1.2.4

Historical Context

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The Elizabethan Era

The beliefs, social customs, social order, and events occurring at the time of Shakespeare writing are very important to understanding Othello well.

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L.P. Hartley

  • L.P. Hartley asserts that ‘the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there’.
  • The beliefs, social customs, social order, and events occurring at the time of Shakespeare writing are very important to understanding Othello well.
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Monarchs

  • During Shakespeare’s life, there were two monarchs:
    • Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).
    • King James I (1603-1625).
  • The Elizabethan era is known as a ‘Golden Age’, or ‘Renaissance Era’.
  • It saw increased global expansion for the British Empire through naval exploration, and growth in English literature, theatre and music.
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Instability

  • However, this was not an era of complete stability:
    • There was political conflict due to religious divisions and widespread poverty.
    • Most men could not vote, and women had very few rights at all.
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Religious conflict

  • There was fierce religious division between the Catholic and Protestant Christian religions across Europe and in England.
  • During the time of (Protestant) Queen Elizabeth’s reign this was somewhat more peaceful, but she was still a target of many Catholic plots against her, as was James I.

Society During the Elizabethan Era

In this period social classes were very structured and divided and gender divisions were deep.

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New gentry

  • The nobility and knights were at the top of society, but there was a huge growth in the gentry class as Britain expanded its colonies abroad into the ‘New World’.
  • These were often explorers, writers or ministers such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, or indeed Shakespeare himself.
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Inequality

  • There was also a rise in modern commerce and the merchant class including cloth and weaving.
  • However there was still a huge amount of poverty and inequality for the labouring class, which included shoemakers, carpenters, and those working with their hands.
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Gender divisions: boys

  • Boys attended school, learning reading and writing; if their families could afford it, they would then go to grammar school at around seven years old where they would study Latin and Roman writing.
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Gender divisions: girls

  • Girls were expected to stay at home and learn domestic skills.
  • If they were lucky and wealthy, they may also learn to read and write.

Jump to other topics

1Context

2Act One: Summaries & Themes

3Act Two: Summaries & Themes

4Act Three: Summaries & Themes

5Act Four

6Act Five

7Character Profiles

8Key Themes

9Writing Techniques

10Critical Debates

11Approaching AQA English Literature

12Issues of Assessment

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