Elizabethan Era

Elizabethan Era 


the Elizabethan period has provided history with a rich and colourful culture, a culture that includes unique clothing,the origins of theatre and the expansion of the English Renaissance movement and exploring the new world (sailers ).

status levels
                                               
The poor


Life for ordinary people was often hard and the number of poor people increased when Queen Elizabeth was in power. Unlike now, there was no welfare system or support for anyone.Poverty was mostly considered to be your own fault in Elizabethan times.

Reasons why there was increase in poverty.



  • Rising population - The population rose by a million during the Elizabethan period. Because there was more people, there was more demand for goods, and so prices rose.
  • Inflation - Prices for goods rose, but wages fell as there were more people around to do the work.
  • Cloth trade collapse -  Woollen cloth was England’s main export. people didn't want to trade and that led to unemployment.
  • Wars - Taxes were increased to compensate for the price of waging war.
  • Bad harvests -  Harvests were particularly bad in the 1590s leading to even higher demand and more rising prices.
  • Changes in farming - Many landlords decided to enclose their fields and keep sheep instead of growing crops which led to high unemployment.

Poverty was mostly considered to be your own fault in Elizabethan times, but attitudes started to change towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign and the government decided to take action. This was because of:




  1. They were scared that the social order might be threatened if the number of poor people increased and ganged together to start a rebellion.
  2. the risk that beggars might turn to crime.
  3. fears that the poor might spread disease.
  4. landowners giving more to the poor.

Theatre
Portrait of William ShakespeareShakespeare wrote most of his plays during Elizabeth’s reign, and it  was considered a ‘golden age’ of culture, with the theatre becoming very popular during this time.
Not everyone approved of theatres, some believed theatres were the work of the devil, spreading rude and filthy ideas encouraging poor moral behaviour. They also associated the theatre with the Romans, who had persecuted Christians.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John Godber and Thatcherite Britain

John Godber was a drama teacher in Thatcherite Britain, how does this influence the theme and theatrical style of the play Teechers? John Godber was a drama teacher in Thatcherite Britain and this influenced the play Teechers in various ways,  the play had subtle messages behind it, for example when Mr Nixon was talking to Mr Bashford.  Below are the main aspects of his past that i think might have affected the theme of the play whilst John Godber was a teacher in Thatcherite Britain. Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s Conservative party leader and then became the first woman to hold the position of prime minister in 1979. She was prime minister for 11 years (1979 -1990) and was nicknamed “Iron Lady”. During her three terms, she cut social welfare programs, reduced trade union power and privatized certain industries.  Thatcher was first subsequently appointed the cabinet as secretary of state for education and science - This could have affected the theme of the play because t
Read more

children stories - research

Image
G rasshopper and Toad  It's about a Grasshopper and Toad who are good friends. People always saw them together. Yet they had never dined at each other's houses. One day Toad invited the  Grasshopper to come and dine at his house.  The next day Grasshopper arrived at Toad's house. Before sitting down to eat, Toad washed his forelegs, and invited Grasshopper to do the same. Grasshopper did so, and it made a loud noise. the Toad then told the grasshopper to stop chirping because he cannot eat with such a noise, Grasshopper tried to eat without rubbing his forelegs together, but it was impossible. Each time he gave a chirp, Toad complained and asked him to be quiet. Grasshopper was angry and could not eat. so he invited the  Toad to his house for dinner the next day.The next day, Toad arrived at Grasshopper's home. As soon as the meal was ready, Grasshopper washed his forelegs, and invited Toad to do the same. Toad did so, and then hopped toward the food.  Grassh
Read more