Transcript Shakespeare`s World

Shakespeare’s World
A guide to life in
Elizabethan times
Magic and Superstition
Fairies, magic, witches, spells,
prophecies, and superstition were all a
part of the Elizabethan view of life.
Often, these beliefs were as important to
them as the teachings of the church.
Fairies etc were thought to lead people
to the devil.
Magic and Superstition
 Women that did not fit in to society for any
reason were branded as witches. They were
accused of working for the devil and often
burned at the stake or drowned.
 People believed that witches could:
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See into the future
Curse people
Bring plague and disease
Cause natural disasters (flood etc)
Cause death
Magic and Superstition
 Elizabethans were believers in astrology and
the stars because they saw the human body
as being a representation of the universe.
Therefore, the stars and signs of the zodiac
were linked to them.
 People believed that the stars could foretell
their future (as some people do today with star
signs.)
The Humours
 There were said to be four humours to
the human body that could influence
your mood.
 These humours were linked to the four
elements.
The Humours
 FIRE: Melancholy (black bile) = ‘melancholic’.
A gloomy state of mind, depressed, dejected.
 WATER: Phlegm = ‘phlegmatic’ (sluggishness
and apathy, or calmness and composure)
 AIR: Blood = ‘sanguine’ (cheerful, optimistic,
hopeful, confident)
 EARTH: Choler (yellow bile) = ‘choleric’
(irritable, easily angered)
Church and Religion
 Very religious people in Elizabethan times. They
believed strongly in the power of God, and God’s
almighty rule over the universe.
 The dominant Church of England was Roman
Catholic but some people were unhappy with the
church and felt that it was corrupt.
 The Reformation took place where the unhappy group
(Puritans) separated from the Catholic Church and
formed their own church, called the Protestant
Church.
Church and Religion
 Puritans and Catholics fought in the name of religion.
The Puritans wanted to cleanse (or purify) the
remaining Catholic elements in England.
 Puritans believed that many things were the work of
the devil (sinful)
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Fine clothes
Drinking
Gambling
Watching plays
 By the time Shakespeare’s plays were being
performed, they had relaxed slightly.
The Chain of Being
 Elizabethan people believed strongly in
a ‘chain of being’. This gave order to
their universe as everything had its own
place.
The Chain of Being
God
Moon
King
Church
Princes
Nobles
Man
Lion
Other Animals
Oak & Rose
Other Plants
Gold
Other Minerals
The Chain of Being
“The heavens themselves, the planets and
their centre,
Observe degree, priority and place,
Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,
Office and custom, in all line of order.”
(Troilus and Cressida)