Shakespeare’s Context – Late 16th Century/Early 17th Century (Predominantly Elizabethan Era)

William Shakespeare (baptised April 26, 1564 – died April 23, 1616) was an English poet and playwright in the late 16th century and early 17th century. Most of his works were predominantly in the Elizabethan Era and the time in which his plays flourished became to be known as “Shakespeare’s Time”. Shakespeare came a time of great economical, social, and military growth. This “Golden Age” shaped England as an upcoming superpower of the world.

Levels of Hierarchy
The early history of England, and most certainly the Elizabethan era, was ruled by a strict conception of the order of the universe, whose chief characteristic is a strict hierarchical system. This was known as the “Great Chain of Being”. In simple words, this conception put everything in its place. With God at the top of the chain, he is followed by all the spirits (angels etc) and unearthly beings. Then come the living, with the King (protestant) or the Pope (catholic) as the representative of God on earth. During Shakespeare’s time, the monarch held the power of “The Divine right of Kings”. This power said that the monarch was placed on the earth by God, and thus, held absolute power, their will was the will of God, and to rebel against the monarch was to rebel against God himself. Below the monarch followed the rest of society, in a sort of power pyramid, which consisted of the aristocracy, citizens and the peasants. In comparison with medieval England, this strict Hierarchy has started to break down due to such circumstances as the plague, and continues through the 19th century and into the 20th century when it completely falls apart. This chain of being also gave inanimate objects a hierarchy: gold was the king of metals; the oak was the king of trees; granite and marble was the king of rocks; and so on.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance is believed to have originated in Italy in the fourteenth century. It then spread out across Europe and reached England in the sixteenth century. The main difference between the Renaissance in England and Italy (besides the time gap) was that in England the main art form that drove the Renaissance was literature, while in Italy it was the visual arts, such as painting and sculptures. During the English Renaissance, playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare composed theatrical representations of the English take on life, death, and history. Towards the end of the Renaissance, philosophers like Sir Thomas More and Sir Francis Bacon published their own ideas about humanity and the aspects of a perfect society. England also began to abolish their Alchemists and Astrologers, pushing the country forward scientifically.
Religion
The Elizabethan era was mainly a Protestant country mainly due to Henry VIII breaking down the Roman Catholic Church. He destroyed the catholic religion, which put the pope above the king, and in its stead, made Protestantism, which had the king as the highest power on earth, the religion of England. Queen Elizabeth was his daughter, and a much more lenient monarch. She believed that people should be able to practice any form of religion they believe in without fear of prosecution, providing they do not cause treats to peace in her realms.


Gender Roles
The idea of equality between the sexes was almost non-existent to the people of the 16th century. In the bible, Adam was created first, and Eve was created from his body; she was his subordinate, to love, comfort, and obey him. Males were regarded as the breadwinners and the dominant gender while the women were merely ‘assets’ to be sold off with or ‘tools’ to bear children with. This belief was contrasted by Queen Elizabeth, whose monarchy went against this male chauvinistic society.
Death
There were high infancy rates and low mortality rates during the 16th century. Medical science had not progressed very far and so common household sicknesses could lead to death. Hygiene was poor, sterilization was non-existent and diseases ran amok. At times, plague would break out causing devastating effects; Theatres like the Globe theatre had to be closed to prevent the spread of disease by having such large crowds gather in one spot.
Sciences
Without dominant geniuses or any form of formal research facility, Elizabethan England did however manage to make some progress with the sciences. Some important people have made contribution to the scientific world such as Thomas Diggers (1546 – 1595) who was famous for the theory of refraction and observations of parallax in the stars. Another astronomer was William Gilbert (1560 – 1621) who was the first to attempt mapping the moon and his observations of sunspots.
Exploration
Much of this scientific and technological progress related to the practical skill of navigation. English achievements in exploration were noteworthy in the Elizabethan era. Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe, and Martin Frobisher explored the Arctic. The first attempt at English settlement of the Eastern seaboard of North America occurred in this era—the abortive colony at Roanoke Island (1587).
Economy & Military
During the Elizabethan Era, England enjoyed relative peace. There was little to no threats to order and stability. England’s main rival during this time was the Spanish. The threat of invasion from the Spaniards was one of the few things that the people of England feared at the time. The Spanish armada was famously defeated, but the tide of the war turned when England’s counter-attack the following year was disastrously unsuccessful. Although the feud with the Spaniards had gimped English trade, the economy still grew and commerce had begun to spread. Queen Elizabeth I inherited a virtually bankrupt country; however by 1574 the crown was clear of its debt. A stock exchanged opened, and by 1584 the crown enjoyed a surplus of three-hundred thousand pounds.
Theatres
Theatres attracted large audiences as it was a cheap form of entertainment where many things could be shown, like plays, dramas, and blood sports. The theatres were one of the many ways to keep the lower class happy and ignorant, thus drawing away the thoughts of rebellion. This was a very success in the sense that it not only kept the peasantry in order but also generated revenue for the country in the form of taxes. The theatre later became problematic as an increasing crime rate grew. The theatres attracted many people, including those of questionable status like thieves or those with violent tendencies. Complaints would rise at times at theatres for being rowdy houses of crime and alcohol. Also, during times of plague outbreaks, theatres were closed as they were a major health hazard.