William Shakespeare 's The Elizabethan Era

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?

Love is like a flame, it provides you with warmth, but too much of it can also burn you. Such is the plot of the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It is a tragedy about two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who unfortunately, belong to families who bear an ancient grudge against each other. In the play, Romeo and Juliet fall in love and quickly decide to marry each other. At the end, Romeo and Juliet’s decisions cause their untimely death, but in reality, there were other people who also contributed to the lover’s death. Friar Laurence, the Nurse and Lord Capulet are responsible for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

The Elizabethan Era is often referred to as the Golden Age of England (A Changing View...). The Elizabethan Era, named after Queen Elizabeth I, was a time of change and discovery (Elizabethan Superstitions). Elizabeth ruled in a time of religious turmoil; both the Catholics and Protestants fought to be the official religion of England. (Elizabethan World View). Many people throughout England struggled to find the “correct” religion (Elizabethan World View). Religion was changing and so did science. During the late 1500’s science began to evolve; new ideas, concepts, and beliefs were starting to emerge (A Changing View). Magic was considered to be very similar to science in this era. The belief in magical creatures served as the roots for

One would not expect special effects including singing spirits and vanishing objects to be showcased on stage in the 16th and 17th centuries; however, in the Elizabethan Era, theater was being taken to new heights and the unexpected was taking place frequently. Queen Elizabeth had a love for the arts, especially theater written by Shakespeare. The Elizabethan Age was strongly influenced by the rise of theater specifically through the play The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare is known all around the world for his literature. Shakespeare was a very successful writer and we still see his work from 400 years ago today. He wrote 154 sonnets throughout his life. Shakespeare sonnets tell us what was happening in that time of his life. It is very easy to determine Shakespeare’s feelings and emotions through his sonnets. It is still a big mystery on his personal life, no one really knows much about him besides being an amazing writer. One shocking thing I learned is that he was in fact gay. He was in love and admired The Prince. In many of his sonnets he mentions the Fair Youth and how he is attracted to him. Shakespeare reveals his feelings towards the Prince in his sonnets. Overtime his feelings grow stronger for the youth and they begin to change. Shakespeare’s attitude towards The Prince changes overtime and is shown in sonnet 20 and 126. His feelings for the youth is very different from sonnet 20 to 126.

The timeless, genius, iconic writer Shakespeare, still to this day has his stories and plays executed and performed. Throughout decades the writer's stories stand strong. Now for nearly five-hundred years, his work of tales and stories remain and are idolized. Shakespeare's many plays still are relevant even with how immensely the time has changed. Then again, today's time has evolved and grown very far from what William Shakespeare's knew in his life time. Many such topics such as, marriages and how our society views them. How theaters are meant to be, and how they are structured with rules. Our entertainment coming from actors and actresses, and how we respect them. And even how we see music and acting is our industry. Times have changed and spiraled into a very different direction.

Each sex has its’ specialty, both sexes must be equal; people in general must be equal. By studying Shakespeare and by going deeper through analyzing and getting preoccupied with, we learn how to “brainstorm” the people, the culture and the ethics of that era and create opinions and thoughts about those centuries. In my opinion, Shakespeare is a modern, a contemporary artist and writer of his era who “sends” and passes messages through his plays. Each one of us, the readers and learners of Shakespeare, creates a special, unique opinion about Shakespeare and literature in general. We do not all think in the same way, people are unique. In my opinion Shakespeare is a great writer, revolutionist for his era, not being afraid to write and express his thoughts, maybe because he had the “advantage” of being a man. We do not know what we would learn today if Shakespeare was a woman. Maybe somebody else would be the Shakespeare of that era, or just somebody of that

Shannon Tokheim Dr. Brandt English 330 3 Dec. 2014 Sexuality and Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Works William Shakespeare’s works explored numerous walks of life. From comedies to tragedies and all those in between, Shakespeare set new expectations and changed the entire game of writing for his time. He was able to manipulate the stage and use his actors in ways that had never been seen before. His works escaped the limitations of the Renaissance period, surviving the test of time and soaring into the modern age.

William Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest English writers. Born on April 26, 1564, he grew up and lived in England. Often he is referred to as England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon.” During his lifetime, he wrote over 150 poems and 38 plays that are still considered to be significant in today’s society. Shakespeare is still relevant today through new forms of media, including literature and film. His plays act as frame tales for many popular story lines and have been recreated into many different interpretations of his original ideas. The plays Shakespeare wrote included many different themes and ideas that pertained to the real world. He talks about real life issues in his works that continue to be applicable to present day

Queens played a very important role in medieval history. They had many tasks to complete in the day. Queens could be linked to king through marriage, family, and property, queens were vital to the Monarchy.

Tortured, dispirited, and without the use of his left arm, Cervantes returned home to Spain in 1580 after being held captive in Algeria for five long years. He returned not as a war hero but another man ravaged physically and mentally by the battles he had lived through, but he did not let this experience kill him. Thirty two years later, on the same day England mourned the loss of William Shakespeare, Cervantes finally passed away. Within these thirty two years Spain had grown to adore Cervantes and celebrate him as Spain’s most beloved novelist. Like any other artist, Cervantes’ life experiences influenced his works which had earned such great success in Spain during his lifetime and even greater success many more centuries onward. The popular literature of seventeenth-century Europe, common religions practiced in his time, and the culture of contemporary Spain influenced the works of Miguel de Cervantes.

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous poets, dramatists, and actors of his time, let alone all of all of history. Though many details of many aspects of his life are uncertain, it is evident through the popularity of his works that he forever remain a distinguished individual of the Elizabethan era. The stability of England under Queen Elizabeth I allowed artists to flourish as the populations attention turned from that of the political and religious scene to more interest based endeavors, including and arguably most importantly, the theater.

When the decision had to been made with the requirement of it had to be a British Topic? What had come to mind was of the many classic works of English literature that has stand the test of time and are critically acclaimed classics works. These English works that have stand the test of time are such as: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The writer I come to choose was William Shakespeare. Where William Shakespeare was my choice because he wrote many famous plays like Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. It has been almost 400 years since he died, but many people still celebrate his work all around the world. William Shakespeare sonnets 30, 15, and 116 are a must read if you want to read on love. The three sonnets, first sonnet celebrated love through the description of how the thought of a beloved friend can cheer him up even in times of sadness (Sonnet 30); second sonnet has his poetic work in honor of a beloved to the comparison of other physical monuments (Sonnet 55); and the third sonnet extoled the value of power, and endurance of true love (Sonnet 116).

Four centuries of world history overflowing with love, revenge, jealously and legacy, have passed since placing the final punctuation mark on Shakespeare’s work. It is widely accepted that Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights of the English language. As Benjamin Jonson observed, He was not of an age, but for all time. Hence, his work has survived through, remaining a source of significance and meaning. Hi, I'm Zona Lee, a fellow human experiencing life. Today, I'll be showing you that his work continues to reinforce the insight of human experience with such precision and depth, that it must be studied in the twenty-first century. From the crestfallen prince, Hamlet, to a pair of star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, the characters depicted in Shakespeare’s plays offers a profound look into issues concerning our lives.

William Shakespeare lived a fairly ordinary life, considering what historians know about him. Born April 23, 1564, he died on the exact same date 42 years later, both events occurring in England. He was born to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. While in his childhood, William lived amongst his five younger siblings: Gilbert, Richard, Edmund, Joan, and Anne. Starting at age seven, William attended a Stratford grammar school until age fifteen. By eighteen years old, he had already married. He and his wife had a daughter named Susanna in 1583, and a pair of twins named Judith and Hamnet two years later. Unfortunately, what William Shakespeare did in the next few years of his life-- 1583 through 1592-- remains unknown. For this reason, those years became dubbed as “the Second Lost Period.” And though it is unsure, several theories exist. One of the more prominent ones include the deduction that William had participated in illegal hunting on some land in Charlecote, and as a result, had to leave town.