CONTEXT/ELIZABETHAN PERIOD
In 1558, the Catholic Queen Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, dies, giving place to the reign of Elizabeth and the so-called Elizabethan Period. That period goes from 1558 to 1603, when Elizabeth, who was a protestant, dies.
During the time in whichElizabethreigned, the Court was a center of power as well as of culture. At that time,Londonwas getting bigger, markets expanded, international trade flourished, people wanted to move to the city and be prosperous. For Elizabethan society, printing made reading more accessible, books were cheaper, and self-reading improved.
To talk about culture and literature in Elizabethan England, we have to talk about Renaissance, which could have taken root inEnglandduring the early sixteenth century, probably with the accession of Henry VIII. Renaissance inEnglandappeared as Humanism. The Renaissance was the time for reverence on classics. Many writers, painters…found their inspiration on the influence of the ancient classics.
Education was just for men pertaining wealthy families or in Grammar schools. They were taught Latin and/or Greek- Latin was considered to be the language of diplomacy. Women were educated at home and in contrast with men, they were not taught Latin nor classical literature.
Religious confrontation also occurred in Elizabethan England. Before Elizabethhad ruled, Catholicism was the current religion. The “official religion” was determined by monarch’s religious beliefs; so Protestantism became the official religion in the England of Elizabeth. Shakespeare had to be Protestant in social terms, but he really adhered Catholicism, like his father, John Shakespeare, did. It was dangerous because, for that time, many of those who did not adhere Protestantism were executed.
