Expert Circle

Topic 2

1. Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. She was also known as the virgin queen, gloriana. Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. In 1558 Elizabeth succeeded the Catholic Mary I, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

2. As

3. Queen Elizabeth I liked when plays were acted out for her. She was very fond of Shakespeare’s plays. In some of his play, Shakespeare cleverly hinted passages referring to the Queen and other events that affiliated during both of their life time. Queen Elizabeth I was a great supporter of the arts, mainly she supported plays and masques.

Topic 5
2. * Why was there such animosity between Jews and Christians?

Love in Christianity:
Jewish conception of love to justice, and the Christian conception of love to charity.

Sin:

• in both religions, sin refers to an offense towards god. these sin can be thoughts, words and deeds.
• however, in the christian religion, sin is grouped into different types. the first one is called a venial sin, in which the sinner has wounded their relationship with god. on the other hand a complete destruction of the relationship with god is most often called a mortal sin. Christians think that unless the sinner has salvation from sin, after they die they will go to hell in the afterlife

3. In what ways did the Christians discriminate against Jews in 15th and 16th century Europe?

- Christians thought that Jews are inferior to them and therefore, should not be accepted into their society. What is more is that if a Jew wants to be accepted into the society, they will have to be converted to a Christian. They are also openly discriminated by the Christians and treated as slaves.

Antisemitism

Among socio-economic factors were restrictions by the authorities. Local rulers and church officials closed many professions to the Jews, pushing them into marginal occupations considered socially inferior, such as tax and rent collecting and moneylending, tolerated then as a "necessary evil". Catholic doctrine of the time held that lending money for interest was a sin, and forbidden to Christians. Not being subject to this restriction, Jews dominated this business. The Torah and later sections of the Hebrew Bible criticise Usury but interpretations of the Biblical prohibition vary. Since few other occupations were open to them, Jews were motivated to take up money lending. This was said to show Jews were insolent, greedy, usurers, and subsequently led to many negative stereotypes and propaganda. Natural tensions between creditors (typically Jews) and debtors (typically Christians) were added to social, political, religious, and economic strains. Peasants who were forced to pay their taxes to Jews could personify them as the people taking their earnings while remaining loyal to the lords on whose behalf the Jews worked.

Topic 6

In what sort of building were Shakespeare’s plays performed?

Shakespeare’s plays were mostly performed in the Globe Theatre which was some sort of a medieval building. The outer view of the building has a much simpler design while the inside holds a much more intricate design which brings out a mystical atmosphere. The Globe Theatre had no roof, allowing sunlight to enter the building during the day. The building had no lighting equipment thus plays were mostly scheduled in the afternoon where there is light.

How did the physical constraints of the theatre affect the language of Shakespeare’s plays?

The theater that Cuthbert Burbage built for the Chamberlain’s Men had a total capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators. Because there was no lighting, all performances at the Globe were conducted, weather permitting, during the day (probably most often in the mid-afternoon span between 2 P.M. and 5 P.M.). Because most of the Globe and all of its stage was open air, acoustics were poor and the actors were compelled by circumstances to shout their lines, stress their enunciation, and engage in exaggerated theatrical gestures.

What sort of people acted in plays?

Shakespeare’s fellow members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men acted in his plays. Among these actors were Richard Burbage (who played the title role in the first performances of many of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet, Othello, Richard III and King Lear), Richard Cowley (who played Verges in Much Ado About Nothing), William Kempe, (who played Peter in Romeo and Juliet and, possibly, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Henry Condell and John Heminges, are most famous now for collecting and editing the plays of Shakespeare’s First Folio.

What sort of people went to see them?

People from all classes went to see Shakespeare’s plays in Shakespeare’s time. Anyone who could afford the minimum price of one penny could go and stand in the yard in front of the stage. They were known as ‘groundlings’ or ‘penny stinkers’; they stood all through the play. Those who could afford two pennies could sit on the covered benches; there were three tiers of covered seating around the edge of the yard. Rich people could sit above, or above and just to the side of the stage in the ‘Lords’ rooms’.

How was “The Theatre” viewed by Elizabethan society?

The Mayor and Corporation of London banned plays in 1572 as a measure against the plague, and in 1575 they formally expelled all players from the city1 This prompted the construction of playhouses outside the jurisdiction of London, in the liberties of Halliwell/Holywell in Shoreditch and later the Clink, and at Newington Butts near the established entertainment district of St. George’s Fields in rural Surrey

Compare the modern-day Globe Theatre in London with the theatres that Shakespeare worked in.

In the past, Shakespeare worked in places like the theatre….
The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the first successful one. Built by actor-manager James Burbage, near the family home in Holywell Street, The Theatre is considered the first theatre built in London for the sole purpose of theatrical productions. The Theatre’s history includes a number of important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.The design of The Theatre was possibly adapted from the inn-yards that had served as playing spaces for actors and/or bear baiting pits. The building was a polygonal wooden building with three galleries that surrounded an open yard.


However, the modern Globe theatre is different in…
Shakespeare’s Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction, of the 1614 building, was founded by the actor and director Sam Wanamaker and built approximately 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre. The theatre was opened to the public in 1997, with a production of Henry V. The site also includes a reconstruction of the Blackfriars Theatre.