some plays contained subtle political messages that were designed to flatter
Elizabeth and support her position. They were also carefully CENSORED sO as to not
be too controversial or to make any obvious references to politicians of the time.
The Elizabethans believed everyone and everything had its own place in a
hierarchy called the GREAT CHAIN OF BEING. There was a strong belief that this rigid
ordering of the universe should not be changed as this would cause chaos.
Shakespeare’s plays often emphasis hierarchy and orderliness, and the triumph
of good over evil is a common moral. This suited Elizabeth and her government
very well.
Shakespeare’s history play Richard Ill, for example, presented the Tudors in a very
favourable light. It focused on the later stages of the Wars of the Roses, showing
Elizabeth’s grandfather, the first Tudor King, Henry VIl, to be the saviour of
the nation. His enemy, Richard, is shown as a hunchbacked, evil monster who
brutally murdered his own nephews and many others. In this way, the Tudors
are shown to have courageously fought for the good of England and to have won
against all the odds.
causes of poverty
The size of England’s population had remained fairly stable
for the two centuries since the Black Death, but there was
dramatic population growth during Elizabeth’s reign. The
population rose by about 43 per cent between 1550 and
1600. This placed huge pressure on resources, particularly
food, and jobs could be hard to come by. With lots of workers
available, wages stayed the same, but as demand for food
rose, so did prices. INFLATION was a huge problem throughout
Europe at this time, not just in England
Rising prices were not only caused by the growing population.
Spanish exploration of the ‘New World’ in Central and South
America had meant that there was more silver in circulation
throughout Europe, which reduced the value of all the
currencies and pushed prices up. On top of this, Henry VIII
had made the problem of inflation in England worse by
significantly reducing the value of the coinage in the 1540s in
order to pay for his wars against France and Scotland. Indeed,
wars were another problem. Whenever wars were fought, taxes
were increased, again hitting the poor hardest. Once the wars
were over, England was left with large numbers of out-of-work
soldiers and sailors who needed to find new employment.
In addition, wars with foreign countries often had a harmful
effect on England’s international trade. England’s most
important trading partner was the city of Antwerp in woollen
cloth. The collapse of this market in the 1550s and later
official bans on trade with the Spanish-ruled Netherlands
in the 1560s, 1570s and 1580s deprived England of much-
needed revenue from its usual export markets. At the same
time, trade monopolies were encouraged by Elizabeth and her
government to make the rich richer by pushing up prices. They
of course always made the poor poorer. Most Elizabethans lived in rural areas. Unfortunately,
agricultural crises and innovations put even more pressure
on the poor. This period witnessed several disastrous
harvests. There were DEARTH conditions in England before
Elizabeth became Queen in the 1550s, and again in the
1590s, which coincided with outbreaks of PLAGUE. With food
already in short supply because of the pressure of increased
numbers of people, the threat of famine pushed prices
even higher. In addition, changes in farming also caused
problems. Tenants became the victims of greedy landlords
through unfair RACK-RENTING which led to spiralling rents and
lots of evictions. At the same time, the growth of ENCLOSURE
was also bad news for the poor. The traditional open fields
were combined and enclosed with hedges to allow former
ARABLE LAND to be turned over to more profitable sheep
farming. While good for the rich landowners, sheep farming
is not labour intensive, which meant that farm labourers
lost their jobs. Enclosure also had the devastating effect
of removing the common land. For the landless poor, the
common was essential in that it provided them with a place
for their animals to graze. For the poorest, a vital means of
feeding their families had been taken away.
impotent poor
unable to provide for themselves because they were too young, too old or too ill. they were not to blame for their situation and the government was sympathetic, believing they deserved help
idle poor
they were seen as a major threat to social order. there was a belief that there was enough work for everyone. they were dishonest and vagabonds often referred to beggars who were considered immoral and criminal class, perfectly fit but too lazy to find work and happy to live off begging and petty crime
new ideas and new inventions
Exploration was also spurred on by new ideas. This was the age of the RENAISSANCE,
which encouraged learning and also a spirit of adventure. There was a growing
belief in intellectual circles that the world was in fact round, not flat. It was
therefore suggested that perhaps ships could sail north around Russia, or south
around Africa, or west across the Atlantic in order to reach the Far East. New
inventions also prompted the growth in exploration. The PRINTING PRESS now meant
that maps and other geographical literature were more readily available than
before. The ASTROLABE meant that a ship’s position could be plotted accurately and
the magnetic compass was developed. There had also been developments in ship
design. Smaller ships called caravels and carracks were used for exploration and
the invention of the rudder gave the crew more control when steering the ship. The
triangular lateen sail (copied from Arab ships) meant that ships could now sail
whichever way they wished, whatever the wind direction.
new world to the east
In 1487 the Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Diaz sailed around the southern
tip of Africa - later called the Cape of Good Hope. Although Diaz’s crew forced him
to turn around, this journey was crucial in proving that ships could sail around
Africa without falling off the end of the world. Eleven years later, fellow Portuguese
explorer Vasco da Gama followed Diaz’s route but carried on further, eventually
reaching India. This opened up a totally new route to India, meaning it was no
longer necessary for goods to pass through Ottoman land before reaching Europe.
new world to the west
In 1492, Christopher Columbus inadvertently discovered what was called the
NEW WORLD. He had sailed westwards across the Atlantic Ocean, sponsored by
the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, in search of an alternative route
to India. Landing in the Caribbean, he called the islands he discovered the
West Indies. Five years after Columbus’ voyage, John Cabot also sailed across
the Atlantic, funded by England’s King Henry VII. He reached what is now
Newfoundland in Canada. The following year, Amerigo Vespucci, at the invitation
of the King of Portugal, also sailed across the Atlantic and he explored the eastern
coast of South America. He decided that this land was in fact a new continent, not
the eastern edges of Asia as Columbus had thought. The word ‘America’ is derived
from his forename. The next major achievement was the first CIRCUMNAVIGATION
of the globe. This was a Spanish-funded expedition led by the Portuguese sailor
Ferdinand Magellan and took place between 1519 and 1522.
the european empires
Spain and Portugal clearly dominated the world of exploration at this point, and
became enormously rich and powerful as a result. They both began to establish
overseas EMPIRES and oversaw the beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade. The
Spanish had rapidly defeated local peoples in Central and South America and set
up COLONIES there. These areas had large amounts of silver and gold, as well as other
resources such as tobacco, potatoes and tomatoes. The Portuguese, meanwhile,
colonised coastal areas of West Africa, India and Brazil. In Brazil, they grew sugar
and cotton on plantations, using slaves taken from West Africa as their workforce.
privateers
The Spanish monopoly on New World goods angered the English, and led to lots of
English pirates robbing Spanish treasure ships and ports. Not all of these acts were
actually illegal. So-called ‘PRIVATEERS’ were licensed by Elizabeth’s governments to
commit such acts against any ships belonging to England’s enemies. The privateers’
ships were privately owned, financed by merchants and even the Queen herself.
Guns were essential. The privateers’ would sail past the enemy and fire BROADSIDE,
then do the same on the other side of the GALLEON. English ships were smaller and
faster than the huge but slow Spanish galleons, which were unable to change their
course in time in order to escape such an attack.
