The Elizabethan Era's Effect on Shakespeare's Works
The Elizabethan Era's Effect on Shakespeare's Works
If every playwright in Shakespeare's time aspired, as he did, to paint a portrait of an age in their works, his would have been the Mona Lisa, leaving the most lasting impression on generations to come and at the same time, one of the world's most baffling mysteries. Surely it is no coincidence that the world's most celebrated dramatist would've lived during the time when one of the world's most powerful rulers in history reigned. Or was it?
How much influence from the Elizabethan era was infused into Shakespeare's plays? Especially since it was a time of religious reformation and fluctuating political relations, in which England was very much in the thick of. The events and personalities of the Elizabethan age helped Shakespeare create a vivid and colorful world to build his plays on, and in return, Shakespeare's genius helped to define this pinnacle of English history.
To best understand Shakespeare, it is crucial to understand the age in which he lived and worked. The Elizabethan era was characterized by a renascent interest in the arts, long forgotten because of the many years of turmoil and political unrest that preceded it. Most notably was the War of the Roses, in which the two Houses of Lancaster and York fought over possession of the English crown until finally the Lancastrians were defeated.
However, their victory was short-lived for it was soon snatched away by the Duke of Gloucester, the same duke that legend say murdered two young princes in the Tower of London. He is also known as Richard III. In the end, Henry VII defeated him in Bosworth, which heralded the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. This royal ruling house, reigning for over a century, was able to catapult England from its indigent and inferior international standing as just a pawn between the two powerhouses of the era, Spain and France, to a proud and confident nation, greatly in part to Queen Elizabeth's brilliant tactical diplomacy
If every playwright in Shakespeare's time aspired, as he did, to paint a portrait of an age in their works, his would have been the Mona Lisa, leaving the most lasting impression on generations to come and at the same time, one of the world's most baffling mysteries. Surely it is no coincidence that the world's most celebrated dramatist would've lived during the time when one of the world's most powerful rulers in history reigned. Or was it?
How much influence from the Elizabethan era was infused into Shakespeare's plays? Especially since it was a time of religious reformation and fluctuating political relations, in which England was very much in the thick of. The events and personalities of the Elizabethan age helped Shakespeare create a vivid and colorful world to build his plays on, and in return, Shakespeare's genius helped to define this pinnacle of English history.
To best understand Shakespeare, it is crucial to understand the age in which he lived and worked. The Elizabethan era was characterized by a renascent interest in the arts, long forgotten because of the many years of turmoil and political unrest that preceded it. Most notably was the War of the Roses, in which the two Houses of Lancaster and York fought over possession of the English crown until finally the Lancastrians were defeated.
However, their victory was short-lived for it was soon snatched away by the Duke of Gloucester, the same duke that legend say murdered two young princes in the Tower of London. He is also known as Richard III. In the end, Henry VII defeated him in Bosworth, which heralded the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. This royal ruling house, reigning for over a century, was able to catapult England from its indigent and inferior international standing as just a pawn between the two powerhouses of the era, Spain and France, to a proud and confident nation, greatly in part to Queen Elizabeth's brilliant tactical diplomacy