1. Shakespeare and The
Renaissance

2. Terms
 Allegory
– Story that teaches a political or religious
lesson
 Pound
– British unit of money
 Courtier
– Member of the Royal Court/ A Noble

3. The Renaissance
in Britain and other countries

4. The word Renaissance means
“Rebirth”.
This time period was a rebirth of
society.

5. When and Where it Began
 The Renaissance began in Italy with the
rise of the middle class.
 It began in approximately 1500.
 It spread westward across Europe from
Italy.
 It was based on the culture, creativity, and
education of Greece and Rome.
– It was the rebirth of scholarship in the
classical learning and philosophy.

6. Advancements
 Science
 Literature
– There was more to write about.
 Medicine
 Drama
 Exploration
– Development of Compass
– Advancements in Astronomy
– Columbus Reaching Western Hemisphere

7. Advancements Cont.
 Trade
 Architecture
 Geography
 Religion
 Art
 Philosophy

8. England was not part of the early
Renaissance because of internal
problems, external wars, and its
distance from Italy.

9. The Printing Press
 William Caxton brought it to England
 Set up in London 1476.
 Printed 26,000 works and editions by 1640
 It made books affordable.
– Increased Literacy Rate: By 1530 half of the
British population could read.
– Increased amount of education in population

10. Art and Literature
 This is the most important time for the
arts.
 Courtiers wrote for small audiences of the
educated and noble class.
 Love Poetry was very popular.

11. Science and Religion
 Copernicus discovered that the earth was
NOT the center of the universe.
 This upset traditional religious teachings.

12. Science and Religion Cont.
 The Catholic church has previously split
into Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic.
 The Roman Catholic Church split again
with Martin Luther in Germany in 1517
(Creating the Lutheran Church).
 King Henry VIII broke away from the
Roman Catholic Church and created the
Anglican Church.

13. Queen Elizabeth I

14. Parents and Family
 Her father was Henry VIII.
 He was married six times
 His wife, Anne Boleyn, was Elizabeth’s
mother.
 He had Anne beheaded.
 She had an older ½ sister, Mary.
 She had a younger ½ brother, Edward.

15. Split of the Church
 Henry VIII got into an argument with the
Pope because the Pope refused to annul
his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Mary’s
mother).
 Henry then changed the national religion
from Catholicism to Protestantism
(Anglicans- Episcopalians).
 He crowned himself head of the Church of
England.

16. Heir to the Throne
 The Catholic Church thought both
daughters were illegitimate.
– Mary because her mother was previously
married to Henry VIII’s brother.
– Elizabeth because Henry’s second marriage
was invalid.
 Edward was therefore thought to be the
child of the first true marriage and
succeeded his father.

17. Edward
 Ruled from age 9 to age 15.
 Was persuaded by advisor,
Duke of Northumberland, to
leave the throne to
Northumberland’s daughter-in-
law, Lady Jane Gray.
 Excluded Mary and Elizabeth
on the grounds they were
illegitimate.

18. Mary
 She was proclaimed Queen at
Edward’s death by the Lord
mayor of London.
– Lady Jane was imprisoned and
sentenced to be beheaded.
 She was Catholic and tried to
restore the Catholicism her
father removed resulting in
turmoil and bloodshed.
 She mercilessly persecuted
Protestants.
 She became known as Bloody
Mary

19. The Family Tree
Henry VII
Mary Elizabeth Edwards

20. Elizabeth’s Crown
 Elizabeth became Queen at 25 when her sister
died.
 There was a lot of support from the Catholic
community for the claim of Mary Stuart.
 There were many plots on Elizabeth’s life until
Mary Stuart was beheaded in 1587.
 She was able to restore order after the religious
turmoil.
 She ruled over England, Holland, and parts of
France

21. Issues with Spain
 Phillip of Spain hoped to  Drake also intercepted
marry Elizabeth in order to Spanish treasure ships at
unite the two nations. sea, and put the gold of
 Spain was the most South America (stolen by
powerful nation of the time. the Spanish) into the
 Spain and England had British treasury.
been long-time enemies.  This helped England to
 When Spanish ships gain power on the seas.
threatened England,
Elizabeth sent Hawkins ant
Drake to destroy the
Spanish Armada.

22. Personality
 Famous for delaying decisions as long as
possible in the hopes that a way would be
found out of the difficulty.
 Famous for her ability to choose wise
advisors and to inspire their loyalty and
devotion.
 Said to have the body of a weak woman and
a the heart and stomach of a king.

23. Achievements
 Supported by the
middle class.
 Summoned Parliament
very little
– Only in session 35
months during her 45
year reign from 1558 to
1603.

24. Successor
 Elizabeth died
unmarried.
 Named Mary Stuart’s
son, James, her
successor.

25. King James
 Established the 1st permanent settlement in
America – Jamestown, VA
 Enjoyed the arts.
 Persecuted the Protestants because he was
Catholic.
 Commissioned a new version of the bible-The
King James Bible
– Completed in 1611
– Influenced prose for generations
– 50-54 people helped write it.

26. King James Cont.
 James and his son, Charles
– were unable to maintain religious peace.
– Struggled with Parliament
 Money
 Absolute rule
 Persecuted the Puritans
– Led to the founding of Plymouth

27. Theatre
One of Ms. Ross’ favorite
subjects.

28. Actors
 Only men could be
actors.
 These men must be
acrobats, dancers, and
duelers.
 They were fined for not
going to rehearsals
because they were so
important.
 The women were played
by men

29. How they produced a play
 Censorship was done by  The biggest parts go the
a royal servant who new costumes.
would edit outlines and  There were no sets and
remove inappropriate only a few props.
things.  There were usually only
 Copies of the script were six men in the acting
made by having a copyist company and as many as
write each part on a 20 characters.
separate scroll
 Advertisements were
done with fliers and flags
on the theatres.

30. Audiences
 There were no  Each play had to
reserve seats. have a lesson or
 Children stood parents wouldn’t let
between their parent’s children see it.
knees.  The audience
 The audience members were from
expected poetry and all levels of society,
violent, realistic including pickpockets.
action.

31. The Closing of the Theatre
 Theatres were sometimes closed due to
crime and disease.
 Complaints were sometimes filed about
how ungodly theatres were.
 Plagues suspended operations.

32. Dramatists
 These are the people who wrote the plays.
 Charles Marlowe
The first Elizabethan Dramatist
 Ben Johnson
 William Shakespeare

33. Queen Elizabeth was
important to theatre
because she enjoyed plays
and kept the theatres open.
Many of London’s acting
companies performed for
her.

34. How a Play Opened
 A trumpet would
sound.
 One actor would
come on stage and
deliver a prologue.
 Things were usually
in verse because they
were easier to
memorize.

35. The first Theatre
 James Burbage built the
first theatre in England.
 It had five levels.  More people could see
 Lowest had trapdoors plays.
 Main Stage  There was storage and
 Balcony protection for costumes
 There were pulleys  Actors no longer had to
under the roof to make share space.
people fly.  Now actors could
 There was a loft room perform in once place
for musicians. instead of traveling.
 Actors could marry
 Actors could have
children

36. Interlude
An interlude is a short play performed
between banquet courses. This was a
new literary form developing during the
Renaissance.

37. W illiam
Shakespeare

38. Family
 His father was John
Shakespeare.
 Mayor of Stratford
 His mother was Mary Arden
 Daughter of an affluent
farmer
 He married Anne Hathaway at
age 18
 Most scholars believe he was
born on April 23, 1564.  He had three children
 Susanna born 1583
 He had 7 siblings.
 Hamnet born 1585
 He saw his first play at age 4  His only son who died in
when his father arranged for 1596
money from the town funds,  Judith born 1585
so that everyone could see  He died on his birthday at the
the first show free of charge.
age of fifty-two in 1616.

39. Family Tr ee

40. Shakespear e’s
Company
 It was Called the  Members
Kings Men under  William Kemp
King James.  A comic Actor
 Richard Burbage
 Idol of London Theatre
 John Hemings
 Business Manager
 Henry Condell
 Helped create the 1st
edition of
Shakespeare’s plays

41. Genr es of Shakespear e
 History
 Most Popular
 He was very knowledgeable in history
 Richard III is an example
 Comedy
 Most like reality
 Usually about love
 Usually involved a clown
 A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an example
 Tragedy
 Usually ended in death for the main character
 Romeo and Juliet is an example.

42. Shakespear e’s Writings
 His first play was Henry  He was no ordinary
VI written in 1592. writer, he did not do what
 He wrote 154 sonnets was expected.
(poems).  He did the opposite of
 When he became what was assumed to be
recognized for his poetry, in the plan.
he stopped writing it.  He is called the common
man’s composer
because he wrote for the
common people not to
gain status or to
entertain nobility.

43. Basis for Romeo and
Juliet
 The idea may have
partly come from his love
for Anne Hathaway and
his parent’s objections to
that marriage.
 Originated from a poem
by Arthur Brook that was
based on an Italian love
story.

44. Pr oblems for
Shakespear e
 The early years of his  Plague of 1592
theatre were hard  Closed theatres
because of  Shakespeare had no
problems. work, so he began to
 Economic Depression write poetry.
 Lots of Rain
 Poor Harvest

45. Fir st Pur chases after
Success
 His own theatre
 Largest home in Stratford
 His father’s coat of arms

46. T he Globe
Built by the Chamberlain’s Company

47. T he Globe is a polygon