WEEK 3 - SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON AND ELIZABETHAN AUDIENCES

QUESTION: What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

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Above is an Image of Queen Elizabeth l taking her rule in 1558 as she transformed England into what they called the "Golden Age".  At the time Queen Elizabeth l came to power, women were seen as weak and 'pretty objects' so having such a powerful woman come to power was very unusual for the people living in England. Her image of strong power and strength was something that she felt had to be kept and maintained. Elizabeth would commission portrait artists to paint her as a powerful woman to help keep her presence strong and bold. Elizabeth also used her unmarried status to reinforce that she didn't need the help of a man to be just as strong leader as others might have been. Her independence was shocking to England as they hadn't ever met anyone quite like her. Although she started to become less successful during the end of her throne most people believe that Queen Elizabeth leaded a great impact into creating the 'Golden Age'.

LONDON

Population

Although at the time London wasn’t that big, it was rapidly increasing as it’s population started to grow massively. Many people were moving from the countryside and uter europe into london in search of a better life. It is believed that between the years of 1550 and 1600 London grew from a population of 50,000 to over 200,000.  London quickly became packed as a tourist described the area saying that “one simply cannot walk along the streets for the crowds”.

Sickness

The overcrowding of all the people soon leaded to more serious problems as diseases came about that they were not able to cure. The plague wiped out ⅔ f the population and killed people within roughly 4-7 days. People were frightened to even leave their houses as the summer of 1593 came along wiping out about 10,000 residents.

Religion

Many people were living having different religions to each other and so to calm the tension between the people she came up with the idea of 'middle way'. The idea of this was that people who were either Catholics or Puritans were allowed to keep their religious beliefs along with staying private about them as long as they still attended the Church of England.

Poverty

When Elizabeth came to power, poverty was a big issue especially in the countryside as there had been many problems with harvest and crop growth. In order to try and help to resolve this she passed on 'The Poor Law' this was supposed to help to reinforce the help that was needed for people living in the countryside. As a result of the the law wasn't actually that successful and didn't make much of an impact as people in the countryside still continued to struggle.

Attractions

London already had it’s site attractions with places such as The Tower of London, London Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral helping it gain much popularity especially for the rich and wealthy.

Notes/ People that went to the theatre

• All people living in London were attending the theatre ranging from the poor to the wealthy. At the top where they were able to stay seated, were all the rich people including lawyers and merchants. At the bottom where they would have to stay standing during the entire performance were “Groundlings”, the not so wealthy people who would pay a penny to watch the show. Apprentices,  journeymen, tradesmen and women were among those to stayed standing.

• The Shakespeare shows were of all genres  including romance, tragedy and comedy.