Elizabethan Era

Elizabethan England

1485-1660

William Shakespeare

The Bard

The Tragedy of Hamlet

Renaissance=rebirth of the human spirit

On Elizabeth''s watch

DISCOVERIES/INVENTIONS

Printing Press

Telescope

America & other"newlands”

English Navy

Elizabeth also

STRESSED EDUCATION AND THE ARTS

Michelangelo, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Galileo. Explorer-Sir Francis Drake

play

3 popular types of literature

essay

poem/

sonnet

14 line poem w/ a

certain rhyme scheme

From fairest creatures we desire increase,

That thereby beauty's rose might never die,

But as the riper should by time decease,

His tender heir might bear his memory:

But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes,

Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,

Making a famine where abundance lies,

Thy self thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel:

Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament,

And only herald to the gaudy spring,

Within thine own bud buriest thy content,

And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding:

Pity the world, or else this glutton be,

To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.

HENRY VIII

BELOVED KING

6 wives

DIVORCE?

ANGLICAN CHURCH-PROTESTANT

EDWARD VI 1547-1553

Took throne at age 9

PROTESTANT:

DEATH TO THOSE WHO DON'T FOLLOW

MARY I 1553-1558

BLOODY MARY

CATHOLIC:

PUBLIC Death to those who won’t follow

ELIZABETH I 1558-1603

Elizabeth was more tolerant of both religions. She even attended both Catholic and Protestant churches.

She was busy hunting, partying, and “dating.” She had no time for Puritan theologians who deemed her activities “impious” or anti-god.

“The Virgin Queen”

• Established 100 free grammar school-open to both sexes.
• Gresham College established-1st college to cater to the middle class
• GOLDEN AGE OF DRAMA-due to Liz’s love of the arts

So-in 18 years-the “official” religion changed 3 times in England?

1541=Henry changes from Catholic to Protestant

1553=Mary changes from Protestant BACK to Catholic

1558=Liz~ ???

GREATLY AFFECTED LITERATURE

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 1564-1616

• Attended grammar school courtesy of Q. Eliz.
• Wrote “Hamlet” after theatres had been closed to due the plague
• Plays fall under 3 genres

Comedy Tragedy History

“HAMLET”:a tragedy

Written in 1600 or 1601.

First performed in July 1602.

First published in print in 1603.

THE GLOBE THEATRE

Partially owned by Shakespeare

“Hamlet” performed here.

“Middle Class” theatre

Prince Hamlet’s Dad, King Hamlet, dies

His Mother, Queen Gertrude, marries Prince Hamlet’s father’s brother-Prince Hamlet’s Uncle (now step-dad)Claudius

Hamlet’s father’s ghost visits and tells Hamlet that his death was not an accident and he wants Prince Hamlet to avenge his death!

TRAGIC FLAW: Hamlet’s tragic flaw was his delayed reaction that revenge for the sake of revenge is EVIL.

Traits of a TYPICAL RENAISSANCE PLAY

As was commonplace during the Renaissance,

Shakespeare borrowed the storyline from a

Latin history of Denmark

Revenge Tragedy:

A crime committed

For some reason-crime cannot be punished

Main character goes through a “point of doubt.”

Revenge is carried out

TYPICAL SHAKESPEARE TRAGEDY

• GHOST: Almost always a ghost present to persuade the protagonist
• SOLILOQUIE: Characters discuss their thoughts and feelings aloud
• CRIME
• MADNESS

Elizabethan Society considered revenge sinful,

but loved to see it in their plays!

Traits of REVENGE PLAYS

Law of Unintended Consequences: whether a person plans

for it or not-unexpected occurrences happen as a result—

ripple affect.

Revenge is usually carried out in a rage, therefore,

not well thought out.

Shakespeare on revenge: It is not ok

unless there is a benefit to society as a whole.

“Hamlet: Prince of Denmark.”

Many layers in this play.

There is ALWAYS more to the protagonist than it seems.

400 years later-people are still flocking to sold out performances