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How Did Shakespeare Influence The Elizabethan Audience

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William Shakespeare is undeniably known as one of the greatest writers in literature and theatre. His clever use of dramatic irony, word play, and imagination had made him an iconic figure in the Elizabethan era. The typical Elizabethan audience comprised of working class families who were influenced through the economic, social, and cultural means of his work. In his infamous play, Hamlet, Shakespeare was able to include both influential and poetic speeches to influence the audience. For example, one spoken by Hamlet;
“A man may fish with the word that hath eat of a
King, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm…
Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar” (4.3.25-30).
These lines are able to connect to the Elizabethan audience as they influenced or were influenced by the social, economic, and cultural perspectives of the time. Firstly, the quote’s significance had been influenced by Shakespeare’s targeted Elizabethan audience socially. In this quote, …show more content…

The economic status of the Elizabethan era was not bright. According to historians, the majority of England’s population endured inadequate living standards. With a collapsing economy, people were able to take advantage of the monarchy quite easily compared to now. In the quote, Hamlet states that a beggar consumed a fish that ate a worm that consumed a King, thus indicating how the beggar ultimately ate the king. With this in mind, many grew to believe that if only a mere beggar would be able to over-throw the government and easily defy the king, they would be able to do so as well. Specifically, those who were of a lower class believed that if one of their own, a beggar, was capable of defying laws and rebelling against the government, it could be achieved by anyone of equal or greater power. Evidently, the quote posed a huge impact in influencing the Elizabethan audience

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