' turning away from medieval socialism and reviving
interest in ancient Greek and roman thought'
Change in the overwhelming concerns of the people
From God to humans (middle ages to renaissance)
Greek
Tragedy
Greek literature
wouldn’t have made it
to England directly
Would've been read by the Romans
Roman Literature influenced by Greek
literature would've made it to England
Aristotle's Poetics
Highly influential via Roman literature
'The earliest surviving literary theory'
Religion
Catholic vs Protestant
Kings and Queens
King Henry the 8th broke away from the Catholic faith when he was
unable to divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and was
excommunicated from the Catholic Church
King Henry founded the Church of England, he became 'The Supreme Head'
Henry's successor, Mary the first - 'Bloody Mary' - was a devout catholic. She attempted to
reverse England's religious reformation and is known for burning protestants at the stake
Bloody Mary's reign only lasted four years, ending with her death. The throne went to her
younger half sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth the first was a protestant like her mother, Anne
Boleyn, switching the religion of England back to Protestantism.
By the time Queen Elizabeth
claimed the throne, England was
divided by religion. Many Catholics
attempted to assassinate Queen
Elizabeth in favour of a Catholic
ruler. Even after her death,
Catholics still attempted to kill her
successor, James the first.
The gunpowder plot
Society is unsettled in Shakespeare's time
Conflict becomes a strong theme across his plays
'The chain of being'
The idea that God has given everyone and
everything the place that it is destined to
be in. To change or go against this 'chain
of command structure would be to work
against/defy Him.
You can see this in most of Shakespeare's plays. The anger of God can be seen
through Shakespeare's use of storms or other things only an omnipotent being
could control