Thomas more

• Influential figure of the early Renaissance

• Educated at Oxford

• a lawyer and the Undersheriff of London,

• Also became a widely respected writer, historian,

and philosopher

• Friendship with the greatest Humanist thinker of the

time, Desiderius Erasmus

• 1518 – at the service of Henry VIII

• Lord Chancellor- 1529

His works:

● Utopia in 1516 (before the outbreak of the Reformation)

● many polemics against the heresies of Protestantism.

Context:

● Remained profoundly religious catholic; poverty (followed the ascetic practices of

monks; attracted by the monastic life)
● Leader of the Counter-Reformation
● executed in 1535, a martyr for his religion
● canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935
● Europe and England were still founded on the economic models of feudalism,
● virtually all power resided with rich nobles (lavish lifestyles)
● the peasants struggled to survive
● One individual could enjoy an income of £50,000 a year, while thousands of people
starved, or were hanged for stealing food
● In Tudor England there was no freedom of speech and freedom of thought
● The late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries - formative years in the Renaissance,
a flowering of art and thought that began in Italy and flooded through Europe and
England
● A NEW PARADIGM (Revolution in art and thought)
● a renewed interest in classical Greece and Rome,

● an emphasis on reason and science,

 ● and an intellectual movement known as humanism (dominated by secular men of
letters rather than religious monks or priests).
● Reformation: period of intense religious and social conflict in Europe.
● England was no exception
● Utopia was written in Latin

Utopia:

● Utopia - a response to a specific historical time

● However, while More might not have envisioned Utopia as a pertect society, it is
inarguable that he torwarded utilitarian, rational Utopia as a criticism of the European
world he saw around him.
● Complexity of meanings embedded in Utopia:
● It can be thought of as the culmination of rational thought or Humanist beliefs, as an
alternative to feudalism;
● a statement in favor of communal society (political manifesto, in which all references
to religion should be ignored);
● or an effort to promote reform according to Christian values (Catholic tract).
● More's Utopia gave its name to a literary genre
● Utopias have been written to illustrate many different theories of perfection.
● Literary product of its time - response
● Critiques of 16th-century/Tudor English society (feudalism, social inequalities, lack of
freedom of expression and thought)
● Fictional work Fictional characters (intermingled with historical figures)Thomas More,
Peter Giles, Raphael Hythoday (Hythlodaeus)

Utopia is about:

● Rationalist and utilitarian world

● Communitarianism (community property vs private property)
● Absence of war (pacifism)
● Equality and freedom
● Value of education
● Religion
● Euthanasia
● Way of life
● Marriage
● Individual freedom
● Slavery

How utopia is organized:

● Two books
● First: introduction to the second book
● Mainly concerned with recording an informal conversation
● Second: depiction of the Utopian World
● Is a 'talk' improvised on the spur of the moment

Characters:

More :

● In service to King Henry VIII of England, he travels to Antwerp where he meets Peter
Giles and Raphael Hythloday.
 ● More is a fictional character sharing the same name as Utopia's author, Sir Thomas
More.

Peter Giles:

● Friend of More and acquaintance of Raphael Hythloday. Once again, Peter Giles is
an actual historical figure, a friend and intellectual companion of Sir Thomas More.
Peter Giles, in fact, helped More to get Utopia published. The fictional Giles shares
nearly all of his biographical history with the real Peter Giles, but like the fictional
More, should be understood to be a fictional character.

Raphael Hythloday - the narrator:

● depicted the island of Utopia as an ideal human society

● (Comes from Portugal), a student of philosophy and world traveler, he lived for five
years on the island of Utopia before returning to Europe to spread the word about the
Utopian's ideal society. Hythloday's last name, in Greek, means "talker/dispenser of
nonsense," a clue from Sir Thomas More to his reader that the island of Utopia is a
fiction.

Hythlodaeus - Nonsenso

Utopia - Utopos or Utopus (noplace)

Cardinal John Morton - Actual Chancellor to Henry VIII.

● Hythloday once spent a fictional evening discussing the societal problems of England
with Morton and an unnamed lawyer.

Lawyer:

● An unnamed man who once spent an evening with Hythloday and Cardinal Morton.
He is defensive of England and unwilling to find fault with anything in English society.

General Utopus - Ancient warrior and founder of Utopia.

● He conquered the savages who once lived on the isthmus Utopia now occupies, and
then set his army and new subjects to work cutting the land away to make Utopia an
island. In his wisdom, Utopus set up the Utopian society that Hythloday finds so
immensely attractive.

What does Utopia say on the following topics:

Utopia emphasis on fantasy paradoxically combined with and emphasis on realism is not
presented to the reader as a blueprint for an ideal state. It is presented as fiction rather than
as a possibility.

• Utopian way of life

• Punishment for theft (crime)

• Slavery, Euthanasia, marriage. What value do the Utopians place on marriage? How
does the institution serve the people and the State?

• Work

• Education

• Common property (Communal versus private property)

• War

• Personal liberty

Discuss the status of women in Utopia.

How far does Thomas More stray from Humanism? Are there tensions evident in the
text between the humanist Utopia and the commentary in Book 1?
RELIGION

How does Raphael say he first represented Christian doctrine to the Utopians? What
effect did his presentation have?

What is the status of religion in Utopia? Is religion closely connected to the State, or
is it independent? How might Utopian customs imply criticism of European religious
practices?

Humanism. The humanist position in the present.

Humanitas is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses
in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below.

Main features:
1. Science and Rationalism (Empiricism).
- Skepticism: agnosticism/atheism about the existence of God/s
- Secularism
- Freedom of thought and expression
- Free will - Moral education
- Rejection of dogmas
- Favoring individual moral autonomy
- Belief in the importance of moral values

what is humanism?
● An intellectual and cultural movement that contributed to the development of
disciplines such as biblical studies, political thought, arts, science, and all
branches of philosophy
● Renaissance (1400-1600) / Enlightenment
● Valuing what is human / importance of human values (humanity – humankind)
 ● Improvement of humanity
● Empathy
● Tolerance
● Emphasis on the dignity of man and the power of reason
● Humanists are not relativists; they accept objective values
● Humanists are not blind to man’s defects, nastiness and selfishness; they have
their eyes wide open
● Humanists accept evolutionary theory
● Humanists do not promote solely human welfare; other creatures and the
environment also matter
● Humanists do not want to ban religion; they approve of free thought and free
speech
● Humanists are not lacking in spirituality; they can be in awe of the world and its
splendor

Renaissance humanism
● New paradigm

Italy:
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Michelangelo (1475-1564)

France:
François Rabelais (1490-1533)
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

Netherlands:
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)

England:
Thomas More (1478-1535)
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

The origin
ERASMUS + Leonardo da Vinci + Comenius

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS
(1466-1536)

was:
❖ Cosmopolitanism/universalism (citizen of Europe)
❖ Humanism
❖ Pacifism
❖ Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation
❖ Belief in free will
❖ Rhetoric and skepticism
❖ Moral philosophy
 ❖ Studia humanitas

- The Praise of the Folly - 1509 (1511)

The Praise of Folly by Erasmus is a satirical work that critiques the flaws of
society and the misguided pursuit of glory and power. It challenges
conventional wisdom and offers insight into the follies of human nature.

What was one of the targets of Desiderius Erasmus in his satire In

Praise of Folly?
In Desiderius Erasmus's In Praise of Folly, he satirizes many different types of people, but
one of his main targets is the Catholic Church and its clergy. He claims that the clergy and
even Jesus himself are some of the most foolish people of all, although he also claims
that foolishness is the cause of happiness for mankind.

Who was the intended audience for In Praise of Folly?

Erasmus first wrote In Praise of Folly in 1509 while staying in London with his friend Sir
Thomas Moore. Originally, the intended audience for In Praise of Folly was Sir Thomas
Moore. However, the work was later revised and published as a book in 1511, and the
audience widened to include various theologians, intellectuals, and members of the
public.

Questions:

How long did the reign of Elizabeth I last?

Why was it a glorious period of English history?

Who were Elizabeth’s parents?

Why was Henry VIII a famous king?

What happened to Elizabeth’s mother ?

Who became the English ruler when Henry VIII died?

What relationship did Elizabeth have with her half-sister Mary?

What kind of queen was Elizabeth?

Why was Mary, Queen of Scots, a danger to the English throne ?

Why did Philip II of Spain decide to attack England?

What was the Spanish Armada?

Who was the greatest writer of the Elizabethan Age?

What happened in the final years of Elizabeth’s reign?

Who succeeded her on the English throne when she died?

Life in Tudor England

OThe Tudor Age – pivotal period of English history

OMiddle Ages (medieval kingdom)
OModernity (modern state)

OMain events:
OThe Reformation (1533-1536)
OCatholics / Protestants/ Puritans
OThe discovery of the New World
OThe Renaissance
OThe defeat of the Spanish Armada
OEngland became prosperous, a land of order and law.
OIt established a growing reputation for scholarship and literature
OIntroduction of Printing (William Caxton) to England
OHuge impact of the print culture
OGreat emphasis on education.
OPublic schools: St.Paul’s, Repton, Rugby and Harrow. Began in Tudor times.
OThomas Wolsey founded Christ Church at Oxford University.
OHenry VIII created Trinity College, Cambridge

The Tudor Dynasty

OEngland’s most notorious dynasty
OPivotal figures: Henry VIII; Elizabeth I
OHenry, in the process of forcing upon England a revolution from above that few people
of its people welcomed, created a new elite that his radical redistribution of the national
wealth made so rich and powerful so quickly that within a few generations it would prove
capable of overthrowing the Crown itself.

Social and economic developments (16th century)

ODuring Henry VIII’s reign: break with Rome, the dissolution of monasteries; the conquest
of Ireland; the 6 marriages of the monarch)
OA rapidly expanding middle class became increasingly affluent, particularly the
numerous merchants and tradesmen. Exs:
OJohn Shakespeare
OThomas Wolsey, a butcher’s son, rose to Cardinal and Lord Chancellor (December 24,
1515)
OThe father of Thomas Cromwell had been a cloth worker
ORise of population -»urban growth -» growth in economic demand -» need to supply
towns -» market opportunities
ODevelopment of the coal industry in the north-east of England; expansion of coal
production in Scotland
ORise of population:
OWales: 226,000 in the 1540s
342,000 in 1670

OScotland: 1 million by 1650

OEngland: from under 2.5 million to about 5 million by 1651 (Black, 2003: 96)
OConsequences:
OLand enclosures; area of cultivation extended
OPrice inflation
OWide gap between the rich and the poor

OPoor Relief:
O1495 Act Against Vagabond and Beggars
O1598 The relief of poverty was made responsibility of the individual Parish
OThe Poor Relief Act (1662)
ORepressive Poor Laws
OEconomic pressure -» widespread malnutrition; some starvation among the poor
ORise in Crime

OReasons:
OThe wealthy
OAristocrats and gentry built prestigious houses (stately houses)
OSought to adopt a code of aristocratic conduct
OVery interested in education
OLandscaping in gardens and parks strengthened and reflected ideas of order and
hierarchy

Economic and cultural developments

OPrinting

O William Caxton (1474)

OCultural and Leisure activities

OPublic playhouses
OThe Theatre
OThe Globe

Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Martin Luther (1483-1546) Henry VIII (1533-1536) Mary I Elizabeth I

-Martin Luther
 - ‘Attacked the beliefs and hierarchies of the orthodox faith.’
- The Pope in Rome was the Antichrist
-The Church was not needed. Grace and faith enough for salvation
- Luther’s 95 theses – nailed to the the door of the castle church in Wittenberg.
- Against the Catholic practice of indulgences
- Crucial period in the formation of the national character (Englishness)
- The greatest revolution in English History
- Henry VIII / Supremacy Act (1534)

The Preamble of the Reformation Statutes we find the first presentation of the official
version of English History:

- The act of supremacy 1534

In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which defined the right of Henry VIII to be
supreme head on earth of the Church of England, thereby severing ecclesiastical links with
Rome.

39 articles
- essential beliefs of the Anglican church codified
- Established by a convocation of the Church in 1563.
- are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of
England with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation.

The reformation
-English as nationalist, erastian and self-sufficient, independent and exceptional in
character, vitally different from the rest of Europe.
-Erastianism = supremacy of the state over the Church
-The Reformation represented the return to a golden past of English Protestantism and
freedom.
-This official version was repeated by chroniclers, historians and by all the official
agencies of the state.
-Thomas Cromwell: minister of propaganda for the State; Henry VIII’s principal secretary.
-Thomas More (opposition to Protestantism)
- Reformation set religion and faith at the centre of the English national feeling.
- Idea of national election, blessed by God
-Consolidation of the first national pre-modern identities in Europe -Religion and politics
contributed to the English national unity -Anti-popery feelings
-Aversion to the Roman Catholic Church
-The other Catholic nations (e.g. Spain and France) represented the enemy in Tudor
England.

How did the people of England react to the break with Rome?

-The country was still catholic

-The population was very angry with the Roman Catholic Church (money extorsion)
-The Catholic Church – very wealthy
-The poor remained poor
-Catholic Church’s unpopularity
-Dissolution of monasteries
-Monks, priests accused of corruption
-Some monks received a pension, some were hanged
-The vast bulk of the wealth of the monasteries went to Henry VIII

Answer T or F to the questions below

1. Martin Luther criticised the Catholic Church t

2. Martin Luther believed that people should be able to ‘buy off’ sins f

3. Martin Luther believed that priests should be subject to the law of the land t

4. Luther’s supporters became known as Protestants t

5. Henry VIII wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon t

6. Henry VIII wanted to be able to marry Anne of Cleves

7. The Act of Supremacy removed Mary from the line of succession f

8. The Act of Supremacy made the Pope head of the Church of England

9. Thomas More refused to recognise the Act of Succession

10. Monarchs today are still head of the Church of England

THE HENRICIAN REFORMATION

1534-1547

• The story of the Reformation was not only one of a sudden and sharp schism that split
Rome and England, but of a gradual imposition of power, superiority and difference by a
King who, more than religious reformation, initiated a whole new cultural and political
enterprise.

• Reformation in England was not only about religion. Its implications went beyond the
domain of religion as they were spread through all areas of human existence.

• Reformation was “an ‘Act of State’, simply imposed upon the nation by its successive
governments” (Marshall, 2017, n.p.)

• Religion served political or economic ends.

.Politics and language – hand in hand

• Discourse: English as nationalist, erastian and self-sufficient, independent and

exceptional in character, vitally different from the rest of Europe.
• This discourse was overtly repeated in historical chronicles, official documents,
religious texts (e.g. Biblical texts), other propagandistic media

• Continuity of Catholicism

• Middle way between Catholicism and Lutheranism

Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament

William Tyndale – an early convert of Lutheranism

• First printed version of the English New Testament (1526) (revised in 1534 and 1535)
(Printing press: a propagandistic weapon)

• Independent translation from the Greek – superior translation than Luther’s

• Tyndale believed the Bible should be read by everyone (believers) – “main reason why
everyone needs a translation in his or her own language” (Bray, 1994, p. 33)

—- Tyndale’s preface to the New Testament (1526, 1534) • “03. (…) Moreover, because the
kingdom of heaven, which is the Scripture and word of God, may be so locked up, that he
which readeth or heareth it cannot understand it;

—--Thefefore (…) I thought it my duty (most dear reader) to warn thee before, and to show
thee the right way in, and to give thee the true key to open it withal, and to arm thee
against false prophets and malicious hypocrites,

The Importance of the Bible

- The English Bible helped to coin a language of devotion

• Strong demand for vernacular Scriptures (Morgan, 2010, p. 273)

• The Coverdale Bible (1535) (Miles Coverdale)

• “Coverdale was the first to introduce such phrases as ‘loving kindness’ and ‘tender mercy’. A
tract of the time declared that Englishmen have now in hand, in every church and place, the Holy
Bible in their mother tongue’. It was said that the Voice of God was English”.

Act of the Pardon of Clergy (1531)

• Began the process of divorce between England and Rome, culminating with the Act of
Supremacy (1534)

• Lay control of the Church – Supremacy of the king over the clergy
Pardon of the Clergy 2nd Session of Reformation Parliament 16 January
1531 to 31 March 1531 No 15 An Act concerning the pardon granted to
the King’s Spiritual Subjects of the Province of Canterbury for the
Praemunire

``The King our Sovereign Lord, calling to his blessed and most gracious remembrance
that his good and loving subjects``

``Of his mere motion, benignity, and liberality, by authority of this his Parliament, hath
given and granted his liberal and free pardon to his said good and loving spiritual
subjects a``

Act of Supremacy 1534

In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which defined the right of Henry VIII to be
supreme head on earth of the Church of England, thereby severing ecclesiastical links with
Rome.

Aiming at religious uniformity

• THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (1571)
• Ten Articles - 1536
• The Bishops’ Book – 1537
• The Six Articles – 1539
• The King’s Book – 1543 (middle way)
• Forty-Two Articles – 1552 (Edward VI’s reign)
• Thirty Nine Articles – 1563 (Elizabeth I’s reign)

The Bishops’ Book 1537

- Entitled ‘The Institution of Christen Man’
• Cranmer headed the Committee (46 divines) that authored the Bishops’ Book
• Main purpose: implement reforms of Henry VIII; Reforming the Anglican Church
(Anglicana Ecclesia)
• a reformed, purged, but theologically orthodox church
• Refutation “of the Lutheran idea of justification by faith alone”
• Belief “in the idea of fides non formata – faith as assent to revealed truth” (Koziara, 2014,
33)
• Good deeds and the word of God – enough for salvation

Purge and reformation

• Dissolutions of the Monasteries
• Imposition of an English Bible in every household (emphasis on the word of the
Scriptures rather than on the Lutheran concept of ‘sola fide’) – radical departure form
Catholic practices
• Destruction of images and relics in churches
• Ban of holy days and Saint’s days
• Opposition to Pilgrimages
• BUT there was no denial of transubstantiation
• Catholic input
• Development of the idea of nation-state and nationalism

Conclusion
-Religion was woven inextricably into the fabric of politics and political language.
• Henry VIII was not a confessed Protestant but, very shrewdly, chose rather a more
moderate way (middle way between Catholicism and Lutheranism)
• Thomas Cromwell, despite being a convert Lutheran, died in the old faith.
• As a result of the claim for Royal supremacy the alignment between religion and politics
became unavoidable – “all religious questions became political; and dissent a direct
challenge to the Crown” (Black, 2003)
• “The voice of God was English” – Access to the Bible – vernacular language –
construction and consolidation of a national identity and of a stronger, united, elected
nation different from the fragmented nations in Europe.

The Tudor age

Mary I Elizabeth I Edward VI

● Royal Minority
● Death of Henry VIII (1547)
● Edward was 9
● ‘Minority and female rule were topics that provoked irrational fears and
stereotyped impulses in the sixteenth century.’
● By his will, Henry VIII had appointed a regency council of 16 members who were to
govern the realm and exercise the royal supremacy until Edward was 18 years old

Edward VI
1547-53 altura que foi rei
● England open and under the influence of continental Protestantism
● Edward strongly influenced by Protestantism
● Allied with Archbishop Cranmer, the Duke of Somerset introduced Protestant
worship by the Book of Common Prayer (1549)
● Uniformity Act (the Prayer Book alone was to be used for church services)
Protestant Reformation
● Hertford – appointed Protector and Governor’s of Edward’s Person
● Hertford made him Duke of Somerset
● He ‘courted’ popularity
● Executive agent of the Regency councillors
● Took arbitrary and ill-informed decisions about warfare in Scotland and France;
about domestic order and security in England and Ireland; about the advance of
the Protestant Reform

Protestant Reform
● Major problems
● Social riot and commotion
● War expenditure
● Inflation
● Somerset’s threat to Scotland
● Mary Stuart, queen of Scots

- Earl of Warwick – became Lord President of the Council; created himself the title
of Duke of Northumberland
- Domestic peace was restored
- England’s finances were recovering
- Somerset (Lord Protector) – leader of a Protestant faction
- Educated Edward VI as a Protestant too The Reformation transformed into a
Protestant phenomenon
- Dissolution of the chantries to finance his Scottish campaigns.
- Stripping of images from parish churches
- All remaining shrines and their jewels seized by the Crown
- Statues and paintings smashed or covered with whitewash
- Somerset ensured that the art, sculpture, metalwork and embroidery associated
with Catholic liturgy and ritual were wiped out
- Edward VI died of tuberculosis at the age of 16 (1553). Reigned only 6 years.
- Problem of succession: Mary I claimed the legal right to the throne (Lawful
successor)
- BUT
- Northumberland’s coup d’etat (takeover)
- Lady Jane Grey (daughter of the Duchess of Suffolk (Henry VIII’S niece) married to
his eldest son.
- Residuary legatee of the Crown, under Henry VIII’s will
- Edward had drafted a documentary ‘device’ desinheriting his sisters and
bequeathed his throne to Jane and her heirs.
- Jane was proclaimed queen four days after Edward VI’s death
- Jane Grey ruled for 9 days
- Mary and her supporters managed to overthrow Northumberland and Jane from
their intents

The problems of female rule

- Early modern society was patriarchal, dictating that fathers should rule
- Mary I (1553-8)
- Mary restored papal authority and Catholic practice
- Married Philip of Spain, a member of the leading Catholic dynasty
- Protestant polemic
 - Anti-Spanish xenophobia
- Politics of gender

Mary I
- Many Protestants (Cranmer) were burnt at the stake
- Others fled to the Continent
- ‘Bloody Mary’
- Mary’s true goal: reconciliation with Rome
- Opposition to the marriage of Mary
- Brought and unsuccessful and expensive war with France (1558 – fall of Calais)
- Blow to national prestige paralysed the regime, and Philip’s last supporters
suddenly disappeared
- Mary died after long periods of dropsy; no child

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
1558-1603
- Longest-reigning English monarch since Edward III
- Her longevity and personality played a major role in determining the political and
religious character of Tudor England
- Became the most experienced politician in her kingdom
- Shrewd and manipulative

The Elizabeth Settlement

- Completed in 1563 – approval of thirty-nine Articles defining the Church of
England’s doctrine
- Protestant Settlement more conservative than that of Northumberland
- Limits to her Protestantism; she was not as zealous as Edward VI and Mary I
- The Settlement meant that England became officially Protestant
- Decline of Catholicism under Elizabeth

Social and cultural highlights of the Elizabethan Age

Life in Tudor England
Protestant Reformation
Material Culture, art and Literature

The Tudor Dynasty

● Henry VII (1485-1509)
● Henry VIII (1509-1547)
● Edward VI (1547-1553)
● (Lady Jane Grey (1553))
● Mary I (1553-1558)
● Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
Life in Tudor England

● The Tudor Age – pivotal period of English history

● Middle Ages (medieval kingdom)
|
|
^^
● Modernity (modern state)
● Main events:
● The Reformation (1533-1536)
● Catholics / Protestants/ Puritans

● The discovery of the New World

● The Renaissance
● The defeat of the Spanish Armada
● England became prosperous, a land of order and law.
● It established a growing reputation for scholarship and literature
● Introduction of Printing (William Caxton) to England (1474)
● Huge impact of the print culture

Protestant Reformation in England

Life in Tudor England
● Wide gap between the wealthy and the poor
● Poverty
● Poor Relief
● Rise of population
● A rapidly expanding middle class became more and more influential (tradesmen
and merchants)
● Aristocrats and gentry built pres
● Nobility; gentry; merchants, traders and townsmen; yeomen, husbandmen and
countrymen; the poor (Mortimer, 2013, pp. 50-57)

● Great emphasis on education and literacy. Why?

● Public schools: St.Paul’s, Repton, Rugby and Harrow. Began in Tudor times.
● Thomas Wolsey founded Christ Church at Oxford University.
● Henry VIII created Trinity College, Cambridge
● EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Material culture, art and literature

 ● Music and literature
● London
● Cultural and leisure activities:
● Public playhouses (The Globe; The Rose, The Swan)
● Indoor theatres
● The Royal Palaces
● Inn of courts
● The Houses of the nobility
● Open amphitheatres

Important people during this period:

● Thomas More (1478-1535)
● Thomas Wyatt (1503?-1542)
● Thomas More (1478-1535)
● Thomas Wyatt (1503?-1542)
● Philip Sidney (1554-1559)
● Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
● William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
● Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

William Shakespeare
● The most acclaimed and prestigious playwright and poet of sixteenth century
England
● Who was he?
● CONTEXT (When was he and what did he do?)
● “There was a man called William Shakespeare
● He married Ana Hathaway. They had three children together
● He is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon
● A number of really quite wonderful plays have been written under his name

The context: Elizabethan Theatre

● What was Elizabethan life like?
● The height of the English Renaissance
● London – commercial and cultural hub
● What would it have been like going to the theatre in Shakespeare’s time?
● London theatres: public, private
● What were theatres like?
● Rowdy, drunken places
● No theatre etiquette
● Used in broad daylight
● Rarely would a play be repeated twice
● The demand for new plays was huge
● Male actors
● How much did it cost to go to the theatre in Elizabethan times?
● Typical wage in 1594 – 8 old pence a day