Since Shakespeare's time almost all aspects of life have grown and shaped into what we know as life today. Society was shaped in very different ways from beliefs and understandings, cultures, the way we dressed, political and historical situations, down to a whole different language.
Shakespeare lived from 1564-1616 and although that may not seem like the longest time he fulfilled it with many incredible achievements. When Shakespeare was writing his plays which were staged in specialty built theatres, palace ballrooms and also in the open air, he would never have stopped and thought his story and plays were being read in classrooms and homes all over the world 400 years later.
In the Renaissance, this time known as ‘the age of learning’, ideas from classical Greece and Rome were being revived and spread across Europe from Italy. Not only were those ideas being revived but also classical themes in architecture and new techniques being developed resulting in new designs for churches.
Regardless of where Shakespeare's audience fell on the religious spectrum, they were all familiar with the Bible and Christianity, however Shakespeare's personal religious beliefs are still unknown to this day. Many of his plays give us a clear picture of the religious beliefs and effects they would have on daily life, in Elizabethan England.
Something I find special about Shakespeare is that he made sure his plays appealed to the entire audience. His plays would have complex poetry and ideas which suit the noble and middle class audience, but also plenty of humour and dirty jokes, suiting the groundlings.
The groundlings were the working people who paid less and stood in the pit in front of the stage. If they didn't enjoy the play they would sometimes go as far as throwing rotten fruit at those performing!
The wealthy nobles would pay extra so they got a seat rather than having to stand the entire play, sometimes those very wealthy people would even pay to have a seat right on stage!
These are what I see as the most important aspects of Shakespeare's plays, each paragraph I have written is a context I have taken an interest in.
