RJ Studyguide

A Noise Within
Study Guide
Romeo
and Juliet
1
A Noise Within
2 0 0 6 / 2 0 0 7 ANNI VE RS ARY S E AS ON
1
A Noise Within
1
A Noise Within
2 ! A Noi s i Wi r ui w 1 r u Awwi v i i s a i \ S i a s ow
Table of Contents
About this Study Guide 3

About the Play 4
Characters 4
Synopsis 5
About the Author 6
William Shakespeare Timeline 7
Dating Shakespeares Plays 8
The Origins of Romeo and Juliet 9
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet 20
Life in Shakespeares England 28
This Sceptered Isle 38
Elizabethan Theatre 42
Shakespeares Words and Phrases 48
Romeo and Juliet Famous Lines 50
Classroom Activities 51
Questions for Before the Show 51
Questions for After the Show 51
Write Your Own Scene 51
Dancing in Shakesperes Day 52
Enacting Scenes 52
Playing Nine Mens Morris 53
Romeo and Juliet On Stage and Screen 54
Useful Websites 55
About Theatre Arts 56
Theatre Vocabulary 56
Theatre Lore 57
About A Noise Within 58
3 ! ROME O A ND J UL I E T S r uo\ Gui oi
Classical works are an important part of our collective culture
and history, and unless students are given the opportunity to
read historical texts and to experience them live, as they were
meant to be experienced, many will think of those written
treasures as outdated words in a textbook anthology. With
the goal of increasing students lifelong understanding and
enjoyment of classic works and theatre going, A Noise Within
is honored to partner with you in the effort to preserve our
literary heritage.
This study guide has been prepared as a prelude to A Noise
Withins production of Romeo and Juliet. Please use it as a
reference or as a teaching aid as you prepare your students to
enter the classical world.
If your high school students are attending A Noise Withins
performance of Romeo and Juliet and are participating in the
post-performance discussion, they are fullling the following
of Californias Theatre Standards, as set forth by the State
Board of Education:
Theatre Standards grades 9 12
Artistic Perception 1.1 and 1.2
Creative Expression 2.1
Historical and Cultural Context 3.2 and 3.3
Aesthetic Valuing 4.1 and 4.2
All of the information and activities outlined in this guide were
designed to meet the 9th and 10th grade English language
arts standards set forth by the state of California. Together,
the activities fulll the content standards as follows:
English Language Arts
Reading 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.11 and 3.12
Writing 1.1, 1.4, 1.9 and 2.2
Listening and Speaking 1.1 and 1.11
Although these activities are designed specically with the
9th and 10th grade standards in mind, they can be adapted
to serve students in other grades as well.
Thank you for your
commitment to sharing great
literature with your students.
It is a commitment that
A Noise Within has shared
with you since its founding
in 1991, with the staging
of its rst play, William
Shakespeares Hamlet.
About this Study Guide
Cast of Characters
The Montagues
Romeo, a young man from Verona
Montague, Romeos father
Lady Montague, Montagues wife
Benvolio, Romeos cousin and friend
Abraham, Montagues servant
Balthasar, Romeos servant
The Capulets
Juliet, a young lady from Verona
Capulet, Juliets father
Lady Capulet, Capulets wife
Tybalt, Juliets cousin
Juliets Nurse
Peter, Samson and Gregory, Capulets servants
Others
Escalus, Prince of Verona
Mercutio, a young nobleman related to the Prince, Romeos friend
Paris, a young nobleman related to the Prince
Paris Page
Friar Laurence, a Franciscan monk
Friar John, a Franciscan monk
An Apothecary
About the Play Characters
O Romeo,
Romeo,
wherefore
art thou
Romeo?
Act II, Scene II
Act I
A street battle has erupted between the
Montagues and the Capulets started by their
servants and stopped by Escalus, the Prince of
Verona. The Prince declares that the head
of each household will be held personally
responsible for any further breach of the peace.
Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his
thirteen-year old daughter, Juliet. The Capulets
agree to let Paris woo their daughter and invite
him to a feast to be held that evening. Hearing
about the feast from a servant, Benvolio
persuades Romeo that the two of them should
attend the feast also, but in disguise. Along with
their friend, Mercutio, they succeed in crashing
the party. Romeo sees Juliet while dancing and
is instantly taken with her. They exchange kisses
before Juliet is called away. Meanwhile, Juliets
cousin, Tybalt, has recognized Romeo.
Act II
Romeo is hiding in Capulets orchard when
Juliet appears on her balcony. The two exchange
loving words and agree to wed as soon as
possible. The next morning, Romeo goes to
Friar Laurence who agrees to marry them in
hopes of ending the feud between the two
families. After meeting Mercutio and Benvolio,
Romeo arranges with the Nurse for Juliet to join
him at Friar Laurences cell that day.
Act III
Benvolio and Mercutio are walking through the
streets of Verona when they are approached by
Juliets cousin, Tybalt, who is looking to ght
Romeo in a duel. Arriving from his marriage,
Romeo fails to pacify Tybalt, who ghts with
Mercutio, mortally wounding him. Romeo,
enraged by the death of his friend, ghts and
kills Tybalt. When the Prince hears of the
murder, he banishes Romeo. Juliet hears the
news, and the Nurse and Friar Laurence
arrange for the lovers to spend one night
together before Romeo leaves for Mantua.
No sooner has Romeo left for Mantua, than
Capulet insists that Juliet marry Paris.
Act IV
Friar Laurence comes up with a plan for Juliet
to be with Romeo: she will agree to marry Paris,
but on the eve of her wedding, she will drink
a potion which will induce a death-like sleep.
When she is laid in the family tomb, Romeo will
be waiting and the two can escape. Juliet takes
the potion and Friar Laurence takes charge of
the funeral plans.
Act V
The message outlining the plan never reaches
Romeo due to quarantine, and the rst news
he hears is that Juliet has died. Grief-stricken,
he rushes to Juliets tomb with a plan to
drink poison and die next to his love. Paris is
at the tomb mourning for Juliet. The two men
ght and Paris is killed. Romeo nds the uncon-
scious Juliet, kisses her one last time and drinks
poison. Juliet begins to wake up. Friar Laurence
arrives but is frightened away by the Watchman.
Seeing Romeos body, Juliet stabs herself. The
Prince, the Capulets and the Montagues (with
the exception of Lady Montague who died of
grief over her sons banishment) arrive and the
Prince reects on how the death of the lovers
is punishment for the feud. The two families
reconcile and plan to erect a statue in honor of
their children as a lasting reminder of what their
feud has done, not only to their families, but to
the entire community.
About the Play Synopsis
The play is set in Verona and Mantua.
About the Author
William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and actor,
was born to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare in
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England on April 23, 1564.
Although much is written about him, very little
documentation of his life survives beyond the public
records of his birth, death, marriage and financial
transactions. Shakespeare probably attended the
Edward VI Grammar School, where his studies
would have been almost exclusively in Latin.
At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway (age
26), who gave birth to daughter Susanna, just six
months after the wedding. In 1585, Anne gave
birth to twins Hamnet (who lived only 9 years)
and Judith. The years 1585-91 are considered the
lost years, for which there are no extant records
relating to Shakespeare. Sometime in this period,
however, he settled in London.
In 1592 he was listed as an actor with the Lord
Stranges Players, for whom he wrote his first play,
the highly successful Henry VI, Part 1, followed
immediately by the sequels Henry VI, Parts 2 &
3 in the same year. Over the course of 20 years,
he wrote 148 sonnets, 3 long poems, and the 37
plays that are in continuous performance around
the world today.
1599 marked the opening of the outdoor Globe
theatre in which Shakespeare was a shareholder.
Between 1610 and 1612, Shakespeare retired to
Stratford, where he died in 1616 at age 52. He is
buried in Stratford Parish Church.
Other plays by Shakespeare produced at A Noise
Within include: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice,
Coriolanus, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Alls
Well That Ends Well, King Lear, A Midsummer
Nights Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The
Winters Tale, King Richard III, Much Ado About
Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Cymbeline, The
Comedy of Errors, Pericles, Loves Labours Lost,
Macbeth and Julius Caesar.
William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
William Shakespeare Timeline 1564-1616
1564
Conquistadores cross the
Pacic ocean. William
Shakespeare, Christopher
Marlowe, and Galileo Galilei
are born.
1565
St. Augustine, FL is
founded, making it the
oldest remaining European
settlement.
1567
King James VI becomes
King of Scotland.

1572
The St. Bartholemews Day
Massacre in Paris.
1577
Sir Francis Drake sets out
on his voyage around the
world.
1579
Sir Francis Drake lands in
California and claims it for
Queen Elizabeth I.
1582
Pope Gregory XIII
implements the Gregorian
calendar. William
Shakespeare and Anne
Hathaway marry.

1583
Shakespeares rst child,
Susana, is born.

1585
Shakespeares twins,
Hamnet and Judith, are
born.
1587
A group of settlers arrive
off Roanoke Island, VA to
resettle the deserted colony.
Mary, Queen of Scots, is
beheaded. The Rose The-
atre is founded in London.

1590-1591
Henry VI Parts II and III
written.
1592
Henry VI Part I written.
Richard III completed.
Comedy of Errors possibly
written.
1593
Plague epidemic rages
in London, killing over
11,000 people. Christo-
pher Marlowe murdered.
Titus Andronicus probably
written. The Taming of the
Shrew is probably written.
1594
Shakespeare is an actor,
playwright, and part owner
of the Lord Chamberlains
Men. Loves Labours Lost is
written. Two Gentlemen of
Verona possibly written.
Romeo and Juliet most like-
ly written. Loves Labours
Won written (lost play)
1595
Shakespeares Romeo
and Juliet is performed for
the rst time. Shakespeare
probably writes A Midsum-
mer Nights Dream and
Richard II.
1596
Cambridge University is
founded. King John prob-
ably written. The Merchant
of Venice rst performed.
1597
Henry IV Part I most likely
written.
1598
Shakespeares name begins
to appear on the title page
of his plays. Henry IV Part
II probably written.

1599
First performance of
Julius Caesar and Henry
V in London. Shakespeare
most likely writes Much
Ado About Nothing.
Shakespeare probably
authors As You Like It.
1600
Telescope invented by
Dutch Opticians. The
Merry Wives of Windsor
completed.
1601
A Midsummer Nights
Dream premieres in
London. Othello possibly
written. Troilus and Cres-
sida most probably written.
Shakespeare drafts Hamlet.
1602
First performance of
Twelfth Night. Shakespeare
probably writes Troilus and
Cressida.
1603
Queen Elizabeth I dies and
is suceeded by her cousin,
King James I of England,
uniting the crowns of Eng-
land and Scotland. Plague
in England. Shakespeare
writes Alls Well that Ends
Well.
1604
Montreal, Canada is
founded. Shakespeares
Othello is performed for
the rst time. Measure for
Measureperformed at court.
1605
The Gunpowder Plot. First
public library established
in Rome. The rst part
of Miguel Cervantes Don
Quixote is published.
King Lear possibly written.
Macbeth possibly written.
1606
Antony and Cleopatra
possibly written.
1607
Jamestown, VA is founded
and becomes the rst
permanent English Colony.
Timon of Athens possibly
written. Coriolanus possibly
written.
1608
Quebec City, Canada is
founded by the French.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
possibly written.
1609
Galileo demonstrates
the rst telescope.
Henry Hudson discovers
the Hudson River.
Shakespeares Sonnets
are published. Cymbeline
written.
1610
The Winters Tale possibly
written.
1611
The King James Bible is
printed for the rst time in
England. The Tempest is
performed for the rst time.
1612
Henry VIII written. The Two
Noble Kinsman most likely
written. Cardenio written
(with John Fletcher).
1613
A re destroys Londons
Globe Theatre.
1615
The second volume of
Miguel Cervantes Don
Quixote is published.
1616
William Shakespeare dies
and is buried in the chancel
of the Holy Trinity Church in
Stratford-upon-Avon.
1623
First Folio published.
The dates of Shakespeares plays are
a subject of continuing debate and
should be taken as approximate.
Establishing an exact date for the authorship
of Shakespeares plays is a very difcult task.
It is impossible to pin down the exact order,
because there are no records giving details
of the rst production. Many of the plays
were performed years before they were rst
published.
Scholars have based their suppositions on the
following information:
1) Historical events and allusions to the events
in the plays
2) Records of the performances of the plays by
contemporary diarists, such as John
Manningham, Thomas Platter and Philip
Henslowe
3) Entries in the Stationers Register
4) Studies of the playwrights writing style over
a period of time
5) Publication dates of sources
6) Dates that the plays rst appear in print
For example, a performance of Hamlet was
recorded in 1589. Is it Shakespeares play or
is it a source? Experts say it must be a source
and date Shakespeares Hamlet to 1599-
1601. The legend of Hamlet rst appears in
the 13th century, written by Saxo Grammaticus
in his Gesta Danorum. The story was known
to Elizabethans in Franois de Belleforests
Histoires Tragiques, written in 1570. There
are mentions of a performance of Hamlet or
Ur-Hamlet both in Philip Henslowes 1594
diary and in Thomas Lodges 1596 diary.
Shakespeares Hamlet appears in the Statio-
ners Register in July of 1602 as having been
lately acted and was published in 1603.
The Question of Shakespeares Authorship
There is a continuing debate about who
wrote Shakespeares plays. This question is a
relatively modern one, rst broached by the
American writer Delia Bacon in her 1857 book
The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare.
She theorized that Shakespeare (a stupid,
ignorant, third-rate play actor) could not
have written the plays attributed to him. The
Victorians were suspicious that a middle-class
actor could ever be Englands greatest poet as
they placed great importance on education and
ones status in society was largely dependent
upon what level of education one had. Con-
temporary writers like Henry James and Mark
Twain were converts to this theory.
So, if not William Shakespeare from Stratford,
then who? Delia Bacon suggested that Francis
Bacon wrote Shakespeares plays. Others said
that it was probably Christopher Marlowe,
Edward de Vere or Thomas Looney. Some
said that the plays were written by a group of
people. Some have even said that in her spare
time Elizabeth I wrote these masterworks of
English literature. He may have not attended
university like Bacon or Marlowe, but most
likely Shakespeares plays and sonnets were
written by one William Shakespeare, originally
of Stratford-upon-Avon.
If you are interested in nding out more about
these conspiracy theories, check out the
following websites:
PBS Frontline has explored the topic:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shakespeare
Shakespeare Oxford Society:
www.shakespeare-oxford.com
Sir Francis Bacons New Advancement of
Learning: www.sirbacon.org
Shakespeare Authorship:
www.shakespeareauthorship.com
Dating Shakespeares Plays
beyond
all date,
even to
eternity.
Sonnet: CXXII
The story of the most famous ill-fated lovers in literature was not invented
by Shakespeare. It is thought that he was most directly inspired by Arthur
Brookes 1562 poem The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet, which
was adapted from Giuletta e Romeo, by Matteo Bandello included in his
Novelle written in 1554. But the story of the ill-fated lovers goes back even
further.
The earliest known story with any similarities to the Romeo and Juliet
that we know today was written in the fth century AD, but remained
unpublished until 1726. Ephesiaca was written by Xenophon of Ephesus
and tells of a woman, Anthia, who is separated from her husband and
rescued from robbers by Perilaus. To avoid marrying Perilaus, she gets a
potion from a physician which she thinks will kill her, but it is really only a
sleeping potion. She is buried, but wakes up in the tomb and is kidnapped
by tomb robbers and has many more adventures.
The story of Mariotto and Gianozza of Siena by Masuccio Salernitano in
Cinquante Novelle, written in 1476, was the root of what would evolve
into the familiar story that we all know and love. In this version, Mariotto
and Gianozza are secretly married by a friar. Mariotto gets into a ght with
an important citizen, kills him and is exiled to Alexandria. Gianozzas father
chooses a husband for her, but to avoid the marriage, Gianozza takes a
sleeping potion which she has obtained from the friar and sends word to
Mariotto of her plan. Believing her to be dead, her family buries her in the
family crypt. She is promptly taken from her tomb by the friar, and sails to
Alexandria. Unfortunately, the messenger carrying Gianozzas message to
Mariotto gets captured by pirates. Mariotto, hearing that his love has died,
returns to Siena dressed as a pilgrim. (Siena is the birthplace and place of
pilgrimage for St Catherine of Siena even to this day.) When Mariotto visits
Gianozzas tomb, he is captured and beheaded. Gianozza comes back to
Siena and dies in a convent.
Luigi da Portos Istoria novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti con
la loro pietosa morte, intervenuta a nella citta di Verona nel tempo del
signor Bartolomeo Scala (The Newly Recovered Story of Two Noble Lovers
and Their Pitiable Death, That Took Place in the City of Verona, at the
time of Signor Bartolomeo Scala) was written in 1530 and sets the tale
of the lovers in Verona. He names the feuding households Montecchi and
Capelletti. Romeo, in disguise, attends a ball at the house of the Capelletti.
Giulietta sees him and falls for him. The story continues much as we
know it until the end. Giulietta wakes before Romeo dies, giving them
the chance to speak to each other. She then kills herself. The two families,
now grief stricken, agree to end their feud and raise a monument to the
memory of their children.
The Origins of Romeo and Juliet
The version by Bandello, La sfortunata morte di dui infelicissimi
amanti che luno di veleno e latro di dolore morirono, con vari
accidenti (The Unfortunate Death of Two Most Wretched Lovers,
One of Whom Died of Poison, the Other, of Grief; with Various Other
Unhappy Events) was included in his Novelle of 1554. This version was
most famous throughout Europe and was translated into French as well
as English. It was part of the repertoire of Italian Commedia dellarte
troupes who were performing in London during the time of Shakespeare.
The setting is the same as in da Portos version: Verona during the
time of Bartolomeo Scalas rule. The warring households are also
named Capelletti and Montecchi. Romeo, not quite twenty-one years old,
is the only heir to the Montecchi. It is Christmas time and Romeo, in
disguise, goes to a party given by the Capelletti where he meets
Giulietta who is sixteen. They fall in love at rst sight and agree to
marry. With the help of a friar and Giuliettas nurse, they are married
at the beginning of Lent. They meet regularly while Friar Lorenzo tries to
restore peace between the two families. During Easter, a group from the
Capelletti clan attacks several members of the Montecchi family. Romeo
tries to stop them. Tebaldo, Giuliettas cousin, tries to kill Romeo,
but accidentally gets killed by him. According to the law, Romeos
punishment is banishment.
The Capelletti mourn the death of Tebaldo. Giulietta weeps as well,
although her tears are for her husbands banishment. Giuliettas
mother plans to nd a husband for her and settles on Count Paris of
Lodrone, a nobleman of about twenty-ve who is a ne catch. The
wedding is set for September.
As Assumption Day approaches, Giulietta asks to go to confession.
In actuality, she is seeking out Friar Lorenzos advice. Her plan is to
go to Mantua dressed as a boy. She then considers poisoning herself.
The friar provides her with a potion that will make her appear dead,
but she will actually be sleeping. On the eve of her wedding to Paris,
Giulietta drinks the potion. The next morning she is found dead
and buried in the family vault.
The friar writes to Romeo giving him information on Giulietta and
gives the letter to a fellow friar who is a trustworthy messenger, asking
him to take it to Mantua. However, the friar is not admitted into the city
walls of Mantua because of an outbreak of the plague. Pietro, Romeos
servant, unaware of the friars plans, goes to Mantua right after the
funeral to give him news of Giuliettas death. Romeo tries to kill himself
on the spot, but Pietro prevents him.
Romeo plans to go to Verona and kill himself after joining Giulietta in
her tomb. Before he leaves, he writes a letter to his father about his love.
Once in Verona, he opens the tomb with Pietros help. He embraces the
corpse, drinks poison and as he is about to die Giulietta wakes up and
starts to tell Romeo what led her to fake her death. Friar Lorenzo arrives
with another friar, but they are too late. Giulietta scolds him and faints.
The friar revives her and urges her to stay alive, but she dies with Romeos
body in her arms.
Seeing light in the tomb, guards arrest the friar and Pietro. The story is
reported to Lord Bartolomeo who visits the two bodies. Word spreads
through town and funerals are carried out with the two lovers being buried
in the same tomb.
Pierre Boaistuaus version, Histoire troisieme de deux Amants, dont lun
mourut de venin, lautre de tristesse (The Third Story of Two Lovers, One
of Whom died of Poison, the Other of Sadness) was included in his Tragic
Tales written in 1559.
The setting is Verona during Bartolomeo della Scalas rule and concerns
the noble families of the Montesches and the Capellets who are extremely
jealous of one another and who ght constantly. Rhomeo, the only heir of
the Montesche is in love with a woman who ignores his ardor. Rhomeo and
a few friends (in disguise) attend a ball at the Capellets house. Rhomeo
falls in love with Juliette, the only daughter of his familys enemies. They
speak at her window and plan to be married by Friar Laurens.
Juliette condes to her nurse and Rhomeo to Pierre, his servant. During a
street ght that Rhomeo tries to stop, he accidentally kills Juliettes cousin
Thibault. As a result, he is banished from Verona for life. Juliette wants to
go with him, but Rhomeo asks her to stay behind for the sake of their
honor. Rhomeo goes to Mantua and Juliette does nothing but cry. Her
parents decide to wed her to a handsome, wealthy man, Count Paris of
Lodrone.
Juliette goes to Friar Laurens intending to commit suicide rather than marry
Paris. The friar suggests the sleeping potion idea whereby Juliette can fake
death and avoid the marriage. On the eve of her wedding, she takes the
potion and the next morning is found dead.
Friar Laurens sends a message to Rhomeo via a fellow friar explaining
everything. In Mantua, the messenger is quarantined due to an outbreak of
plague. Rhomeos servant, Pierre, who knows nothing of the friars plans,
attends Juliettes funeral and then heads straight to Mantua to tell Rhomeo
of Juliettes death. Distraught, Rhomeo returns to Verona and plans to die
next to his love. He gives Pierre a letter for his father and buys poison from
an apothecary. Upon reaching Juliettes tomb, he takes the poison and
dies. Out of concern for Rhomeo, Laurens goes to the tomb, as does Pierre.
Juliette wakes up with Rhomeo by her side, dead. The friar explains what
happened and offers to take her to a convent.
Guards arrive to check out the tomb and the friar and Pierre are forced to
hide. Juliette, alone for a moment, grabs Rhomeos dagger and stabs
herself to death. The Friar and Pierre are forced to tell the story of how
these two deaths happened. After hearing the story and reading Rhomeos
letter to his father, Lord Bartolomeo sentences the apothecary to death,
banishes Juliettes nurse from Verona, sets Pierre free and leaves Friar
Laurens in peace. The Montesches and the Capellets end their age-old feud
and inter their children in the same tomb.
Arthur Brookes narrative poem, Romeus and Juliet (1562) was translated
from Bandellos Italian version.
This three-thousand line poem was written using Poulters Measure.
Poulters Measure or Fourteener is a line consisting of fourteen syllables,
usually having seven iambic feet. The term can also be used to mean a
poem of fourteen lines. Poulters Measure is a meter consisting of alternate
Alexandrine and Fourteeners (twelve and fourteen syllable lines). The term
was rst used by George Gascoigne because poulters, or poulterers
(sellers of poultry) would sometimes give twelve to the dozen and other
times fourteen to the dozen.
Although Romeus and Juliet professed to be a translation of Bandellos
version through Boaistuaus version, it was pretty much a paraphrase.
It was reprinted in 1587.
As a preface to his epic poem, Brooke writes a letter to the reader:
The God of all Glory created, universally, all creatures to set forth His
praise; both those which we esteem protable in use and pleasure,
and also those which we accompt noisome and loathsome. But
principally He hath appointed man the chiefest instrument of His
honour, not only for ministering matter thereof in man himself, but
as well in gathering out of other the occasions of publishing Gods
goodness, wisdom, and power. And in like sort, every doing of man
hath, by Gods dispensation, something whereby God may and ought
to be honoured. So the good doings of the good and the evil acts
of the wicked, the happy success of the blessed and the woeful
proceedings of the miserable, do in divers sort sound one praise of
God. And as each ower yieldeth honey to the bee, so every example
ministereth good lessons to the well-disposed mind. The glorious
triumph of the continent man upon the lists of wanton esh,
encourageth men to honest restraint of wild affections; the shameful
and wretched ends of such as have yielded their liberty thrall to foul
desires teach men to withhold themselves from the headlong fall of
loose dishonesty. So, to like effect, by sundry means the good mans
example biddeth men to be good, and the evil mans mischief
warneth men not to be evil. To this good end serve all ill ends of
ill beginnings. And to this end, good Reader, is this tragical matter
written, to describe unto thee a couple of unfortunate lovers, thrilling
themselves to unhonest desire; neglecting the authority and advice of
parents and friends; conferring their principal counsels with drunken
gossips and superstitious friars (the naturally t instruments of
unchastity); attempting all adventures of peril for th attaining of their
wished lust; using auricular confession the key of whoredome and
treason, for furtherance of their purpose; abusing the honourable
name of lawful marriage to cloak the shame of stolen contracts;
nally by all means of unhonest life, hasting to most unhappy death.
This precedent, good Reader, shall be to thee, as the slaves of
Lacedemon, oppressed with excess of drink, deformed and altered
from likeness of men both in mind and use of body, were to the
free-born children, so shewed to them by their parents, to th intent
to raise in them an hateful loathing of so lthy beastliness. Hereunto,
if you apply it, ye shall deliver my doing from offence and prot
yourselves. Though I say the same argument lately set forth on stage
with more commendation that I can look forbeing there much better
set forth than I have or can doyet the same matter penned as it is
may serve to like good effect, if the readers to bring with them like
good minds to consider it, which hath the more encouraged me to
publish it, such as it is.
Ar. Br
He also includes a sonnet giving the story in a nutshell:
Romeus and Juliet: The Argument
Love hath inamd twain by sudden sight,
And both do grant the thing that both desire
They wed in shrift by counsel of a friar.
Young Romeus climbs fair Juliets bower by night.
Three months he doth enjoy his chief delight.
By Tybalts rage provokd unto ire,
He payeth death to Tybalt for his hire.
A banished man he scapes by secret ight.
New marriage is offered to his wife.
She drinks a drink that seems to reave her breath:
They bury her that sleeping yet hath life.
Her husband hears the tidings of her death.
He drinks his bane. And she with Romeus knife,
When she awakes, herself, alas! She slayth.
Not much else is known about Arthur Brooke, except that he died around
1563 in a shipwreck.
If Shakespeare was aware of Bandellos version of the story or that of
Boaistuaus, we do not know. It appears that Shakespeare used only
Brookes version as inspiration for his play which was most likely written
around 1595. Shakespeare basically takes the narrative piece and drama-
tizes it.
Romeo and Juliet rst appeared in print in the First Quarto published in
1597. This printed version was written from memory by various actors
and spectators. It paraphrases, repeats, and moves around key elements
of the plot and the stage directions are unusually descriptive. Two years
later, the Second Quarto was published claiming to be newly corrected
and augmented. The play, as it appears in the Second Quarto, is double
the length of the rst and this version becomes the basis for those which
appear in subsequent Quartos (1609, 1622 and 1637) the First Folio
(1623) the Second Folio (1632).
Shakespeare condensed the action of the play into four days rather than
the nine months of Brooke. He changed the age of the heroine to thirteen
rather than sixteen and built the character of Mercutio into a more
substantial one. The character of the Nurse remained pretty much as
Brooke wrote her although Shakespeare seems to have expanded her role
as a messenger for the lovers.
To give some idea of how Shakespeare has adapted Brookes poem,
A Noise Within has selected examples from both Brookes work and
Shakespeares work to show how they differ, but yet share some striking
similarities.
Both Brooke and Shakespeare use the beginning of their works to set the
scene. Brooke goes into more detail (keep in mind, the length of his poem
was three thousand lines).
Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke
Lines 1 -50
There is beyond the Alps, a town of ancient fame,
Whose bright renown yet shineth clear: Verona men it name;
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet vs.
Brookes Romeus and Juliet
Built in a happy time, built on fertile soil
Maintained by the heavenly fates, and by the townish toil
The fruitful hills above, the pleasant vales below,
The silver stream with channel deep, that thro the town doth ow,
The store of springs that serve for use, and eke for ease,
The other more commodities, which prot may and please,
Eke many certain signs of things betide of old,
To ll the hungry eyes of those that curiously behold,
Do make this town to be preferred above the rest
Of Lombard towns, or at the least, compared with the best.
In which while Escalus as prince alone did reign,
To reach reward unto the good, to pay the lewd with pain,
Alas I rue to think, a heavy hap befell:
Which Boccace scant, not my rude tongue, were able forth to tell.
Within my trembling hand, my pen doth shake and fear,
And, on my cold amazed head, upright doth stand my hair.
But sith she doth command, whose hest I must obey,
In mourning verse, a woeful chance to tell I will assay.
Help, learned Pallas, help, ye Muses with your art,
Help, all ye damned ends to tell of joys returned to smart.
Help eke, ye sisters three, my skilless pen tindite:
For you it caused which I, alas, unable am to write.
There were two ancient stocks, which Fortune high did place
Above the rest, indued with wealth, and nobler of their race,
Loved of the common sort, loved of the prince alike,
And like unhappy were they both, when Fortune list to strike;
Whose praise, with equal blast, Fame in her trumpet blew;
The one was cleped Capulet, and thother Montague.
A wonted use it is, that men of likely sort,
(I wot not by what fury forced) envy each others port.
So these, whose egall state bred envy pale of hue,
And then, of grudging envys root, black hate and rancour grew
As, of a little spark, oft riseth mighty re,
So of a kindled spark of grudge, in ames ash out their ire:
And then their deadly food, rst hatched of triing strife,
Did bathe in blood of smarting wounds: it reaved breath and life,
No legend lie I tell, scarce yet their eyes be dry,
That did behold the grisly sight, with wet and weeping eye
But when the prudent prince, who there the scepter held,
So great a new disorder in his commonweal beheld;
By gentle mean he sought, their choler to assuage;
And by persuasion to appease, their blameful furious rage.
But both his words and time, the prince had spent in vain:
So rooted was the inward hate, he lost his busy pain.
When friendly sage advice, ne gentle words avail,
By thundring threats, and princely power their courage gan he quail
In hope that when he had the wasting ame supprest,
In time he should quite quench the sparks that burned within their breast.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Prologue
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean,
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life:
Whose misadventurd piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents strife.
The fearful passage of their death-markd love,
And the continuance of their parents rage,
Which but their childrens end naught could remove,
Is now the two hours trafc of our stage;
The which, if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss our toil shall strive to mend.
When Romeo rst meets Juliet at the ball, Brooke goes into great detail.
Shakespeares is a more abbreviated tale, but no less passionate.
Lines 251 - 290
Fair Juliet turned to her chair with pleasant cheer,
And glad she was her Romeus approachd was so near.
At th one side of her chair her lover Romeo,
And on the other side there sat one called Mercutio;
A courtier that each where was highly had in price,
For he was courteous of his speech, and pleasant of device.
Even as a lion would among the lambs be bold,
Such was among the bashful maids Mercutio to behold.
With friendly gripe he seized fair Juliets snowish hand:
A gift he had that Nature gave him in his swathing band,
That frozen mountain ice was never half so cold,
As were his hands, though neer so near the re he did them hold.
As soon as had the knight the virgins right hand raught,
Within his trembling hand her left hath loving Romeus caught.
For he wist well himself for her abode most pain,
And well he wist she loved him best, unless she list to feign.
Then she with tender hand his tender palm hath pressed;
What joy, trow you, was graffd so in Romeus cloven breast
The sudden sweet delight hath stopped quite his tongue,
Ne can he claim of her his right, ne crave redress of wrong.
But she espied straightway, by changing of his hue
From pale to red, from red to pale, and so from pale anew,
That vehment love was cause, why so his tongue did stay,
And so much more she longed to hear what Love could teach him say.
When she had longd long, and he long held his peace,
And her desire of hearing him, by silence did increase,
At last, with trembling voice and shamefast cheer, the maid
Unto her Romeus turned herself, and thus to him she said:
O blessed be the time of thy arrival here,
But ere she could speak forth the rest, to her Love drew so near
And so within her mouth, her tongue he glud fast,
That no one word could scape her more than what already passed.
In great contented ease the young man straight is rapt:
What chance, quoth he, unware to me, O lady mine, is hapt,
That gives you worthy cause my coming here to bliss?
Fair Juliet was come again unto herself by this:
First ruthfully she looked, then said with smiling cheer:
Marvel no whit, my hearts delight, my only knight and fere,
Mercutios icy hand had all-to frozen mine,
And of thy goodness thou again hast warmed it with thine.
Act I, scene v
Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle ne is this,
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
Juliet: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss.
Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
Romeo: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
Juliet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayerssake.
Romeo: Then move not while my prayers effect
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purgd.
Kissing her
Juliet: Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
Romeo: Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly
Give me my sin again.
Juliet: You kiss by the book.

There are noticeable similarities in the famous balcony scene:
Lines 490 516
O Romeus, of your life to lavas sure you are,
That in this place, and at this time, to hazard it you dare.
What if your deadly foes, my kinsmen saw you here?
Like lions wild, your tender parts asunder they would tear.
In ruth and in disdain, I, weary of my life,
With cruel hand my mourning heart would pierce with bloody knife.
For you, mine own, once dead, what joy should I have here?
And eke my honour stained, which I than life do hold more dear.
Fair lady mine, dame Juliet, my life, quod he
Even from my birth committed was to fatal sisters three.
They may in spite of foes draw forth my lively thread;
And they also, whoso saith nay, asunder may it shred.
But who to reave my life, his rage and force would bend,
Perhaps should try unto his pain how I it could defend.
Ne yet I love it so, but always for your sake,
A sacrice to death I would my wounded corpse betake.
If my mishap were such, that here before your sight,
I should restore again to death, of life, my borrowed light,
This one thing and no more my parting sprite would rue,
That part he should before that you by certain trial knew
The love I owe to you, the thrall I languish in,
And how I dread to lose the gain which I do hope to win;
And how I wish for life, not for my proper ease,
But that in it you might I love, you honour, serve and please,
Till deadly pangs the sprite out of the corpse shall send.
And thereupon he sware an oath, and so his tale had end.
Act II, scene ii
Juliet: Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?
Romeo: Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.
Juliet: How camst thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb;
And the place death, considering who thou are,
If any of my kinsmen nd thee here.
Romeo: With loves light wings did I oer perch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out;
And what love can do that dares love attempt;
Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.
Juliet: If they do see thee they will murder thee.

Romeo: Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords; look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.
Juliet: I would not for the world they saw thee here.
Romeo: I have nights cloak to hide me from their sight;
And, but thou love me, let them nd me here;
My life were better ended by their hate
Than death prorogued wanting of thy love.
Juliet: By whose direction foundst thou out this place?
Romeo: By love, who rst did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore washd with the furthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.
Juliet: Thou knowst the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
For that which thou hast heard me speak tonight.
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny
What I have spoke; but farewell compliment!
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say Ay;
And I will take thy word: yet, if thou swearst
Thou mayst prove false; at lovers perjuries
They say Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or, if thou thinkst I am too quickly won,
Ill frown, and be perverse, and say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond;
And therefore thou mayst think my haviour light;
But trust me, gentleman, Ill prove more tru
Than those that have more cunning to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess
But that thou over-heardst, ere I was ware,
My true loves passion; therefore pardon me;
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered.
Romeo: Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear,
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops
Juliet: O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
Romeo: What shall I swear by?
Juliet: Do not swear at all;
Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry,
And Ill believe thee.
Romeo: If my hearts dear love,
Juliet: Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee
I have no joy of this contract tonight:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be
Ere one can say, It lightens. Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summers ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous ower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! As sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!
At the end of Brookes poem he is very detailed about what happens to the
various characters:
Lines 29873020
The nurse of Juliet is banished in her age,
Because that from the parents she did hide the marriage.
Which might have wrought much good had it in time been known,
Where now by her concealing it is mischief great is grown:
And Peter, for he did obey his masters hest,
In wonted freedom had good leave to lead his life in rest,
Thapothecary high is hangd by the throat,
And for the pains he took with him the hangman had his coat.
But now what shall betide of this grey-bearded sire?
Of Friar Laurence thus arraigned, that good barefooted friar
Because that many times he worthily did serve
The commonwealth, and in his life was never found to swerve,
He was discharged quite, and no mark of defame
Did seem to blot or touch at all the honour of his name.
But of himself he went into an hermitage,
Two miles from Verone town, where he in prayers passed forth his age;
Till that from earth to heaven his heavenly sprite did y,
Five years he lived an hermit and an hermit he did die.
The strangeness of the chance, when trid was the truth,
The Montagues and Capulets hath moved so to ruth,
That with their emptied tears their choler and their rage
Was emptied quite; and they, whose wrath no wisdom could assuage,
Nor threatning of the prince, ne mind of murthers done,
At length, so mighty Jove it would, by pity they are won.
And lest that length of time might from our minds remove
The memory of so perfect, sound, and so approvd love,
The bodies dead, removed from vault where they did die,
In stately tomb, on pillars great of marble, raise they high.
On every side above were set, and eke beneath,
Great store of cunning epitaphs, in honour of their death.
And even at this day the tomb is to be seen;
So that among the monuments that in Verona been,
There is no monument more worthy of the sight,
Than is the tomb of Juliet and Romeus her knight.
Shakespeare writes a bit more economically:
Act V, Scene III
Prince: Where be these enemies? Capulet, and Montague?
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven nds means to kill your joys with love!
And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen all are punishd.
Capulet: O brother Montague, give me thy hand:
This is my daughters jointure, for no more
can I demand.
Montague: But I can give thee more:
For I will raise her statue in pure gold;
That while Verona by that name is known,
There shall no gure at such rate be set
As that of true and faithful Juliet.
Capulet: As rich shall Romeo by his lady lie;
Poor sacrices of our enmity!
Prince: A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun for sorrow will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardond and some punishd:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
There is no disputing the fact that Shakespeare popularized this story of
young love trapped in an old feud, but the tale itself had traveled a long
and complicated road well before Shakespeares pen touched the page.
It is an interesting fact that today, we can quote lines from Shakespeares
Romeo and Juliet, but how many of us have read Brookes poem?
Verona is the second largest city in the Veneto (next to Venice) and was the
setting for Shakespeares version of this tale of ill-fated lovers.
Verona (or Veronia as it was called by its original Euganei settlers)
became a Roman colony in 89 BC. The city was an important one as it
was located on the banks of the Adige River and at the intersection of
many roads. Verona has seen many tug-of-war power struggles and was
ruled at various times by the Goths (535552 AD), the King of the
Lombards (569572 AD), the counts of San Bonifacio (880951 AD), the
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (14901517) and Napoleon (1797).
Verona became Austrian territory in 1797 when Napoleon signed the
Treaty of Campo Formio. It eventually became part of his Kingdom of Italy,
but was returned to Austria following Napoleons defeat in 1814 when it
became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Following
the Six Weeks War, Verona, along with the rest of the province of Venetia
became part of Italy.
Verona is famous for its Roman amphitheatre, the Arena, which was
completed around 30 AD. It is the third largest amphitheatre in Italy after
the Colosseum in Rome and the arena at Capua. It measures 139 meters
long and 110 meters wide and could seat 25,000 spectators. Of course,
sites claiming to have historical connections with the famous Romeo
and Juliet are great tourist attractions: the passageway leading to what
purports to be Juliets balcony is covered in slips of paper scrawled
with romantic desires and a statue of Juliet, which stands under the
balcony. Shakespeare wrote another work with connections to the city:
Two Gentleman of Verona.
Verona is the birthplace of some notable people including Girolamo
Fracastoro, a scholar, physician and poet; painter Paolo Veronese; and
composer Antonio Salieri.
Today Verona has a population of about 270,000 people, and due to the
importance of its historical buildings, has been named a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
Although Verona has become synonymous with Romeo and Juliet, the
original story was set in Siena, a city in Tuscany not far from Florence.
Verona
In fair Verona, where
we lay our scene
Romeo and Juliet: Act I, Scene I
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet was most probably rst
performed at the Theatre in Shoreditch,
then after Shakespeares company moved
temporarily in 1597, at the Curtain. Its likely
that Richard Burbage played the part of Romeo
and Richard Goffe that of Juliet.
We next hear of the play in a version
prepared by William Davenant (who claimed
to be Shakespeares illegitimate son, but was
most likely, his godson). This was performed
at Lincolns Inn Fields in 1662 and was seen
by Samuel Pepys who, in his diary, couldnt
decide if he disliked the play or the actors
more. In 1679, Thomas Otway reworked
the play and set it in ancient Rome as The
History and Fall of Caius Marius. In this
version, Juliet wakes up before Romeos death
and the lovers get a parting dialogue.
The next important production by
Theophilus Cibber in 1744 claimed to be
the real Romeo and Juliet, but kept Otways
ending. In 1748, however, David Garricks
production at Drury Lane was a huge hit
with audiences. In an interesting competition,
Garricks original Romeo, Spranger Barry,
went to the rival company at Covent Garden in
1750 and Garrick had to play the role himself.
This led to a showdown that lasted for eight
years. Barry was considered better in the love
scenes, while Garrick excelled in the tragic.
When the shows were performing on the same
night, discerning theatergoers swapped venues
halfway through the play. (Drury Lane and
Covent Garden are literally across the street
from each other.)
Famous Romeos
David Garrick
(17171779)
Garrick was a jack of all tradesan actor,
playwright, theatre manager and producer who
inuenced all aspects of theatrical practice
throughout the 18th century. Following success
in an amateur production of Richard III, he was
hired for a season at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
where he remained a member of the company
for ve years. He eventually purchased a share
of the theatre which started 29 years of his
career as manager of that theatre. Under his
management, Drury Lane was recognized as
one of the leading theatres in Europe.
As an actor, he promoted a realistic style of
acting never before seen. He also reformed
audience behavior, and instilled a consistency
to technical aspects of theatre production that
had never been seen. As a playwright he did
not excel, but he did much to bring the works
of Shakespeare to contemporary audiences.
He also adapted many older plays that had lain
forgotten for many years.
When he died, he was given a lavish funeral
and was buried in Poets Corner in Westminster
Abbey.
John Philip Kemble
(17571823)
John Philip Kemble came from a famous acting
family. He was the second son of actor man-
ager Roger Kemble, brother of Charles Kemble,
Steven Kemble and Sarah Siddons. He made
his professional debut with the company of
Crump and Chamberlain in Wolverhampton in
1776.
David Garrick
John Philip Kemble
In 1778 he joined the company of Tate
Willkinson in York and played such roles as
Captain Plume in George Farquhars The
Recruiting Ofcer, Macbeth and Orestes in
The Distressed Mother (a translation of
Racines Andromache). He made his debut in
Dublin as Hamlet in 1781.
His rst appearance at Drury Lane was as
Hamlet in 1783 and appeared with his sister
as Beverley and Mrs Beverley in Edward
Moores The Gamester and as King John and
Constance in King John.
They were the double act of the 1784-85
season playing Montgomerie and Matilda in
Cumberlands The Carmelite, Adorni
and Camiola in Kembles adaptation of
Massingers A Maid of Honour and Othello
and Desdemona.
Kemble was appointed manager of Drury
Lane in 1788 which gave him the opportunity
to play the roles which he had always
wanted to play including a huge number of
Shakespearean roles. He held this post until
1802. In 1803 he became the manager of
Covent Garden in 1803 in which he acquired a
sixth share of the theatre. The theatre burned
down in 1808 and when the new theatre
opened a year later, the rise in ticket prices led
to riots. These riots suspended performances
for three months. Kemble had been nearly
ruined by the re and was only saved by a
generous loan (eventually converted to a gift)
by the Duke of Northumberland. Kemble made
his nal bow as Coriolanus in 1817.
He was very suited for the Roman characters
in Shakespeares plays with his tall person,
noble countenance. He presented a majestic
visage. He was a exible, detailed and precise
actor. He had a ne sense of rhythm and his
elocution allowed him to excel in declamation.
Edmund Kean
(17871833)
Edmund Kean was born in London and made
his rst stage appearance at the age of four. He
was taught the principals of acting by a Miss
Tidswell, an actress, who schooled him in the
minutiae of Shakespeares characters. At the
age of fourteen, he was engaged to play
leading characters for three weeks in York,
appearing as Hamlet, Hastings and Cato.
It was while he was part of a touring theatre
company that his talent caught the notice of
George III, who commanded him to appear
at Windsor Castle. His career did not reach
heights until 1814 when the committee of
Drury Lane theatre gave him a big break. His
debut there as Shylock roused the audience to
uncontrollable enthusiasm. He was a master
of the range of tragic emotion and successive
performances in Richard III, Hamlet, Othello,
Macbeth, and King Lear demonstrated this.
In 1820, Kean made his Broadway debut as
Richard III where he became an instant
celebrity.
After a scandal involving a divorce case, the
public were not so supportive and nearly forced
Kean into retirement. Again, he sailed for the
US where the public, hearing of this scandal
did not welcome him as warmly as on his rst
visit.
Kean became depressed and addicted to the
use of stimulants which led to the gradual
decline of his acting ability. On some occasions
when he was sober, his talents shone through
the physical wreck he had become. His last
appearance on stage was at Covent Garden in
1833 when he played Othello to the Iago of his
son Charles.
Kean excelled in the works of Shakespeare.
When Kean was at the top of his form,
audiences were so moved that they rose en
masse. Although a small man, Coleridge said
of him that Seeing him act was like reading
Shakespeare by ashes of lighting.
Edmund Kean
William Charles Macready
(17931873)
William Macready was born into a theatrical
family. His father was the lessee of several
provincial theatres and wanted William to
share the responsibilities of theatrical
management. William was determined to have
a career on the stage and would eventually be
considered the nest actor of his generation
Macready made his professional debut as
Romeo in Birmingham, and made his rst
appearance in London as Orestes in The
Distressed Mother at Covent Garden. Early on
in his career, he specialized in romantic drama
however; his talent for high tragedy would
supersede this.
At Drury Lane he played William Tell and
toured with the company to the US and to
Paris where he rose in public favor. He became
the manager of Covent Garden in 1837 and
resigned from that post in 1839. He held the
post of manager of Drury Lane from 1841
1843. In 18431844 he toured the US, but
his last visit to New York was marred by a riot
sparked by the jealousy of actor Edwin Forrest.
The riot resulted in the death of twenty three
people with a further 100 injured. Macready
was playing Macbeth at the time, which added
to the mounting suspicions and superstitions
surrounding that play.
Macreadys farewell performance was as
Macbeth at Drury Lane on February 26,
1851. He died in April 1873.
Macready displayed ne artistic perceptions
developed to a high degree of perfection by
intensive intellectual study. He was capable of
very varied expression and a strong and exible
voice.
Henry Irving
(18381905)
Henry Irving (born John Henry Brodribb) was
one of the most famous stage actors of all
time. He made his rst stage appearance in
1856 as Gaston, Duke of Orleans in Bulwer
Lyttons play, Richelieu. For the next ten years
he went through rigorous training with various
companies in Scotland and the north part of
England, playing more than 500 hundred roles.
In 1866 he made his London debut at the St
Jamess Theatre, in The Belles Stratagem. In
1867 he joined the company at the Queens
Theatre and followed it with appearances at
the Haymarket, Drury Lane and the Gaiety.
In 1871 he began his historic association with
the Lyceum Theatre. The theatre was hitting a
low point when the tide was turned by Irvings
success as Mathias in The Bells. The play ran
for 150 nights and made Irving the toast of
London.
Following in the footsteps of David Garrick, in
1878 Irving entered into a partnership with
Ellen Terry and reopened the Lyceum under
his own management with Bram Stoker as his
manager. (Stoker would achieve success as
the author of Dracula.) With productions of
Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo
and Juliet and Othello a period began at the
Lyceum which would have a lasting effect
on the English stage. The management of
the theatre was rst rate and the incredible
production values of its scenery and costumes
were innovative and spectacular. The company
toured on several occasions to America with
much success.
Both on and off stage, Irving maintained a
high ideal of his profession. In 1895 he was
knighted for his services to theatrethe
rst actor ever to be so honored. He received
numerous honorary degrees.
Irving died on tour in 1905 and was buried in
Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Willaim Charles Macready
Henry Irving
John Gielgud
(19042000)
John Gielgud is considered to be the one of
the greatest British actors in history. He had a
good starthe was the nephew of Dame Ellen
Terry and his elder brother was one of the most
inuential leaders of BBC Radio.
Gielgud trained at RADA and began his career
in classical roles. He made his rst appearance
on stage at the Old Vic in 1921. After stints
with the Fagans Repertory Company at the
Oxford Playhouse and other appearances in
plays by Noel Coward, he joined the company
at the Old Vic in 1929. He played the role of
Hamlet, perhaps his greatest role, over 500
times.
Another important role of his career was that
of John Worthing in Wildes The Importance of
Being Earnest.
In 1935 he alternated the roles of Romeo and
Mercutio with Olivier in a production of Romeo
and Juliet that he himself directed. This pro-
duction had the longest run on record for this
play. He followed that with a brilliant perfor-
mance as Trigorin in The Seagull in 1936 and
Hamlet in New York whose 132 consecutive
performances broke John Barrymores record.
In 1937 he took over the Queens Theatre
and formed his own repertory company
there in which he played more of the great
classical roles. By the early 1950s he had
played most of the great classic roles and
turned to more modern plays. In 1958 he
presented his Shakespeare recitalThe Seven
Ages of Man in the US. This production would
tour the globe for the next two years. He was
regular actor with the Royal Shakespeare
Company and the National Theatre.

Although he started to appear in lms in the
1930s, he did not make a name for himself
in the movies until the last few decades of his
life. He was nominated for an Academy Award
for Becket in 1964 (Best Supporting Actor)
and winning an Oscar for his role as the butler
in Arthur (1981). His performance in Shine
(1996) also garnered him much acclaim. He
was nominated ve times for an Emmy award
and was the winner of two Tony awards.
Among the many honors which he received
was a knighthood in 1953. He became a
Companion of Honour in 1977 and was
admitted to the Order of Merit in 1996.
The Globe Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in
London (not the reconstructed Globe on the
South Bank) was renamed the Gielgud Theatre
in 1994 in his honor.
Laurence Olivier
(19071989)
Laurence Olivier is considered to be the
greatest actor in the English speaking world
during the 20th century.
Laurence Olivier made his stage debut in
1922 as Katherine in a school production of
The Taming of the Shrew. His professional
debut in London was in a small role in Byron
and from 19261928 he was a member of
the Birmingham Repertory Company. He was
the rst Captain Stanhope in R C Sherriffs
Journeys End and he made his New York
debut in Noel Cowards Private Lives (1931).
His rst Shakespearean roles were those of
Romeo and Mercutio in Gielguds production
of Romeo and Juliet. At the Old Vic, he played
classic roles such as Henry V, Macbeth, Sir
Toby Belch, Coriolanus, Hamlet and Iago and
emerged as a rst rate actor.
He returned from four years in the RAF to
rejoin the Old Vic Theatre Company in 1944
as co-director. His remarkable performances
for the next ve years included Richard III
(1944), King Lear (1946), Oedipus the King
and Mr. Puff in Sheridans The Critic. In 1951
he and his second wife Vivien Leigh played
Antony and Cleopatra and Shaws Caesar
and Cleopatra. They spent the 1955 season
at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in
John Gielgud
Laurence Olivier
Titus Andronicus and Macbeth. For the next
decade he played most of the major classic
roles.
In 1961 he was appointed the rst Director
of the Chichester Festival Theatre and a year
later became the rst director of the National
Theatre Company where he was both director
and actor.
His work on lm includes, Wuthering Heights
(1939), Hitchcocks Rebecca, Henry V (which
he also directed), Hamlet (which he also
directed), Spartacus, Sleuth and countless
others.
He won Best Actor Oscar for Hamlet and
was nominated numerous times for Academy
Awards, Emmys and BAFTAs.
He received a knighthood in 1947 and was
the rst actor to be created a life peer (Baron
Olivier of Brighton) in 1970. He became a
Companion of Honour in 1981.
Ian McKellen
(1939 )
Ian McKellen made his stage debut as Roper
in A Man For All Seasons in 1961. After major
roles in the provinces, such as Henry V, he
made his London debut in 1964 followed by a
season at the National Theatre. After a series
of modern plays, he found his niche play-
ing classical roles such as Richard II (1968),
Marlowes Edward II (1969) and Hamlet in
1971. In 1972 he and fellow actor Edward
Petherbridge founded the Actors Company in
which the actors chose the plays and shared
equal billing, pay and lead roles. He joined the
RSC in 1974 where he played roles such as
Marlowes Dr Faustus, Romeo and Macbeth.
He was the hit of the 1980 Broadway season
as Salieri in Peter Shaffers Amadeus for which
he won the Tony. Back at the National Theatre
he played roles such as Coriolanus (1984),
Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard (1985),
Platonov in Chekhovs Wild Honey, Iago in
Trevor Nunns Othello (1989), Richard III
(1990) and Uncle Vanya (1992).
Although he made his rst lm in 1969, it is
not until recently that McKellen has become
familiar to the movie-going public. In 1993
he had a supporting role in Six Degrees of
Separation. In 1995 he played the title role
in Richard III based on the 1990 stage
production at the National Theatre for which
he was nominated for a Golden Globe. In
1998 he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar
for his performance in Gods and Monsters.
Recent lm appearances include the character
of Magneto in X-Men and its sequels X2 and
X-Men: The Last Stand. Ian McKellan is known
to younger audiences as Gandalf in The Lord
of the Rings lms and Sir Leigh Teabing in The
DaVinci Code.
He was made a CBE in 1979 and knighted in
1991 for his contribution to theatre.
Famous Juliets
Eleanora Duse
(18581924)
Eleanora Duse was born in Vigevano into a
theatrical family. Her parents were part of a
traveling group of actors. Her rst appearance
on stage was at the age of four in a play based
on Hugos Les Miserables. She had one of her
earliest successes at the age of 14 when she
played Juliet in the amphitheatre at Verona.
To great effect she trailed rose petals whenever
she met Romeo and smothered his corpse with
them.
Considered one of the greatest actresses
of her generation, she came to fame in
Italian versions of plays made famous by
Sarah Bernhardt as well as her interpretations
of Shakespearean roles and Ibsen roles. She
toured Europe, America and South America
and formed her own theatrical company and
played a wide variety of roles in plays by Ibsen,
Scribe, Zola, Corneille, Sardeau, Shakespeare
Eleanora Duse
Ian McKellen
and Euripedes. In 1895 after a series of failed
love affairs, she became involved with Gabriele
dAnnunzio who wrote several plays for her.
The affair ended when he cast Sarah Bernhardt
as the lead in his play La Citta Morta, even
though he had purportedly written the part for
Duse.
Although she retired from acting in 1911, she
returned to the stage in 1921 to tour the US
and Europe. She was known and respected for
assisting young actors and actresses in their
careers.
In 1923 she became the rst woman to be
featured on the cover of Time magazine.
She died at the age of sixty-ve in a hotel in
Pittsburgh while on tour.
Duse was noted for her subtle and restrained
style of acting.
Ellen Terry
(18481928)
Ellen Terry was child of actors and her siblings:
Kate (the mother of John Gielgud) achieved
great success on the stage, Ben and Sarah all
made names for themselves on the stage.
Ellens rst professional role was at the age
of eight playing Mamillius in A Winters Tale.
Even at that young age, Ellen understood the
importance of this role: a real Shakespeare
parta possession that father taught me to
respect with the utmost dignity! As a young
actress, she was taught the value of a clear
speaking voice and was trained in elocution by
her father who was a master.
In 1878, she joined Henry Irvings company
at the Lyceum Theatre and became its leading
lady. She continued to act until her death
from a stroke in 1828. Her children also had
theatrical careers: Edward Gordon Craig as a
famous scenic designer and Edy Craig as an
actress.
Mrs Patrick Campbell
(18651940)
Campbell was born Beatrice Stella Tanner
in London. She was a well-known amateur
actress before making her professional debut
in 1888 in Liverpool. Her rst success came
in Pineros The Second Mrs Tanqueray at St
Jamess Theatre in London in 1893. Other
successes included Fedora (1895), Little Eyolf
(1896) and, at the Lyceum as Juliet, Ophelia
and Lady Macbeth opposite Johnston
Forbes-Robertson.
In 1900 she made her Broadway debut in
Magda and subsequent Broadway roles
included: Pelleas et Melisande (as Melisande
to Sarah Bernhardts Pelleas) in 1904,
Hedda Gabler (1907), Lady Patricia (1911)
and Pygmalion (1914). In 1914 she originated
the role of Eliza Doolittle in G B Shaws
Pygmalion although she was considered too
old for the role at the age of forty-nine.
She died in France aged seventy-ve.
Peggy Ashcroft
(19071991)
Peggy Ashcroft attended the Central School
of Speech and Drama in London. She is best
known for her work on the stage, primarily
in the works of Shakespeare, and was a
contemporary of actors such as John Gielgud,
Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Alec
Guinness and Ralph Richardson.
Although her lm and television appearances
were rare, she won the 1984 Oscar for Best
Supporting Actress for her performance as Mrs
Moore in A Passage to India. She appeared
in the mini-series the Jewel in the Crown for
which she won a BAFTA Best Television
Actress award.
She was appointed Commander of the
British Empire (CBE) in 1951 for her services
to theatre and raised to a Dame Commander of
the British Empire (DBE) in 1956.
Mrs Patrick Campbell
Ellen Terry
Judi Dench
(1934 )
Judi Dench was born in York, England to
Quaker parents. She attended Central School
of Speech and Drama in London and made
her professional debut as Ophelia in Hamlet in
1957. She spent several seasons in repertory
in Oxford and Nottingham before joining the
Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.
She has appeared on numerous occasions in
the West End, the National Theatre in London
and on Broadway winning many awards for her
work.
Her many television appearances include As
Time Goes By and A Fine Romance (in which
she starred opposite her husband, Michael
Williams). Her lm work includes: Tea with
Mussolini, A Room With a View, Mrs. Brown
(Best Actress Nomination 1998 Academy
Awards), Shakespeare in Love (Best Sup-
porting Actress 1999 Academy Awards),
Chocolat (Best Supporting Actress Nomination
2001 Academy Awards), Iris (Best Actress
Nomination 2002 Academy Awards), and
Henderson Presents (Best Actress Nomination
2005 Academy Awards). She also appears
as M in the James Bond movies.
She was created an Ofcer of the British
Empire (OBE) in 1970, and raised to Dame
Commander (DBE) in 1988. She was made a
Companion of Honour (CH) in 2005.

Peggy Ashcroft
Judi Dench
Life in Shakespeares England
Our perception of life in Tudor and Jacobean
England has been largely inuenced by motion
pictures such as Shakespeare in Love, A Man
for All Seasons, Elizabeth and others.
Hollywood conjures up a picture of Elizabethan
life lled with stately homes, wealthy courtiers
and beautiful ladies, but the reality was very
different.
In the time of Elizabeth I, the population of
England was approximately ve million people:
80% of the population lived in the country and
20% lived in the cities. In addition to London,
Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Shefeld,
and Newcastle were centers of manufacturing
and trade. York was an established city,
having been founded by the Vikings, and was
the administrative capital of the northern part
of England.
Life in Tudor England was hard for the
average person. Plague and pestilence
ravaged the cities and even inltrated the
villages. Poverty and famine were rife.
City Life
London was an ancient city founded by the
Romans in AD 50 (the city was called Lond-
inium in Roman times). It was protected by
the river Thames and bordered by its Roman
and medieval walls and fortresses. To look at
the city today, one would not think of London,
with its inland location, as a major port, but it
was one of the busiest ports in Europe. In the
time of Elizabeth, London had approximately
200,000 inhabitants.
The city was lled with great mansions, but
also great squalor. Raw sewage ran down the
narrow streets and rat-infested houses were
packed closely together. These streets became
frequently congested, and there was a con-
stant noise and clatter from carts and trafc.
The urban poor who inhabited these areas
were largely country dwellers who had come
to London to seek work, discharged soldiers,
vagrants, and mists. These people supported
themselves by petty crime, begging and casual
labor.
A typical city day would begin at 5am, when
carts lled with goods from neighboring villages
would enter the city gates.
The social hierarchy of London was led by
merchants. London was divided into twenty-six
areas, or wards, each led by an alderman of
the city. The aldermen were elected ofcials
who held the ofce for life. The twenty-six
aldermen elected from among them a Lord
Mayor and appointed a recorder, or legal
advisor, to run the citys affairs. Each alder-
man was a freeman of the city and belonged
to one of the livery companies: the merchant
tailors, clothmakers, mercers, grocers, drapers,
shmongers, goldsmiths, skinners, haberdash-
ers, salters, ironmongers, stationers, vintners,
cordwainers, dyers or plasterers.
Livery companies evolved from the medieval
guilds and were the real powerhouse of the
city. No one was allowed to buy, sell or practice
any sort of trade or craft without belonging
to one of the livery companies. In addition to
accepting dues from each member, the livery
company also set standards for goods being
sold throughout the city. They also helped
widows and orphans and those members who
had fallen on hard times. They ran schools and
alms houses. Some companies, like the Mer-
chant Tailors, sponsored promising students
and provided funds to enable talented young
men the opportunity to set up a business.
If the north side of the Thames was the busi-
ness area, then the south side of the river
became the Las Vegas of its day. Generally out
of the control of the city, gaming houses,
entertainment areas for cockghting and bull
and bear baiting, brothels and theatres were
built on the south side.
This
blessed
plot, this
earth, this
realm, this
England.
King Richard II, II, i
Village Life
Village life in
Elizabethan
England was
very insular
and people
rarely desired
or needed to travel beyond the connes of their
village. At the center of each town was the vil-
lage green. If you travel through rural England
today, these village greens still remain and
retain their position as the heart of the town.
Each town had a weekly market on the green
or market square where goods would be traded
and bartered. The community numbered only
a few hundred people, and everybody knew
everybody. The villages were largely self-suf-
cient, and each necessary trade was repre-
sented. Property and lands were handed down
from generation to generation.
As in the cities, there was a denite hierarchy
among society in the villages. At the top was
the Lord of the Manor. Very often, villages
would be built in the vicinity of a large estate.
Some living in the village were servants to the
household of the lord. Next were the landed
gentry gentlemen who owned land. Yeomen,
freemen who had roles of responsibility in the
town (jurors, church wardens, etc.), were next
on the ladder. Then came tenants. These were
people who lived on and worked land owned
by the lord or landed gentry. Skilled laborers
were next on the ladder. These people were
craftsmen, such as blacksmiths, carpenters,
builders, etc. At the bottom of the list were
unskilled workers, called landless laborers.
Women were not exempt from work and looked
after the animals or spent their days cook-
ing, weaving, spinning and mending clothes.
They were responsible for growing herbs for
medicines. It was up to women to keep their
households and to look after the children.
The average day began at 3am, when the cock
crowed. Laborers were in the eld by 5am.
After a midday meal, workers were entitled to a
break from work before they went back to their
jobs and worked until 7pm or dusk.
Elizabethan Homes
Elizabethan homes are distinctive in style.
The architecture of middle class homes was
similar to traditional medieval styles. Houses
were framed with large, vertical timbers and
supported by diagonal timbers. The walls were
made of wattle and daub (exible twigs woven
together and packed with mud) and plastered
with mortar and whitewashed.
Homes were taxed, not by total square footage,
but by the amount of ground space they oc-
cupied. Hence, on most Elizabethan buildings
you will see larger second and third stories.
Only upper- and middle- class homes could
afford glass windows. Glass was a very expen-
sive commodity, and making windows was a
long process. First, the glass had to be blown
and cut into small pieces while it was still hot,
then pieces were joined together with lead.
Middle- or lower- class homes had thatched
roofs. Materials used to make thatched roofs
were straw or reeds. Bundles of straw measur-
ing 24-27 inches x 3-7 feet were piled onto
the frame of the roof. A good quality straw roof
can last for up to 50 years.
Education
Only children of the wealthy were able to go to
school, because common children had to help
their parents by working. Some children were
apprenticed to tradesmen.
Students were taught in Greek and Latin, as
well as French. At least one hour per day was
spent learning Bible scriptures and catechism.
Girls were not allowed to become doctors,
clergymen or lawyers.
As pencils were not invented until the 18th
century, writing was done with quill pens and
ink, which meant that mistakes could not be
easily corrected.
Rules in school were very strict, and school-
masters disciplined their students with the
help of regular whacks of a cane or whip. If a
student was late to class, he would not be sent
to the ofce, but would instead be hit hard on
the hands or on another part of his body. He
would be similarly punished for not learning
his lessons or for turning in a messy paper. No
student would have dreamt of talking back to
the schoolmaster. Punishment for that offense
was expulsion from school which would cause
shame upon his family.
Most students lived at their schools, so the
schoolmaster had a great deal of power over
his students. Meals were eaten at school. Stu-
dents started classes at 6am with prayers and
then went to breakfast. They worked on their
studies until noon, when dinner was served,
and after dinner they worked until 5pm, when
supper was served. They then sang a hymn
and attended a short religious service.
Crime and Punishment
How you were treated if you were accused of
a crime depended largely upon your status in
society.
There were no police forces at that time and
criminals were apprehended by the magistrate
or bailiff. Punishments ranged from public
humiliation to hanging or beheading. A person
found wandering the streets drunk would have
probably spent a day in the stocks. Serious
crimes would incur a public whipping or brand-
ing with a hot iron. Murder, highway robbery
and burglary were considered felonies and
were punishable by hanging.
One of the most common crimes in London
was cutpursing. This was similar to pick-
pocketing. Clothing of the time did not have
pockets, and coins were carried in purses that
hung from the belt or waist. A thief would take
a persons money by cutting open the purse or
putting his hand into it.
Hooking was another common crime. There
were no glass windows, and a hooker would
walk around carrying a wooden pole about two
meters long that had a hole drilled into one end
and a hook placed into the hole. The hooker
would use this device to reach inside open
windows to remove clothing or purses.
About 1560, people began to have great
fear of witches. Witches were thought to be
companions of the devil, and laws were passed
against practicing witchcraft. Just practicing
witchcraft could get you a year in prison. Caus-
ing a death by witchcraft could cause the witch
to be hanged or burned to death.
Dishonest horse dealers and gamblers were
common. A majority of those in prisons were
there for owing debts. A debtor would be
imprisoned until his debt had been paid. This
practice continued right up through the 19th
century. The debtor would not be given food,
and he was on his own to get someone to bring
it to him.
High treason, or plotting to overthrow the
queen, was the most serious crime of all. The
punishment for this was hanging and drawing
and quartering. The traitor was hanged, taken
down before he was dead, dragged face down-
ward through the streets by a horses tail and
then cut into four pieces. Quite often the head
was placed on a spike and displayed at London
Bridge as a warning to others.
Noblemen were never hanged. Instead, they
were beheaded with an axe. Those with royal
blood were given the consideration of a private
beheading within the connes of the Tower of
London.
Hygiene, Medicine and the Plague
In Elizabethan times, it was considered lucky
to reach the age of thirty. The poor were not
expected to live longer than twenty-ve and
those who reached the age of forty were con-
sidered extremely old.
In Elizabethan times, baths were not taken
very often. This was due for the most part,
to the inconvenience of lling a tub with hot
water, rather than an ambivalence toward
hygiene. However, hands, wrists and faces
were washed every day. Upper classes used
expensive soap balls imported from Italy.
Middle class households made their own soap.
Teeth were cleaned by rinsing the mouth with
a mixture of vinegar and water and then were
rubbed with a dry cloth. Toothpicks were used
to clean between teeth. Hair was combed and
washed with scented water, and beards were
lathered with soap and water and were shaved
with a razor.
Toilet facilities consisted of a chamber pot (a
wide jug with a handle). The contents were
tossed into a cesspit or a dung heap - or just
thrown out of the window into the street.
Most illnesses were caused by the lack of sani-
tation. Waste and sewage was dumped into
the river, and the source of water wasyou
guessed it the river. This led to regular out-
breaks of typhoid and dysentery. Smallpox was
another dreadful disease epidemic. Sufferers
of this disease were left scarred with pock-
marks. People also suffered from scurvy, which
was caused by a lack of vitamin C and from
malaria, which thrived in the marshes on the
south bank of the Thames.
Medicine was very basic. Most of what doctors
knew was based on the writings of Aristotle
and Hippocrates. The Tudors believed that food
was connected with astrology and that when
used in the right way, herbs, plants and owers
could provide all kinds of health benets. Ev-
erything in the universe was thought to consist
of earth, air, re and water. Each of these was
hostile to the other, but could co-exist when
in the correct proportions. Since the human
body was of the earth, medical practice of the
day emphasized the need to understand how
these four elements worked together. Earth
was therefore identied as black bile, air was
identied as blood, re was bile and water
was phlegm. Each of these produced a differ-
ent temperament which could be determined
by looking at a persons complexion. Too much
of the earth element produced a melancholic
humor, too much air a sanguine humor, too
much re a choleric humor and too much
water a phlegmatic humor. If the humors were
well-balanced, the person was in good health,
but if one element became stronger than the
others, the person could become mentally and
physically unbalanced.
Physicians wore impermeable clothing from
head to foot. Although it made them appear
like very sinister characters, it probably saved
them from various diseases. The most distin-
guishing feature was the mask with a large
beak. The beak was lled with a sachet
of bergamot oil which protected the doctors
from any airborne contagion. Before treating a
patient, it was the custom for doctors to douse
themselves in vinegar, which has disinfecting
properties. They wore amulets of dried blood
and ground up toads around their waists.
Medical treatment depended on your class
and status. The wealthy could afford a uni-
versity-educated physician. Upper classes
would engage a surgeon who belonged to a
livery company of barber surgeons. The Middle
classes would go to a barber who was allowed
to pull teeth (without anesthetic) and let blood.
The apothecary, who belonged to the Grocers
Guild, would dispense drugs and also sold
candy, cosmetics and perfume. The church
provided some comfort to the poor, and the
local wise woman or the ordinary housewife
produced homemade medicines from herbs.
The Black Death or Bubonic Plague rst arrived
in London in 1384, brought by eas living on
rats which came ashore from trading ships
arriving from Asia. It was called the Black
Death because of the way it appeared on the
body. Swellings rst appeared in the neck,
groin or armpits; then large black splotches
spread all over the body. When the patient
died, the body became a black, smelly mess.
The plague took seven days to kill its victims.
This terrible killer claimed 25 million people
in ve yearsone third of Europes population
from which society never really recovered.
It had a profound effect on the economy. In
fact, so many people died that there were labor
shortages all over Europe. People demanded
higher wages which landlords refused to pay.
By the turn of the century peasant revolts had
broken out in England, France, Belgium and
Italy. This unrest also manifested itself in the
church life of people. Although people had
prayed for deliverance from the plague, their
prayers had not been answered. This led to a
period of political turmoil and religious ques-
tioning. Comments such as avoid it like the
plague and even the childrens song Ring
Around the Rosies (referring to the swellings
on the neck that are symptoms of the disease)
come from this time.
Outbreaks tended to occur in the spring and
summer and to subside in the winter, when
eas are dormant. Even when the worst out-
breaks seemed over, smaller outbreaks would
occur, not just for years, but for centuries. The
plague spread very quickly due to the lack of
hygiene and to daily contact with rats in the
open sewers.
Sufferers were sealed in their houses and the
doors locked from the outside. The quarantine
lasted for a minimum of twenty days and the
only way to get food was to lower an empty
basket from an upper window to the watch-
men, hired to guard plague houses, who would
ll the basket. Death Cart workers would have
the horrible task of dumping the dead bodies
into a cart and burying them in large plague
pits that had been dug far away from the
connes of the city. In London today, there are
several areas that were once large plague pits.
One of the largest was Shepherds Bush Green,
and legend has it that nothing but grass has
ever been able to grow on it.
When an outbreak of the plague occurred in
1593, nearly 20,000 people in the city of
London died. Theatres were closed in an
effort to avoid having people congregate and
therefore spread the disease.
Shakespeares son, Hamnet, died from the
disease when the epidemic spread to Stratford
in 1596.
If someone managed to survive the Black
Death, they would have to obtain a
Certicate of Health in order to be able
to resume a normal life.
Fashion and Make-up
Elizabethans did not have the freedom to wear
whatever they wanted. The material and color
of clothing were dictated by their position in
society. This was enforced by law. Sumptuary
Laws were designed to limit how much people
spent on clothing and to maintain the class
system. Penalties for violating the Sumptuary
Laws were nes, conscation of property, titles
and in some cases, even life.
The cost of clothing was dependent upon the
type of fabric and the color. The wealthy wore
clothing of velvet (imported from Italy), fur,
silk, lace and cotton. Dyes were very expen-
sive. Purple dye, for example was extracted
by crushing tiny sea snails and red dye was
obtained by crushing a certain type of insect.
Cotton was expensive, as it had to be imported
from India or the New World and had to be
cleaned by hand. Lower classes wore cloth-
ing made from wool, ax and sheepskin which
were readily available and plentiful.
When we see paintings of wealthy women from
the Elizabethan period, one of the rst things
we notice is how incredibly stiff and structured
the clothing looks. The 16th century corset
was not meant to draw in the waist and create
an hourglass gure. Rather, it molded the torso
into a cylindrical shape, attening and raising
the bustline. The corset worn in Elizabethan
England was actually quite comfortable. The
typical Elizabethan outt for an upper class
woman consisted of a shift made of linen and
sometimes embroidered with blackwork. The
shift served as a shirt and an undershirt and
protected the expensive outergarments from
body oils and dirt. Over the shift was worn a
farthingale or hoopskirt. This gave the skirt its
shape. Over the farthingale was worn a pet-
ticoat. The corset was then put on. Over this
were worn a bodice, separate sleeves held to
the bodice with laces, a kirtle (a long A-line
dress) before the surcoat went on. The kirtle
and the surcoat were made of costly fabrics.
Hats and hoods were very popular and hair
was always brushed back from the face. For
outerwear, women wore cloaks and gowns.
A typical gentlemans outt consisted of a shirt,
hose, breeches, a richly embroidered jerkin
(vest), a doublet (like a breastplate, covering
the back and chest), sleeves (separate pieces
which were tight at the wrists), a ruff (stiff,
starched rufes at the neck), boots or shoes, a
cloak or gown (a cloak closing at the front and
tted at the shoulders) and a small hat made
of velvet silk or a tall crown hat made with
feathers or ne fabric.
Pale skin was a sign of wealth, nobility and
delicacy. Skin problems and smallpox were
common; there was no such thing as sun-
screen. Skin creams were available only to the
wealthy, so smooth, clear, pale skin was rare.
Pale skin could be achieved a number of ways.
The most popular was a combination of white
lead and vinegar called ceruse. Another popu-
lar mixture was a paste of alum and tin ash,
which was a mixture of boiled egg white, talc
and other white materials. Uncooked egg white
was also used to glaze the complexion, which
helped to hide wrinkles.
After the foundation was applied, color called
fucus was applied. Fucus came in a variety of
reds and was used upon the cheeks and lips.
Vermillion (mercuric sulde) was also a popular
choice for the fashionable lady. Eyes were lined
with kohl and women used drops of belladonna
to make their eyes sparkle.
These poisonous cosmetics caused serious skin
damage. Remedies for blemishes ranged from
an application of lemon juice and rose water to
mixtures of mercury, alum and honey. Wash-
ing ones face with mercury was common as a
facial peel.
It was fashionable for the hairline to be very
high. Women would pluck their hair back at
least an inch to create a high forehead. Blonde
or red-gold hair was sought after. There were
lots of recipes for bleaching hair: urine was
often used for this purpose. Some women went
bald and wore wigs. Plucked eyebrows were
crucial for the look.
Elizabethan Pastimes
In addition to theatre, dancing was very popu-
lar in Elizabethan times and was considered
a wholesome recreation of the mind and also
an exercise of the body. The type of dance
depended upon social status. Dances enjoyed
by the court were often imported from Spain,
France or Italy. Popular dances for the upper
classes were the Galliard, Pavane, Almain,
Saraband and Courant. The lower classes
were not in a position to hear the latest music
or learn the latest dance steps from dancing
masters. Popular dances for them were: the
Brasle (pronounced brawl)**, the Jig, Hornpipe
and Morris Dance (danced with handkerchiefs
and sticks). Morris Dancing is still an active
pastime in England today. Visit any small
town or village on a bank holiday and chances
are there will most likely be a group of Mor-
ris Dancers performing in the town square or
marketplace.
Most of the sports of this era were carried over
from medieval times. Popular sports were regu-
lated by the government and had their roots as
war games. Skills honed in tournaments could
also be used for battle or survival. The queen
was a keen sportswoman.
Hunting was an exclusive sport. It gave
participants the opportunity to show off their
ne horses, hawks, clothing and weapons.
Hawking or falconry was the sport of royalty.
Jousting tournaments were held for the rich
and the commoners were forbidden to enjoy it.
Another sport was archery which involved
a skill that was used in battle.
Real tennis was invented at Hampton Court by
Henry VIII. Visitors to Hampton Court Palace
can visit the oldest tennis court in the world,
which is still in use.
Sports for the common folk included football
and hurling. Football (or soccer) was much
tougher then than it is today - there were no
limits on the number of players and no lines.
Hurling involved thirty to forty players on each
side playing with a box-shaped ball. The object
of the game was to pick up the ball and run
to the goal, passing the ball to teammates if
tackled. This is a forerunner of rugby. Pall Mall
(a forerunner of croquet) and skittles (an early
form of bowling) were also popular.
Card games were popular, as were board
games like chess, backgammon, Nine Mens
Morris* and Shove Hapenny. Dice games such
as Knucklebones and Hazard (an early form of
craps) were popular with those who loved to
gamble.
*Learn to play Nine Mens Morris see the
Suggested Activities section of this study guide.
**Learn to dance the Brasle see the
Suggested Activities section of this study guide.
Food at Court
We owe a lot to the Tudors as far as our tastes
are concerned. Sugar was imported from the
New World, spices from the Far East and
alcoholic spirits from Arabia.
Meals at court were a sumptuous affair with
many courses. For the wealthy, presentation
was everything. A typical feast dish at court
was roasted peacock. The head of the bird was
carefully removed and the carcass was carefully
skinned. The esh was stuffed and roasted. The
head and the skin of the bird was then carefully
replaced and presented at table.
Here is an example of a typical Tudor menu for a
feast day banquet:
FIRST COURSE:
Civet of Hare
Quarter of a stag which had been a night in salt
Stuffed chicken covered in a sauce with golden
sugar plums and pomegranate seeds
Loin of Veal
THE SECOND COURSE
Roast roe deer
Roast pig
Sturgeon cooked in parsley and vinegar
Roast kid
Roast gosling
Roast chicken
Roast pigeon
Roast rabbit
Roasted heron
Roast leveret
Roast capon
Wild boar
THIRD COURSE
Sweet wafers (very costly at the time, stored
in a locked cabinet)
Jelly
FOURTH COURSE
Cream with duc powder, covered with fennel
seeds preserved in sugar
Sweet white cream
Cheese in slices
Strawberries
Plums stewed in rose-water
FIFTH COURSE
Wine
Preserves
Fruit
Sweet pastry
Here are some recipes from the Tudor Kitchens
at Hampton Court
You will notice that the spellings of the original
recipes are quite strange. These recipes pre-date
any dictionary and regulated spelling.
TO ROSTE A PIGGE
Take your pigge and drawe it and take lixor and
parboyle yt and stire yt with a little creame and
yokl of egg, and put thereto grated bread, mary,
small raysons, nutmeg, pouder of mace, sugar
and salt stire these together and put into the
pigges belly and sewe up the pigges belly and
spitt him with the haire on and when it is half
enough put off the skinne and take hede for tear-
ing of the fatt, thereon. Then bast yt well and
rub on it creame and ne bread crumbs, sugar,
cinnamon and ginger and let it be done browne.
(Source: British Library Sloane MS.234.b.7)
Translated into todays language, this recipe is
tempting.
Roast Pork with Raisin and Rosemary Stufng
Ingredients:
1 boned shoulder or small leg of pork 4lbs,
tunnel boned and rind removed
8oz fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary
3oz raisins
2 egg yolks
7 oz single cream
fresh nutmeg, grated
1 teaspoon ground mace
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of saffron strands
Crushed salt & ground pepper
Mix half the breadcrumbs with rosemary,
raisins, egg yolks, half of the cream, nutmeg,
mace and plenty of seasoning. Spoon mixture
into the boned socket from both ends of the
joint, secure with kitchen string. Preheat oven
to 350 degrees. Calculate cooking time at 30
minutes per pound, plus 30 minutes from the
end of the calculated cooking time. Mix the
remaining breadcrumbs and cream with the
sugar, cinnamon, ginger, saffron and seasoning.
Remove joint from the oven and press the
coating on the top. Return to oven for the nal
30 minutes of roasting. When cooked, allow
meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Gyngerbrede (Gingerbread)
Gingerbread was originally made of bread and
was a mixture of breadcrumbs, spices and
honey. The Tudors frequently colored their
food, and the following recipe gives instructions
on how to color the mixture with saunders, a
natural red food coloring.
Take a quart of hony and sethe it and skime it
clene; take Safround, pouder Pepir and throw
theron; take gratyd Brede and make it so
chargeaunt that it wol be y-lechyd; then take
pouder canella and straw ther-on y-now; then
make yt square, lyke as thou wolt leche yt;
take when tho lechyst hyt, an, caste Box leves
a-bowyn, y-styked ther-on, on clowys. An if
thou wolt have it Red, colour it with Saunderys
y-now. (Source: T Austin: Two 15th Century Cookery Books,
1888)
Modern Translation
Gingerbread
1lb clear honey
1lb fresh white breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Box leaves or small bay leaves to decorate
Warm honey until runny, pour into large bowl
and mix in breadcrumbs and spices. The
mixture should be very stiff; if not add more
breadcrumbs. If you want to color the mixture
red, add a few drops of food coloring to the
honey before mixing. Line a shallow, rectan-
gular cake tin with non-stick paper and evenly
press the mixture into it. Allow to rm up in the
refrigerator for an hour or two. Turn it out of the
pan, and cut into small squares. Decorate each
piece with a small sprig of leaves.
Food for the People of England
The basic diet of an average person in Tudor
England was bread, meat, sh and home-
grown produce. The word vegetable was not
often used. The word herb covered green
plants, roots and herbs. Food that came from
the ground was considered suitable only for
the poor. Upper classes ate garlic, onions and
leeks. If there was a poor harvest, like the one
that happened in the 1590s, the economy
suffered and people in some areas starved.
At the turn of the century, there were a record
number of people living in poverty which led to
the introduction of the 1601 Poor Law that
required a poor rate to be levied on every
parish, created Overseers of relief, giving the
poor work and collecting a poor relief tax from
property owners.
Bread was the most important component of
the Tudor diet. Upper classes ate manchet, a
ne white bread made of wheat our. Lower
classes ate bread made from rye or barley our.
Available meat in Tudor England included beef,
pork, veal, goat, lamb, rabbit, mutton, swans,
herons and poultry. Chickens were introduced
to England by the Romans. Only the aristoc-
racy were allowed to hunt deer, boar and hare.
The punishment for poaching was death or
having hands cut off.
Fish was available and included herring, salm-
on, eel, cod, trout and pike. Shellsh, such as
oysters (which were plentiful and cheap),
mussels and cockles were also available.
Food in Tudor England included a range of
dairy products like milk, cream, butter and
cheese. Milk was considered an inferior food
and thus was consumed by the lower classes.
Butter was stored in wooden barrels and was
only used by the upper classes for cooking.
The wealthy could afford spices and sweeten-
ers required to create exotic recipes, but the
diet of the poor was comparatively bland, as
seasonings were expensive.
The wealthy Tudors ate three meals a day.
Breakfast was served between 6am and 7am,
dinner was served between 12noon and 2pm
and supper was served between 6pm and
7pm.
The average poor person in Tudor England ate
lb of bread, 1 pint of beer, 1 pint of porridge
and 1/4lb of meat per day, supplemented by
some dairy products. The daily ration for a sol-
dier was 2lb of beef or mutton, 1lb of cheese,
lb of butter, 1.5lb of bread and nearly a
gallon of beer per day. Water was rarely drunk,
as it was not clean, and beer or ale was the
beverage of choice for all classes. The beer had
a very low alcohol content and was drunk by
all ages.
Table Manners
Spoons and knives were common utensils at
table. Spoons had been around since Roman
times, and knives were pointed and used not
only for cutting food, but also to lift pieces of
food to the mouth. Hosts generally did not
provide cutlery or silverware for their guests,
so people were used to carrying around their
own utensils, sometimes in very elaborate
cases. Forks were not introduced to England
until 1608 when a gentleman by the name of
Thomas Coryate returned from a trip to Italy
with the two-pronged implement as a souvenir.
The English considered forks to be unnecessary
and effeminate. Why should a person need
a fork when God had given him hands? they
asked. Forks eventually came to be adopted by
wealthy personages. They were prized posses-
sions made of expensive materials intended
to impress guests. Small, slender-handled
forks with two tines were generally used for
sweet, sticky foods or for foods such as berries
that were likely to stain the ngers. By the
mid 1600s, eating with forks was considered
fashionable among wealthy British. Forks used
solely for dining were luxuries and thus mark-
ers of social status and sophistication among
nobles.
Food was served on large platters, but what
we know as the dinner plate did not exist.
Porcelain and china were costly and rare, as
they had to be imported from the Far East.
People ate their food off of wooden trenchers,
small at, rectangular objects. Some trenchers
were made of specially baked bread, which
was kept for several days and which would be
fed to dogs after their use. Trenchers often had
a hollowed or scooped out center and some-
times even a smaller hollow in one corner for
salt. Wooden trenchers gradually gave way to
pewter plates.
Table manners of the period are well docu-
mented. Books on etiquette began appearing
in the 15th century. There are also handbooks
in which great lords described how they would
like their households to be run.
At the beginning of the meal, the table was set
by the servants. The best tables were covered
with carpets or velvet cloths that in turn would
be covered with linen tablecloths. After the
cloth was laid, the great salt went on it. Salt
was an expensive commodity, so the salt cellar
was the main ornament of the table. Next,
other salts and pepper boxes were set down
the tables, as required. Each diner got a table
setting of a trencher, bread, a napkin, and a
knife and spoon, unless the guest had brought
his own knife and spoon. The knife was to the
right of the plate, the bread to the left and the
napkin folded on top. Guests were led into the
great hall in order of precedence. Seats were
usually laid out in a U-shape, with the lord at
the base of the U. The most honored position
was to the right of the lord, and the lowest at
the bottom of the tables to the left of the lord.
Contrary to popular belief, the Tudors and
Elizabethans did wash their hands before
meals. This may have been done on the way
into the hall, at a ewery board, or servants
might have brought a ewer and basin around
to the guests. The servants themselves, par-
ticularly the carver and server, visibly washed
their hands, as well. The ritual hand-washing
in the dining chamber was more symbolic than
thorough, but guests were denitely expected
to have washed well beforehand. Grace was
said before the meal was served.
Next, the dishes were brought in and laid in
a very precise order on the table. Dishes were
brought rst to the high table, and then to the
rest of the diners. Dishes requiring carving
might be carried to a sideboard. There were
typically vast numbers of different dishes,
but, unlike modern feasts where everyone is
expected to get a serving of every dish in a
meal, not every dish was within reach of every
diner. Diners were expect to pick the things
they liked best from the messe that was
within their reach. A messe is a set of dishes
usually shared between two and four people.
Typically, the further from the high table you
were, the fewer choices you had. Vessels
of wine and cups to drink it were kept on a
cupboard and served to diners on request. No
one had an individual cup. After a diner had
drunk, he handed the cup back to the servant,
who rinsed it and put it back. Cups and vessels
would often be kept cool in a tub of water.
After a course, the serving plates, the broken
bread, crumbs, etc, were removed beginning at
the lowest end of the table and working toward
the high table. There might be entertainment
between the courses. Then the next course
would begin. After the meal, everyone washed
their hands again and grace was said again.
The servants took up the dishes and the linens,
removed the boards from the trestles, and put
the tables away.
Actually eating the food was a fairly simple
process. The manners of the 15th century still
applied in the 16th century. Works like the
Babees Boke and various Bokes of Nurture tell
the story:
Keep your hands and nails clean.
Keep your knife clean and sharp.
Cut your meat into small pieces, and dont
hack it into great gobbets.
Cut your bread with your knife, and dont tear
it in great hunks.
Never put the meat into the salt cellar. (Keep-
ing the salt cellar clean was very important.)
You should take a little salt on the tip of clean
knife and put it on your food. Never put spilled,
dirty salt back in the cellar.
Dont leave your spoon in the dish when you
are done with your pottage. Dont overll the
spoon and denitely dont spill it on the cloth!
Dont slurp your soup.
Keep the cloth as clean as possible.
The French sources recommend that when
you are given a drink, either drink it all or
throw it away. English sources seem to indicate
that it is rude to drink the whole thing.
Empty and wipe your mouth before drinking.
Dont throw your bones on the oor, but put
them in a voiding bowl.
If food is dropped on the oor pick it up but
dont eat it.
Dont stroke cats and dogs at the table.
Dont stuff your mouth, pick your teeth,
make rude noises, scratch yourself, blow on
your food, spit in the washing basin or across
the table, spit up food into your dish, talk with
your mouth full, or fall asleep at the table.
Dont put your elbows on the table.
Considering that the table is typically a board
laid on top of trenchers, this could cause an
unfortunate accident.
Napkins, which were fairly large, were
typically worn over the left shoulder and were
used frequently to clean hands. Food was
taken from the serving dish using the tip of the
knife, speared, and placed it in the trencher,
where it was eaten it with a persons hands.
Spoons were used to eat soft foods and broth
out of the common dish, which is why it was
rude to leave a spoon in the dish after having
eaten ones share. Individuals did not have
their own bowls to eat soupy dishes.
Shakespeares life straddled the reign of two
monarchs: Elizabeth I and James I. During his
lifetime, Shakespeare saw a renaissance of art,
science and exploration. On the other hand,
with the accession of James I, it was an
immensely unstable time politically in England.
Elizabeth I
(SEPTEMBER 7, 1533 NOVEMBER 17, 1558)
Gloriana, Good Queen Bess, the Virgin Queen,
the Faerie Queen these are names that
epitomized the love and devotion which her
people felt for Elizabeth I.
Her childhood was turbulent. Born on
September 7, 1533 in Greenwich Palace,
Elizabeth was the only child of Henry VIII and
his second queen, Anne Boleyn. Her parents
had longed for a son, and her father was
bitterly disappointed that he had a daughter.
As tradition for royal children dictated, at the
age of three months, Elizabeth was given
her own household at Hateld House in
Hertfordshire. Her half-sister Mary, daughter
of Catherine of Aragon, had been stripped of
her title of Princess of Wales and had been
declared illegitimate as the result of her
parents divorce. She was ordered to go to
Hateld as one of her baby sisters ladies in
waiting. This would form the basis for a lifelong
resentment toward her younger sister.
Elizabeth herself was declared illegitimate at
the age of two when her mother was executed
on Tower Green. However, Henrys new wife,
Jane Seymour, was eager to embrace both
Mary and Elizabeth into the Royal Household.
Upon the birth of her brother, Edward,
Elizabeth was reinstated in the line of succes-
sion behind her brother and her sister, Mary.
Upon the death of their father in 1547,
Edward succeeded to the throne. He had
never been a strong child and eventually died
of consumption (tuberculosis). A struggle for
the crown ensued. Since the divorce of Henry
VIII from Catherine of Aragon, England had
been a Protestant country. Many did not want
the crown to fall to the Catholic Mary. On
Edwards death in 1553, his cousin, Lady Jane
Grey, was proclaimed Queen by her father and
father-in-law. Nine days later, she was deposed
and was eventually executed on Tower Green
by Marys supporters.
Mary was thirty-seven when she ascended
the throne. Shortly after her accession, she
married Prince Philip of Spain, which made the
Catholic Queen even more unpopular with her
people.
Elizabeths life during Marys reign started off
well, but there were great differences between
them. Protestants, who were now persecuted
under Mary, saw Elizabeth as their savior. The
threat of a Protestant uprising unsettled Mary,
and in 1554 she had Elizabeth imprisoned in
the Tower of London. Two months later, she
This Sceptered Isle
Never was
monarch
better feard
and loved.
King Henry V: II, ii
was released. On her deathbed, Mary accepted
Elizabeth as heir to the throne. After Elizabeth,
the one with the strongest claim to the throne
was the Mary, Queen of Scots, who had
recently married Franois, the Dauphin of
France. In order to keep England out of French
hands, it was in the best interest of Marys
husband Philip and of Spain to proclaim
Elizabeth as rightful heir.
Mary died on November 17, 1558, and
Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey
on January 14, 1559.
Elizabeth was incredibly intelligent and was
uent in six languages. She was taught
theology, history, philosophy, sewing and
rhetoric. She loved dancing, hunting and
riding and she played several instruments.
She was famous for her beauty and vivacity.
She was a great patron of the arts, and they
thrived during her reign. Composers like John
Dowland (1563-1626), William Byrd (1543-
1623), Anthony Holborne (1545-1602) and
Thomas Tallis (1505 1585) wrote their
greatest works. Explorers such as Sir Francis
Drake, who circumnavigated the world from
1577 1580, Sir Walter Raleigh who
established the colony of Roanoke in Virginia
in 1584, Sir Humphrey Gilbert who discovered
Newfoundland and John Hawkins, who
explored parts of West Africa and South
America brought far away lands and new
innovations to England. They were pioneers in
expanding the British Empire an empire on
which the sun never set. This empire would
last until well into the 20th century. In addition
to Shakespeare, writers such as Christopher
Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Thomas Campion
and Ben Jonson were prolic in their work
under Elizabeth.
Previous rulers had left England in a state of
bankruptcy, and the country was in religious
chaos by the time Elizabeth became queen.
Elizabeth did not want to earn a reputation for
religious persecution like her half-sister who
had earned the nickname Bloody Mary for
the number of Protestant executions ordered
during her reign. She passed a number of
Acts to ensure religious stability, including the
Elizabethan Settlement, declaring that she did
not care what men believed, just as long as
they attended the Church of England. The
Act of Uniformity of 1559 required the use of
The Book of Common Prayer in church
services. She also passed the Act of
Supremacy, in which she declared herself
supreme governor of the church, rather than
supreme head, because several bishops and
many members of the public felt that a
woman could not be head of the Church.
The subject of her marriage, or lack thereof,
was a regular topic of debate and discussion
throughout her reign. She never did marry
and took on the image of a virgin who was
married to her country and her people.
The Queen found in Mary Stuart, the
Catholic Queen of Scotland, a dangerous rival.
Mary was less than a year old when she was
crowned Queen of Scotland in 1543. Mary,
too, was famed for her beauty but was an
insecure and unstable ruler. She had been sent
to France when she was ve to be raised as
a consort for the Dauphin. Upon Elizabeths
accession in 1559, Mary had briey declared
herself Queen of England with French support.
At the death of her husband Francois II,
Mary returned to Scotland. Several plots
to overthrow Elizabeth ensued, and after an
eighteen-year imprisonment, Mary was eventu-
ally executed at Fotheringay Castle in 1587.
I know I have the body but of a weak
and feeble woman; but I have the heart
and stomach of a king, and of a king of
England too, and think foul scorn that
Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe,
should dare to invade the borders of my
realm; to which rather than any dishonour
shall grow by me, I myself will take up
arms, I myself will be your general, judge,
and rewarder of every one of your virtues
in the eld.
Speech to the Troops at Tilbury to repel the
anticipated invasion of the Spanish Armada.
Despite various uprisings, Elizabeth avoided
war for most of her reign. She had seen how,
from her fathers constant involvement in war,
England could suffer nancially. She took a
keen interest in affairs of state and did not
like dealing with Parliament. The only war in
which she was forced to engage was with the
Spanish, who sent their ships, the Armada, to
invade England in an effort to overthrow the
queen and reestablish Catholicism. Englands
smaller, faster ships defeated the heavy,
sluggish Spanish ships.
Elizabeth was adored by her subjects. She
made regular trips throughout her realm
so that her people could see her. By the
turn of the century, her age and frailty were
beginning to show, and on the 24th of March
1603, she died. On the 28th of April, she
was given a huge state funeral. Her cofn was
drawn through the streets. On top of the cofn
was an efgy of the queen dressed in state
robes and wearing her crown. She was buried
in Westminster Abbey next to her half-sister,
Mary.
A mourner wrote:
Westminster was surcharged with multitudes
of all sorts of people in their streets, houses,
windows, leads and gutters, that came to see
the obsequy, and when they beheld her statue
lying upon the cofn, there was such a general
sighing, groaning and weeping as the like hath
not been seen or known in the memory of man,
neither doth any history mention any people,
time or state to make like lamentation for the
death of their sovereign.
It was only shortly before her death in 1603
that she named her successor as James of
Scotland, son of her former rival, Mary, Queen
of Scots.
James VI of Scotland,
James I of England
(JUNE 19, 1566 MARCH 27, 1625)
James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots
and of her second husband, Henry Stuart,
Duke of Albany, commonly known as Lord
Darnley. Both of James parents were
descendents of Henry VII through his great
grandmother, Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry
VIII. James father was murdered in 1567, and
his mother was forced to abdicate the throne
on July 24 of that same year in favor of James.
James was crowned as James VI, King of
Scotland, at the Church of the Holy Rood on
July 29, 1567 at the age of thirteen months.
James was brought up as a member of the
Protestant, national Church of Scotland.
Knowing that he was a potential successor to
the throne of England, James sought to remain
in favor with Queen Elizabeth I. Henry VIII had
feared that his crown would go to a Scot, so
in his will he excluded Margaret Tudor and her
descendents from the succession. Even though
technically excluded, both Mary Queen of Scots
and her son were serious claimants to the
English Crown as Elizabeth Is closest relatives.
He continued to pave his way to the English
throne by reducing the inuence of Roman
Catholic nobles in Scotland. He secured
Protestant support by marrying Anne of
Denmark and Norway. The couple produced
eight children, with only three surviving
infancy.
Upon the death of Elizabeth I, James and
Anne were crowned on July 25th, 1603 at
Westminster Abbey. Although James styled
himself King of Great Britain in 1604, Scotland
and England remained separate states until
1707, when the Acts of Union combined the
two states into The Kingdom of Great Britain.
Throughout his reign, James fought constantly
with Parliament. He was extravagant in his
spending. So much so that Parliament re-
fused on occasion to disburse funds to him.
He imposed various duties and taxes without
parliamentary consent and, in order to lessen
his debts, sold honors and titles to raise funds.
When the differences between them increased,
James dissolved Parliament and ruled without
them for seven years. He grew increasingly
unpopular with Protestant England when he
married off the Prince of Wales to the daughter
of the King of Spain and executed Sir Walter
Raleigh, the great explorer, writer and states-
man. From 1618 the Thirty Years War engulfed
Europe. James was forced to be involved,
because his daughter, Elizabeth, was married
to Frederick V of Bohemia.
There were a number of plots to overthrow
the king, perhaps the most notable being the
Gunpowder Plot. (Much of the recent lm,
V for Vendetta, is inspired by this historic
moment in British history.) In this 1605 plot,
Catholic extremists hatched a plan to blow up
the chamber of the House of Lords where the
king and members of both Houses would be
gathered for the State Opening of Parliament.
The conspirators sought to replace James with
his daughter, Elizabeth, whom they could then
force to convert to Catholicism. One of the
conspirators leaked information, and the plot
was foiled. The man in charge of executing the
plot, Guy Fawkes, was tortured on the rack
until he revealed the names of his accomplices.
To this day, to celebrate the foiled plot, an
efgy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the 5th of
November, also known as Bonre Night. Before
every State Opening of Parliament, the Yeo-
men of the Guard, or Beefeaters, still search
the cellars beneath the Palace of Westminster
by the light of candle-lanterns. It has been said
that for superstitious reasons the State Opening
of Parliament has never (with one exception),
since 1605, been held on November 5th.
James religious tolerance permitted the
continued existence of Catholicism in England
and Scotland, the continuation of Calvinism in
Scotland and growing Puritanism in England.
The King James Bible became the standard
edition of the Bible throughout the
English-speaking world, replacing earlier
translations. However, James was extremely
paranoid about witchcraft and appointed a
Witch-nder General. This appointment led
to the execution of a great number of people,
mostly women.
James was intelligent and well-read; however,
he was paranoid and believed staunchly in the
Theory of Divine Right. He wrote,
The state of monarchy is the supremest
thing upon earth; for kings are not only Gods
lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon Gods
throne, but even by God himself are called
gods. Kings are justly called gods, for that they
exercise a manner or resemblance of divine
power upon earth: for it you will consider the
attributes to God, you shall see how they agree
in the person of a king God hath power to
create or destroy, make or unmake, at his plea-
sure, to give life or send death, to judge all and
to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise
low things and make high things low at his
pleasure, and to God are both souls and body
due. And the like power have kings: they make
and unmake their subjects, they have power
of raising and casting down, of life and death,
judges over all their subjects and in all causes
and yet accountable to none but God only.
These sentiments did not help James to win
friends and inuence people. A contrary doc-
trine formed by judges appeared, stating that
the king of England was the creation of the
law of England and therefore subject to that
law. This dispute ultimately would lead to the
English Civil War, the execution of Charles I
(James son), the downfall of the monarchy
and the institution of the Commonwealth from
1649 1660.
Shakespeare continued to write under James I
as he had in the reign of Elizabeth. One of his
most popular plays written during this period,
Macbeth, shows a would-be-king beset by
witches.
Exploration continued during James reign, and
the Virginia Colony Jamestown, established in
1607, and the James River were named for
the king.
James died of a stroke in 1625 after ruling
Scotland for fty-eight years and England for
twenty-two years.
The consensus is that that James was a not
bad king, but was just not equipped with his
Scottish background to t into a rapidly chang-
ing society.
Elizabethan Theatre
Acting in
Shakespeares Day
Actors in the time of Shakespeare were not
considered celebrities as are actors of today.
In fact, a government act of 1572 stated that
common players in interludes & minstrels
who were not afliated with a patron would
be regarded as rogues, vagabonds and sturdy
beggars. Males played all the characters, as
women were not allowed on the stage.
However, with clever make-up and convincing
wigs, it was easy for a young male to pass for
a female.
Actors were generally members of a company,
and during the time of Shakespeare there
were several companies either based in London
or touring the provinces.
Companies were usu-
ally under the patronage
of a wealthy noble. Each
company had their leading
or star actors and their
actors who specialized in
playing the fool (akin to
todays stand-up
comics). Actors had to
perform their own stunts
and wield weaponry with
convincing skill. They also
had to know the popular
dances of the day and of earlier times as
dances would quite often be incorporated into
the action of a play. There were no micro-
phones in Shakespeares day, so actors had to
have a voice of substantial power to be heard
above the din of the audience. (Audiences of
the day were not quiet and well-behaved like
todays audiences. They were loud and rude.)
The government was always trying to regulate
theatre, trying to control what kinds of plays
were produced and demanding that compa-
nies be licensed. The only company allowed to
perform in the City of London (the square mile
which comprised the City of London) was the
state-sponsored Queens Men. Other compa-
nies had to perform across the river, where
a majority of theatres was located, at private
homes or in the provinces. Entertainments
were toleratedthey could not play at night
or on the Sabbath and they could be closed
down if plague threatened.
Before a play could be staged, it had to be
approved by the kings or queens censorthe
Master of Revels. This person judged each play
at the expense of the production company.
Plays considered morally or politically offensive
could be banned under threat of imprisonment.

Elizabethan Theatre Companies
Earl of Pembrokes Men company under
the patronage of Henry Herbert, Second Earl
of Pembroke. The Earl of Pembroke had a
company as early as the 1580s and regularly
performed at the court of Elizabeth I.
Shakespeare may have spent time both as a
writer and actor for the company before 1592.
The Queens Men a state-sponsored
company founded in 1583. A group of
hand-picked actors and the only company
allowed to perform in the City of London.
Queen Elizabeth I was its patron.
The Admirals Men company patronized by
Charles Howard, Second Baron Howard of Ef-
ngham. The company rst performed at court
between 1576 and 1579 under the name Lord
Howards Men. When Howard was appointed
Lord High Admiral in 1585, the name was
changed to The Admirals Men. They played
mainly at the Rose Theatre. When Howard
was created Earl of Nottingham, the company
was alternately known as Nottinghams Men.
Patronage of the company eventually switched
All the
worlds
a stage
As You Like It: II, vii
to Prince Henry, eldest son of James I, and was
renamed Prince Henrys Men. After the Princes
death in 1612, the company was patronized
by Frederik V, Elector Palatine, and was known
as Palgraves Men. The company was disband-
ed in 1631.
Lord Stranges Men company formed by
retainers from the household of Lord Strange.
The company toured England before appear-
ing at court in 1582. From 1588 1594 they
were associated with the Admirals Men. They
mainly performed at the Theatre and the Rose
Theatre.
The Lord Chamberlains Men After the death
of Lord Strange in 1594, Lord Stranges Men
found a new patron in Henry Carey, The Lord
Chamberlain. This
group performed at
The Theatre and the
Curtain. In 1599 they
moved to the Globe.
By 1600 they were
considered the leading
company in London
and in 1603 were
granted a royal pat-
ent and became The
Kings Men. The com-
pany continued suc-
cessfully until the closing of theatres in 1642.
Shakespeare was a member of this company
and may indeed have been an original member.
Earl of Worcesters Men company under
the patronage of the Earl of Worcester playing
mainly at the Rose Theatre. Early in the reign
of James I, the company was amalgamated
with Oxfords Men to form Queen Annes Men.
So where were plays performed?
Like the touring circuit of today, traveling actors
would go from town to town. Shakespeares
hometown of Stratford was one of the places
frequented by traveling players. The company
carried all of their props and costumes, risked
being unwelcome (remember, this was a time
of plague and outsiders were looked on sus-
piciously) and subsist on a low income. Many
troupes wanted a permanent home in London.
Theatrical companies rst started performing at
local pubs in the city, but this practice
was less than popular with the city
government. Plays were banned from the city.
Many Londoners were Puritans who hated the
theatre and all it represented. Respectable
citizens also objected to the rise in crime, the
bawdy nature of some of the plays, ghting,
drinking and risk of plague spreading. In order
to get away from restrictive jurisdiction, troupes
would have to perform outside of the city walls.
Troupes headed for the suburbs. Bankside soon
became the area of choice for theatres, as it
was located in Londons top entertainment
quarter. This was a fairly seedy area of town
that was a haunt for prostitutes, thieves and
other unsavory characters.
London Theatres
Because of the restrictions placed on
playhouses, theatrical entrepreneurs
wanted to give theatre a legitimate feeling.
This is reected in the design concept of the
physical theatre and the subject matter used
by contemporary playwrights. Plays with
classical characters such as Shakespeares
Julius Caesar, Coriolanus and Antony and
Cleopatra and Marlowes Tamburlaine and
Hero and Lysander were popular with both
the Master of Revels and the public. This is
not to say that there were no references to
contemporary eventsthey were just thinly
disguised.
Permanent theatres were built in the style of
Greek and Roman amphitheatres thus linking
Elizabethan theatre to the classicism of the
Greeks and Romans. All of the Elizabethan
amphitheatres were built to a similar design.
The audience capacity of an Elizabethan
Theatre was anywhere between 1500 and
3000. There was no heating in the theatre.
Plays were performed in these amphitheatres
during the summer months and went indoors
to Blackfriars (a monastery that had been con-
verted to a theatre) or another indoor theatre
in the winter. There was generally no special
lighting in the theatre. Plays were performed
in the afternoon to take advantage of natural
light. There was some articial lighting to
provide atmosphere for night scenes. There
were no intermissions, and there were no toilet
facilitiespeople relieved themselves outside.
The stage of the Elizabethan amphitheatre was
raised to a height of 4 to 6 feet and generally
projected halfway into the pit. The oor was
made of wood and was sometimes covered
with rushes. Trap doors on the oor facilitated
additional special effects. The actors dressed
in a tiring house behind the stage. A storage
room known as the hut was located above the
tiring house.
The only known contemporary drawing of an
Elizabethan playhouse. This is the Swan as
drawn by Johannes de Witt in 1596:
There were twelve important London
amphitheatres that had varying degrees of
success. The theatres were not exclusive to
any one company and were available to any
group wishing to use them.
The rst purpose-built theatre in London was
the Red Lion in Stepney (now the East End).
This temporary structure was built in 1567
and was probably not meant to stand for more
than a few performances.
The Theatre the First Elizabethan
Amphitheatre. Built by James Burbage
in 1576 and located in Shoreditch. The
Theatre was described as an octagonal
building having between eight and twenty-four
sides. The open air arena was called the pit
or yard. The stage projected halfway into the
pit. There was galleried seating around. Up to
this point, plays were performed in inn-yards,
and Burbage, being entrepreneurial, wanted
to cash in on the prots made by the plays
performed in England. When Burbages lease
on the site ran out in 1596, the theatre was
dismantled piece by piece and transported
over the Thames to build the Globe.
The Curtain Built by Henry Lanman in 1577
in Shoreditch. The Curtain was the second
amphitheatre-styled playhouse to be built in
London. The Lord Chamberlains men per-
formed there prior to moving to the Globe. The
Curtain was in use from 1557 to 1622, when
it was closed by the Puritans.
Newington Butts Theatre This theatre was
in use from around 1580. It is believed that
money for building this venue came from Philip
Henslowe. In 1594, the Chamberlains Men
gave their earliest performances of Hamlet,
The Taming of the Shrew and Titus Androni-
cus, and The Admirals Men also performed
there. Due to its location nearly a mile from the
river and far outside the city, it was not a very
successful theatre.
The Rose Built in 1587 by Philip Henslowe
in Southwark, very near the rivers edge. The
building was 72 feet in diameter, built of tim-
ber, lath and plaster and covered with thatch.
It had an open yard measuring 36 feet in
diameter, galleries, a 15ft x 32ft stage, a tiring
house, heavens and a agpole. The stage was
painted. Not much is known about the theatre
for the rst ve years of its existence, but we
do know that the theatre was occupied by Lord
Stranges Men (later Lord Chamberlains Men),
who opened at the Rose on Feb 19, 1592
and played there until June of that year, when
all theatres in London were closed following
a spate of riots in the area. The theatre was
closed off and on until December 1593, due
to the outbreak of plague. In June of 1594 the
Admirals Men moved back to the Rose, which
they occupied exclusively. In 1600, the Privy
Council issued and order closing down all play-
houses with the exception of the Globe and the
Fortune. The building was eventually torn down
in 1606. Recent excavations have uncovered
the foundations of the Rose.
The Swan Built by Francis Langley and
opened in 1596 in Southwark. It was built very
cheaply and extremely quickly, taking only six
months to construct. Pembrokes Men played
here, and after staging an offensive play, The
Isle of Dogs by Thomas Nashe and Ben Jon-
son, Gabriel Spenser (an actor in the play) and
others were put in prison. Langley was also in
trouble for allowing the play to be staged. The
Swan offered other popular entertainments
such as bearbaiting but was demolished in
1632.
The Fortune Built in 1600 in Cripplegate
by Philip Henslowe with the prots from the
Rose Theatre. The theatre was named for the
Roman goddess Fortuna, who promised wealth
and abundance, and a statue of her graced
the entrance to the theatre. The Admirals
Men played here. This theatre was the main
rival of the Globe. The building was destroyed
by re in 1621 and was rebuilt in brick (the
rst brick-built theatre ever constructed) and
opened in 1623. The theatre was closed by
the Puritans in 1642 and torn down in 1661.
The Boars Head This theatre in Whitechapel
(the East End of London) was originally an inn
owned by a widow named Mrs. Poley. From
1557, it was used as an inn-yard, but in 1595
Mrs. Poley leased the space to a man by the
name of Oliver Woodliffe on condition that
he would spend money converting it into an
amphitheatre. This task took four years, and in
1599 the theatre was licensed and was to play
host to Worcesters Men. For whatever reason,
this relationship was short-lived, and the com-
pany moved to the Rose.
The Red Bull Built in 1604 and located in
Clerkenwell. It had the worst reputation of
all of the playhouses, as there were frequent
brawls there. Queen Annes Men (formerly
Worcesters Men) played there and occupied
it until 1617. The theatre was closed by the
Puritans but reopened with the Restoration. It
was demolished in 1665.
The Beare Garden was both a theatre and a
bearbaiting* arena located in Southwark. The
original Beare Garden was demolished by
Philip Henslowe to build the Hope in 1613.
The Bull Ring This venue was primarily a
Bear- and Bull-baiting venue.
The Hope Built by Philip Henslowe in 1613,
the Hope was located in Southwark on the
site of a Bear Garden. The stage was a move-
able one, because the venue was also used as
a bear-baiting ring. After Henslowes death in
1616, the players left, leaving the venue to the
more protable bearbaiting which continued
until 1656 when the Hope was closed after a
series of bearbaiting accidents.
*Bearbaiting was a gruesome entertainment
in which a bear was chained by the neck or
leg and was attacked by dogs. Bull baiting was
also enjoyed by Elizabethan audiences. In this,
a bulls nose was primed with pepper to excite
it. Dogs were then loosed one at a time to bite
the bulls nose. Bear- and bull- baiting were
eventually outlawed in 1835.
The Globe
Totus mundus agit histrionem (All the worlds
a stage) Motto of the Globe Theatre
The most famous of the Elizabethan amphithe-
atres. What we know of the rst Globe and its
successor is based on 17th century descrip-
tions and drawings. The Globe was built in
1599 by the Burbage brothers and was located
on Bankside. Richard Burbage and his brother
Cuthbert had inherited the Theatre from their
father, James and. when the lease for the site
of the Theatre ran out, the brothers dismantled
it and built the Globe using timber from the
older venue on the other side of the river.
The stage of the Globe measured approximate-
ly 40feet wide x 30 feet deep. Actors could
make dramatic entrances from trap doors on
the stage. The area underneath the stage was
called the cellarage or sometimes hell, since
supernatural beings entered and exited the
stage from these points. Two large columns on
either side of the stage supported a roof over
the rear portion of
the stage. The ceil-
ing was called the
heavens and may
have been painted to
resemble the sky. A
trap door in the heav-
ens allowed perform-
ers to y or descend
using some form of
rope or harness.
There were three
doors at stage level
against the back wall
of the stage that led
into the tiring house.
The balcony housed
musicians and could
be used for scenes
requiring a second
level, such as the
balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. Props
and scenery were minimal, and costumes were
whatever was the fashion of the day. Most of
the emphasis was placed on acting and on the
words. People would sometimes talk about
going to the theatre to hear a play.
The original Globe burned down in 1613,
when ames expelled from a cannon used
for special effects during a performance of
Shakespeares Henry VIII set the thatched roof
on re. A second Globe (with a tiled roof) was
built in 1614. The theatre was closed in 1642
by the Puritans and was demolished in 1644.
Between September 2nd and 5th, 1666 the
Great Fire of London consumed the foundation
and whatever was left of the theatre.
A reconstruction close to the original site is
a living testament to the work of the worlds
greatest playwright. This reconstruction project
was the brainchild of American actor Sam
Wanamaker and was opened in 1992. It stages
productions of plays by Shakespeare and his
contemporaries from May to October each year.
Other Venues
Some of Shakespeares plays were rst
performed in one of the four Inns of Court.
(all barristers were required to join one of
the four inns: Grays Inn, Middle Temple
Inn, Lower Temple Inn and Lincolns Inn).
Shakespeare was intrigued enough by the Inns
of Court to make them the setting for a scene
in Henry VI Part 1.
The Great Hall at Grays Inn (which dates
from 1556) was a big party place, and law
students who resided there were required to
attend compulsory suppers there. Residents
were not allowed to go out of the Inn for fun
and were forced to produce their own in-house
entertainment, which included plays and
masques to accompany meals. Grays Inn was
denitely the in place to be, as aristocrats
would send their sons there to be educated.
One of Shakespeares patrons, the Earl of
Southampton, sent his son to Grays Inn. In
1594, Shakespeares Comedy of Errors was
played in the Great Hall of Grays Inn as part of
their Christmas celebrationsprobably starring
the author.
THE GLOBE THEATRE
THE GLOBE THEATRE
The Middle Temple was built between 1562
and1573. Festival times such as Christmas
and Candlemas were important, and the Mid-
dle Temple hosted entertainments to celebrate
these events. In 1602, The Chamberlains
Men were invited to perform and gave the rst
recorded performance of Twelfth Night, and it
is thought that the author was in the cast.
The Whitehall Theatre was the most elite of all
theatres. The building was designed by Inigo
Jones, and the queen herself was a patron of
the theatre. It was a sumptuous building, and
it was here that Royal Command Performances
took place. The Lord Chamberlains Men did
perform here.
Blackfriars was so named because it used to
be the monastery for the Dominican monks
who wore black habits (all monasteries were
dissolved by Henry VIII when he broke with
Rome to divorce Catherine of Aragon, and the
buildings were destroyed, converted or left to
decay and the property was sold or leased).
James Burbage purchased the property in
1596 and converted the buildings into an
indoor or private playhouse. In 1600, Richard
Burbage leased the property to a third party
but took the lease back in 1608 when Shake-
speare and other members of the company
became part owners of the 70-seat venue.
Although commoners were allowed to attend,
Blackfriars catered to the wealthy, as tickets
cost double the price of the Globe. The Cham-
berlains Men spent their winters here and the
summer at the Globe. The theatre continued
with much success until 1642, when it was
closed during the Civil War. The playhouse fell
into disrepair and was eventually demolished
in 1655.
Whitefriars
Whitefriars was so named because it used to
be the monastery for the Cistercian monks,
who wore white habits. The refectory hall was
converted into a private theatre in 1606 and
hosted companies of child actors.
Theatre Going in Shakespeares Day
People would ock to the theatres for
entertainment. It was relatively cheap to attend
and a great social outing. Audiences knew
what type of play was playing by the color of
the ag ying at the top of the theatre. If a
tragedy was playing, the ag was black, for
a comedy, the ag was white and if a history
play was onstage, the ag was red. All
performances had to end before dusk so that
patrons could return home safely. There were
no performances during Lent or outbreaks of
plague.
Patrons entered through one main entrance
and put a penny into a box at the door. At the
start of the play, the admission collectors put
the boxes in a backstage room called the box
ofce.
The cheapest tickets were for places in the pit
or yard, where people paid a gatherer penny
to stand in the hot sun or threatening clouds to
watch the performance. Around the yard were
levels of covered, galleried seating that were
more expensive. At the Globe, there were three
tiers of seating: the rst two were called Two
Penny Rooms and the top level was called the
Penny Gallery. The balcony directly behind the
stage was also used as the Lords Room, where
high paying patrons could pay to be seated,
more to be seen than to see the play.
Being an audience member in Shakespeares
day meant being involved. Audiences were
packed in to the theaters. They were loud, rude
and noisy during the performance and would
sometimes throw things at the stage. Although
todays audiences are more respectful of actors
and other audience members, going to the
theatre is as uplifting an experience as it was
for those audiences nearly 400 years ago.
Shakespeares Words and Phrases
Words
without
thoughts
never to
heaven go.
Hamlet: III, ii
When Shakespeare was writing
his plays, modern English was in
a constant state of change. The
language was absorbing words
from other cultures, due to war,
diplomacy and colonization. Many
of Shakespeares contemporaries
lacked the vocabulary to express
their ideas. So, writers such as
Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare,
Edmund Spenser or Sir Philip
Sidney invented, borrowed or
adopted words from other
languages. This process is called
neologizing. It is estimated that
between the years 1500 and
1659, 30,000 new words were
added to the English language.
Calculating the number of words
invented by Shakespeare is
difcult, but, overlooking variations
on already existing words of
the day and compounds, it is
estimated that Shakespeare
coined approximately 600 words
deriving from Latin alone. Some
experts set the total number of
words contributed by Shakespeare
to be 10,000. Many of the words
we use in our common, everyday
language were invented by
Shakespeare, such as:
Accessible
Accommodation
Accused
Addiction
(Shakespeare meant
tendency)
Admirable
Advertising
Amazement
Assassination
Bandit
Barefaced
Bedroom
Belongings
Birthplace
Blanket
Bloodstained
Bloodsucking
Barefaced
Blushing
Bet
Candleholder
Cater
Champion
Circumstantial
Clutch
Cold-blooded
Coldhearted
Colorful
Comply
Compromise
Courtship
Countless
Critic
Dauntless
Discontent
Dislocate
Distasteful
Distrustful
Downstairs
Dwindle
Embrace
Engagement
Epileptic
Equivocal
Eventful
Exposure
Excitement
(Shakespeare meant
incitement)
Eyeball
Fanged
Fashionable
Fixture
Flawed
Fortuneteller
Foulmouthed
Frugal
Full-grown
Generous
Gloomy
Gnarl
Gossip
Gust
Hint
Hobnob
Hurried
Impede
Impartial
Invulnerable
Jaded
Label
Lonely
Love Letter
Luggage
Lustrous
Madcap
Majestic
Metamorphize
Mimic
Monumental
Moonbeam
Motionless
Negotiate
Obscene
Obsequiously
Overgrowth
Outbreak
Pageantry
Paternal
Pious
Premeditated
Priceless
Puking
Radiance
Rant
Reliance
Restoration
Retirement
Revolting
Savagery
Schoolboy
Scufe
Secure
Shipwrecked
Skim milk
Submerge
Summit
Torture
Tranquil
Undress
Unmitigated
Unpolluted
Unreal
Unrivalled
Upstairs
Useful
Useless
Worthless
Zany
Phrases used in everyday speech today have
their origins in Shakespeares plays:
Clothes make the man
Method in his madness
To thine own self be true
Dog will have his day
Frailty, thy name is woman
Brevity is the soul of wit
The lady doth protest too much
Its Greek to me
Breathe ones last
Heart of gold
Give the devil his due
Too much of a good thing
Break the ice
Wear ones heart on ones sleeve
All that glitters isnt gold
Eat out of house and home
Be all and end all
One fell swoop
The milk of human kindness
The course of true love never did run smooth
Bernard Levin sums up the impact of
Shakespeares phraseology in the following
from The Story of English. Robert McCrum,
William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking
1986:
If you cannot understand my argument
and declare Its Greek to me, you are
quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be
more sinned against than sinning, you are
quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your
salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare;
if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if
your wish is father to the thought, if your
lost property has vanished into thin air, you
are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever
refused to budge an inch or suffered from
green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast
and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a
tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pick-
le, if you have knitted your brows, made
a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play,
slept not one wink, stood on ceremony,
danced attendance (on your lord and mas-
ter), laughed yourself into stitches. Had
short shrift, cold comfort or too much of
a good thing, if you have seen better days
or lived in a fools paradisewhy, be that
as it may, the more fool of you, for it is a
foregone conclusion that you are (as good
luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if
you think it is early days and clear out bag
and baggage, if you think it is high time
and that that is the long and short of it, if
you believe that the game is up and that
truth will out even if it involves your own
esh and blood, if you lie low till the crack
of doom because you suspect foul play, if
you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell
swoop) without rhyme or reason, then to
give the devil his due if the truth were
known (for surely you have a tongue in
your head) you are quoting Shakespeare;
even if you bid me good riddance an send
me packing, if you wish I were dead as
a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore,
a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a
stony hearted villain, the bloody-minded
or a blinking idiot, thenby Jove! O Lord!
Tut, Tut! For goodness sake! What the
dickens! But me no butsit is all one to
me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.
For you and I are past our dancing
days.
Act I, Scene V
O! she doth teach the torches to burn
bright.
Act I, Scene V
It seems she hangs upon the cheek
of night like a rich jewel in an
Ethiopes ear.
Act I, Scene V
But soft, what light through yonder
window breaks?
Act II, Scene II
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou
Romeo?
Act II, Scene II
Whats in a name? That which we call
a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.
Act II, Scene II
See, how she leans her cheek upon her
hand! O that I were a glove upon that
hand, that I might touch that cheek!
Act II, Scene II
Good Night, Good night! Parting is
such sweet sorrow, that I shall say
good night till it be morrow.
Act II, Scene II
Wisely and slow; they stumble
that run fast.
Act II, Scene III
Tempt not a desperate man.
Act V, Scene III
Not stepping oer the bounds of
modesty.
Act IV, Scene II
Romeo and Juliet Famous Lines
Many phrases or quotations that we hear quite often originated in Shakespeares plays.
Here are some phrases to listen for when you are watching the play:
Classroom Activities
Questions for in-class discussion
before seeing the play:
1. Why is studying Shakespeares work
sometimes intimidating?
2. How will seeing a live performance differ
from reading the play in class?
3. Shakespeare does not give us a reason
behind the feud between the Capulets and
the Montagues. What do you think is the
reason behind the feud and why has it
lasted so long?
4. Why are the Friar and the Nurse so keen to
see Romeo and Juliet happily married?
5. What kind of person is Mercutio? Tybalt?
6. What is the moral of this play?
Questions for in-class discussion
following the performance
1. How was A Noise Withins production of
Romeo and Juliet similar or different to
your expectations?
2. Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story and
has been set in many different time periods
and locations (1950s New York, for
example). How does the setting and the
time period affect your perception of the
story?
3. Were you able to interpret any scenes or
lines differently because of how the actors
represented the characters?
4. After seeing the play, what kind of person in
Mercutio? Tybalt?
5. At the end of the play, the Capulets and
the Montagues agree to make peace and
honor their children with a statue of gold.
Do you think that they will be able to
reconcile? Why or why not?
6. Romeo and Juliet is considered a timeless
story. How is the story of Romeo and Juliet
and the Montagues and the Capulets
relevant in todays world?
Write your own scene
An early version of the story of Romeo and
Juliet has Juliet waking up and having a nal
dialogue with Romeo before they both die.
Write a nal dialogue between Romeo and
Juliet in a time period and country of your
choice. The setting is the Capulet crypt.
Romeo has entered and upon seeing Juliet on
the funeral bier, drinks a poison. As he does so,
Juliet wakes up.
Dancing in Shakespeares Day

Dancing was a huge part of life in
Shakespeares day and every man, woman
and child danced at some level. The Brasle
(pronounced brawl) was a traditional circle
dance performed by the working class.
Here are the steps to the Brasle Ofciale:

All stand in a circle, join hands.

Left step-together-step-together (Step left,
bring right foot to the left, repeat)
Right step-together-step-together (Step right,
bring left foot to the right, repeat)
Left step-together-step-together
Right step-together-step-together

Left three point turn (Turn left by stepping left,
right, left), clap hands near left hip
Right point turn (Turn right by stepping right,
left, right), clap hands near right shoulder
Left three point turn (Turn left by stepping left,
right, left), clap hands near left hip
Right point turn (Turn right by stepping right,
left, right), clap hands near right shoulder

All join hands, walk forward to center of circle
raising arms as you move
Walk back out lowering arms
Walk forward to center of circle raising arms
Walk back out lowering arms

Repeat from beginning

Enacting the Prologue;
Act I, scene I; Act I, scene V
These scenes are great fun to act out, as there
are great lines for several characters.
Set the scene
Find some music that evokes either the period
or the setting. As the themes of love and
family feuds are universal and relevant, this
play could actually be set in any time period
or place. Have the students create their own
Verona based on a real city. If you have time,
have the students decorate the classroom.
Rehearse
Even Shakespeare, with his limited time and
resources, rehearsed his actors. As a warm-
up, have the students improvise with their
own modern version of the scene using todays
language. It will then help for the students to
have a chance to read the scene to themselves
before getting it up on its feet.
Perform
Choose one student to act as the director and
to cast the parts or let the students volunteer.
Then clear away the desks and cue the music!
Playing Nine Mens Morris

Nine Mens Morris (in some form or
other) was actually played by the
ancient Egyptians. During the bronze
age, the game was brought to Ireland
by Greek traders and made its way
to Europe. It is known by many other
names: Merels, Merelles, Muehle, Jeu
de Moulin, etc.

Number of Players: Two
Materials needed: Game board and 18
playing pieces two different colors
(nine of each) Pennies or dimes could
be used.
Objective: to trap your opponent so
that he or she can no longer move or
to capture all of your opponents play-
ing pieces except for two.
Player 1 puts a piece over any of
the white circles on the gameboard.
Player 2 puts a piece over any of
the white circles on the gameboard.

The objective is to get three of your
pieces in a row (called a mill). All the
pieces must be on circles that are
connected by lines (diagonals dont
count). When you get a mill, you may
remove and keep one of your oppo-
nents pieces from the board. The only
time a piece can be removed from an
opponents mill is when there are no
other pieces available except those on
a mill.

When both players have put down all
their pieces, they take turns mov-
ing their pieces along the lines in an
effort to form a mill. You can only
move one space at a time. You cannot
move diagonally, and you may only
move to adjacent open circles. You
may not jump or bump an opponents
piece. The forming of a mill allows for
the removal of an opponents piece.

Play continues until a player can no
longer move or is left with only two
playing pieces on the board.
Opera
Romeo et Juliette
by Charles Gounod (1867)
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
by Vincenzo Bellini; Libretto by Felice Romani.
Romeo and Juliet
by Lee Hoiby (2004)
Ballet
Romeo and Juliet
by Sergei Prokoev (rst performed in 1938)
Musical
West Side Story
by Leonard Bernstein (1957),
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Romeo et Juliette, de la Haine a lAmour
by Gerard Presgurvic (2001)
Film
Romeo and Juliet (1908)
A silent lm
produced by Irving Thalberg and directed by
George Cukor. This version starred Leslie
Howard, John Barrymore and Norma Shearer
and garnered numerous Oscar nominations
directed by Renato Castellani
directed by Franco Zefrelli
directed by Alvin Rakoff for the BBC
directed by William Woodman
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
directed by Baz Luhrmann starring
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
Tromeo and Juliet (1996)
directed by Lloyd Kaufman set in Manhattan
Romeo Must Die (2000)
directed by Andrezej Bartkowiak starring
Jet Li and Aaliyah
A Canadian version of Romeo and Juliet,
directed by Yves Desgagnes is due for
imminent release.
Romeo and Juliet On Stage and Screen
The timeless nature of this story, in particular Shakespeares version of this story has spawned
over 60 lm versions, not to mention the operas, ballets and musicals.
Websites
The Internet has proved a great source of information and help in
compiling this study guide. If you are interested in exploring any of
the subjects covered in this study guide further, log onto the following
websites:
Absolute Shakespeare www.absoluteshakespeare.com
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust www.shakespeare.org.uk
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust guards the ve properties associated
with him, as well as a library containing the RSC archives. It is meant
for those making the trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, but there is some good
educational material, as well as a bookshop that can mail worldwide.
Shake Sphere sites.micro-link.net/zekscrab
Essays, plot summaries, lists of characters, study guides, biographies,
texts
Shakespeare High - www.shakespearehigh.com
Aimed at high-schoolers as well as teachers. There is a discussion zone
allowing visitors to debate all sorts of Shakespeare-related topics and
issues.
Shakespeares World www.shakespeare.emory.edu
This site is run by the English Dept at Georgias Emory University.
There are two main sections: Shakespeare and the Players, an online
exhibition of images of American and British actors from the 19th and
20th centuries, and Shakespeare Illustrated: a collection of 19th century
paintings and criticism.
Shakespeare Magazine www.shakespearemag.com
This site is linked to the magazine Shakespeare and geared toward
those teaching Shakespeare in schools.
William Shakespeare info www.william-shakespeare.info
This website covers all sorts of facets of Shakespeares life and work
and life in Elizabethan England.
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet Shakespeare.palomar.edu
A fantastic resource very comprehensive and laid out. A good starting
point for anyone interested in Shakespeare and his work.
Shakespeare Resource Center- www.bardweb.net
Another great starting point with links to loads of Shakespeare sites.
Also information on the plays (synopsis, characters, etc.) and links to
theatre companies world-wide.
Useful Websites
Bibliography
The following books were used in the
preparation of this study guide:

Ackroyd, Peter, Shakespeare: The Biography. Chatto
Publishing. ISBN: 0385 51139-6
Caroso, Fabritio. Courtly Dance of the Renaissance, a New
Translation and Edition of the Nobilta di Dame (1600),
trans. Julia Sutton, Dover Publications, NY.
Castiglione, Baldassarre, The Book of the Courtier, trans.
George Bull, Penguin, 1976.
Denny, Roz. The Tudor Kitchens Cookery Book
Dickson, Andrew. The Rough Guide to Shakespeare.
Rough Guides. ISBN: 1-84353-518-1.
Furnivall,Frederick J. editor, The Babees Book, The Bokes
of Nurture of Hugh Rhodes and John Russell, Wynkyn
de Wordes Boke of Kervynge, The Booke of Demeanor,
The Boke of Courtasye, Seagers School of Vertue, & c. &
c. with some French & Latin Poems on like Subjects and
some Forewords on Education in Early England, London,
1868.
de Montaigne, Michel, The Complete Works of Montaigne,
Donald Frame, translator and editor, Stanford University
Press, 1971.
Neuschel, Kristen B. Word of Honor, Interpreting Noble
Culture in Sixteenth Century France, Cornell University
Press, 1989.
Paston-Williams, Sara, The Art of Dining, A History of
Cooking and Eating, The National Trust, Great Britian,
1999.
Shapiro, James. A Year in the Life of William
Shakespeare: 1599. Harper Collins, pub. ISBN: 00600
88745
Southworth, John. Fools and Jesters at the English Court,
Sutton Publishing, 1998.
Wiley, William Leon. The Gentleman of Renaissance
France, Harvard University Press, 1954.
Zemon Davis, Natalie. The Gift in Sixteenth-Century
France, University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
About Theatre Arts
Being an Audience Member
Today, movies and television take
audiences away from what was once
the number one form of entertainment:
going to the theatre. But attend-
ing a live performance is still one of
the most thrilling and active forms of
spending time. In a theatre, observers
are catapulted into the action, espe-
cially at an intimate venue like A Noise
Within, whose thrust stage reaches out
into the audience and whose actors
can see, hear, and feel the response
of the crowd. Although in the past
playhouses could sometimes be rowdy,
today participating in the performance
by giving respect and attention to the
actors is the most appropriate behavior
at a theatrical performance. Shouting
out or even whispering can be heard
throughout the auditorium, as can
rustling paper or ringing phones.
After A Noise Withins performance of
Phaedra, you will have the opportunity
to discuss the plays content and style
with the performing artists and direc-
tors. You may wish to remind students
to observe the performance carefully or
to compile questions ahead of time so
they are prepared to participate in the
discussion.
Theatre Vocabulary
These terms will be included in pre-
and post-performance discussions at A
Noise Within.
blocking: The instructions a director
gives his actors that tell them how and
where to move in relation to each oth-
er or to the set in a particular scene.
character: The personality or part
portrayed by an actor on stage.

conict: The opposition of people or
forces which causes the plays rising
action.
dramatic irony: A dramatic technique
used by a writer in which a character
is unaware of something the audience
knows.
genre: Literally, kind or type. In
literary terms, genre refers to the main
types of literary form, principally
comedy and tragedy. It can also refer
to forms that are more specic to
a given historical era, such as the
revenge tragedy, or to more specic
sub-genres of tragedy and comedy
such as the comedy of manners, farce
or social drama.
motivation: The situation or mood
which initiates an action. Actors often
look for their motivation when they
try to dissect how a character thinks
or acts.
props: Items carried on stage by an
actor to represent objects mentioned
in or implied by the script. Sometimes
the props are actual, sometimes they
are manufactured in the theatre shop.
proscenium stage: There is usually a
front curtain on a proscenium stage.
The audience views the play from the
front through a frame called the
proscenium arch. In this scenario, all
audience members have the same
view of the actors.
set: The physical world created on
stage in which the action of the play
takes place.

setting: The environment in which a
play takes place. It may include the
historical period as well as the physi-
cal space.
stage areas: The stage is divided
into areas to help the director to note
where action will take place. Upstage
is the area furthest from the audience.
Downstage is the area closest to the
audience. Center stage denes the
middle of the playing space. Stage left
is the actors left as he faces the audi-
ence. Stage right is the actors right as
he faces the audience.
theme: The overarching message or
main idea of a literary or dramatic
work. A recurring idea in a play or
story.
thrust stage: A stage that juts out into
the audience seating area so that pa-
trons are seated on three sides. In this
scenario, audience members see the
play from varying viewpoints. A Noise
Within features a thrust stage.
Theatre Lore
Why do actors say break a leg?
Perhaps the saying comesin a complicated
wayfrom the use of leg. In theatre, a leg
is a part of the mechanics that open and close
the curtain. To break a leg is to earn so many
curtain calls that opening and closing the
curtain over and over during nal applause
causes the curtain mechanics to break.
At the outset of theatre tradition, players
acted outdoors, where there were no stages
or curtains. Applause came in the form of foot
stomping, which could indicate another origin
of this phrase.
Why is it bad luck to say Macbeth
inside the theatre?
There are many origins for this superstition.
Old actors believe the witches song in
Macbeth to possess the uncanny power
of casting evil spells. The reasons for this
fear usually bring tales of accidents and
ill-fortunes that have plagued productions
of the play throughout the world.
An alternative is that the superstition began
in the days of stock companies, which would
struggle to remain in business. Frequently,
near the end of a season, a company would
realize it was not going to break even, and,
in an attempt to boost ticket sales, would
announce the production of a crowd favor-
ite: Macbeth. If times were particularly bad,
the play would frequently be a portent of the
companys demise.
What is a ghost light?
There is a superstition that if an emptied
theater is ever left completely dark, a ghost
will take up residence. In other versions of
the same superstition the ghosts of past
performances return to the stage to live out
their glory moments. To prevent this, a single
light called a ghost light is left burning at
center stage after the audience and all of the
actors and musicians have gone.
Now, those in the world of theatre know that
a dark theatre is one without a play. There
is nothing sadder to a dramatic artist than an
empty house and a playless stage. Therefore,
a light is left burning center stage so that the
theatre is never dark; it is simply awaiting
the next production.
What is a raked stage? Where do the terms
upstage and downstage originate?
Historically, stages were built on inclines, with
the backs of the stages slightly higher than
the fronts. The incline was called a rake and
helped those in the back of the audience see
the action onstage. Eventually, theatres started
placing seats on inclines instead of stages,
but the terminology stuck. Downstage is the
front of the stage, closest to the audience,
and upstage is the back of the stage. Some
theatres, like A Noise Within, still participate
in the tradition of using raked stages.
Why are actors called thespians?
In the sixth century B.C., a Greek chorus
performer named Thespus was the rst person
in history to step away from the chorus and
speak by himself, exchanging dialogue with the
group and impersonating a character instead of
simply reciting a story as the chorus had done
before then.
A Noise Withins mission is to
produce the great works of world drama
in rotating repertory, with a company of
professional, classically- trained actors.
A Noise Within educates the public through
comprehensive outreach efforts and
conservatory training programs that foster
a deeper understanding and appreciation of
historys greatest plays and playwrights.
As the only company in southern California
working in the repertory tradition (rotating
productions using a resident ensemble of
professional, trained artists), A Noise Within
is dedicated solely to producing classical
literature from authors such as Shakespeare,
Molire, Ibsen, Shaw, and Euripedes.
The company was formed in 1991 by
founders Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-
Elliott, both of whom were classically trained
at the acclaimed American Conservatory
Theatre in San Francisco. They envisioned
A Noise Within after recognizing a lack of
professional, classical productions and
education in Southern California and sought
out and assembled their own company of
actors to meet the need. All of A Noise
Withins resident artists have been classically
trained, and many hold Master of Fine
Arts degrees from some of the nations
most respected institutions, such as Juilliard,
Yale, and the American Conservatory Theatre.
In its fourteen-year history, A Noise Within
has garnered over 500 awards and commenda-
tions, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics
Circles revered Polly Wareld Award for
Excellence and the coveted Margaret
Hartford Award for Sustained Excellence.
In 2004, A Noise Within accepted an
invitation to collaborate with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic for a tandem performance
of A Midsummer Nights Dream at the
Hollywood Bowl.
More than 25,000 individuals attend
productions at A Noise Within, annually,
and between performances at the theatre
and touring productions, the company
draws 13,000 student participants to its
arts education programs every year.
Students benet from in-school workshops,
conservatory training, and an internship
program, as well as subsidized tickets to
matinee and evening performances,
discussions with artists, and state
standards-compliant study guides.
About A Noise Within
Written by Dawn Kellogg
Production Photography by Craig Schwartz
Graphic Design by Christopher Komuro
A Noise Within Study Guide
Geoff Elliott & Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, Artistic Directors
Administrative Office: 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91204
Administration: Tel (818) 240-0910 / FAX (818) 240-0826
Website: www.anoisewithin.org
Box Office: (818) 240-0910 ext.1

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