SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND
Shakespeare lived in the age of Renaissance and Reformation and his titanic pen caught England
– both literary and socialistic – the noose of the light of Renaissance.
In Shakespeare’s time the wheel of the English life revolved chiefly round London. Houses in
London had gardens and courtyards ; streets were not crowded ; people, horsemen and vehicles could move
away as they would. Life was easy and leisurely. The English were fond of gay and costly costumes, and this
was why Launcelot Gobbo in the THE MERCHANT OF VENICE fell for Bassanio who gave “rare new livery”. But
though costly and gorgeous, the Englishman’s dress lacked in taste and so PORTIA said tauntingly “How
oddly he is suited ; I think he baught his couplet in Italy, his round hose in France, his Bonnet in Germany”.
In this age the English began to become theatre minded. In London, “despite objections by
residents and bitter critism by the Puritans, theatres multiplied rapidly”. Theatre going became the craze of
the day. Not only the Londoners, but also the county squires need to pass their afternoons, for the drama
began at 3:00 pm at theatres. From theatres, people went to taverns to spend the night in boisterous rivalry.
In this age beauty and ugliness co-existed not only in London but also in the countryside. There
were flower gardens in almost every London house, but wide streets were filled with garbage and stench. The
condition of the villages were still worse ; there were beautiful large houses, usually made of wood,
surrounded with flower groves, kitchen gardens, artificial rocks etc, and yet the roads and streets were
narrow and dangerous not only for vehicles and horsemen, but also for pedestrians.
With the advent of renaissance, the people became fond of reading ; and education and learning
began to spread. London offered a very good market to romances and romantic writings. Side by side with
this, classical studios found a firm footing in the English society.
But in spite of the growing love for reading and knowledge, the age was emphatically an
unscientific and superstitious one. People believed in ghosts, occult charms fortune telling, omens and what
not. Even the great Lord BACON referred to COPERNICUS as a “man who thinks nothing of introducing fiction
of any kind into nature , provided his calculations turned out we”. Care of the sick and the wounded was still
in the primitive stage of ridiculous ignorance and criminal faith in occult charms. The barber was the surgeon.
A draught of spring water from the skull of a murderer man pills compounded from the skull of a man who
had been hanged, the touch of a dead man’s hand - all those were believed to posess highly curative power.
Even the age insisted on the therapeutic value of washing one’s face only once a week and wiping it with a
scarlet cloth. Dr DEC, the famous physician and astrologer, consulted the stars as to the best date for
Elizabeth’s coronation , and the queen retained him always, as her personal physician and made him
Chancellor of St Paul’s. And above all, in this age, the age in which Shakespeare , the great exponent of
humanitarianism lived and flourished, the English practised witch burning. How close London of that age
resembled Calcutta of the nineteenth century.
This age was characterised by the spirit of romanticism leading to the adventurous search for
the unknown. Destruction of the Spanish Armada by the English, their growing predominance in America, the
undaunted and successful cruising of the English ships on the Spanish main – all these made the English
fearless and self reliant. And to this, romanticism was added the spirit of self expression. And so the English
of this age were filled with intense curiosity, and wanted to glut exuberant joy of life – to suck the marrow
out of life.
Shakespeare lived in the age of Renaissance and Reformation and his titanic pen caught England
– both literary and socialistic – the noose of the light of Renaissance.
In Shakespeare’s time the wheel of the English life revolved chiefly round London. Houses in
London had gardens and courtyards ; streets were not crowded ; people, horsemen and vehicles could move
away as they would. Life was easy and leisurely. The English were fond of gay and costly costumes, and this
was why Launcelot Gobbo in the THE MERCHANT OF VENICE fell for Bassanio who gave “rare new livery”. But
though costly and gorgeous, the Englishman’s dress lacked in taste and so PORTIA said tauntingly “How
oddly he is suited ; I think he baught his couplet in Italy, his round hose in France, his Bonnet in Germany”.
In this age the English began to become theatre minded. In London, “despite objections by
residents and bitter critism by the Puritans, theatres multiplied rapidly”. Theatre going became the craze of
the day. Not only the Londoners, but also the county squires need to pass their afternoons, for the drama
began at 3:00 pm at theatres. From theatres, people went to taverns to spend the night in boisterous rivalry.
In this age beauty and ugliness co-existed not only in London but also in the countryside. There
were flower gardens in almost every London house, but wide streets were filled with garbage and stench. The
condition of the villages were still worse ; there were beautiful large houses, usually made of wood,
surrounded with flower groves, kitchen gardens, artificial rocks etc, and yet the roads and streets were
narrow and dangerous not only for vehicles and horsemen, but also for pedestrians.
With the advent of renaissance, the people became fond of reading ; and education and learning
began to spread. London offered a very good market to romances and romantic writings. Side by side with
this, classical studios found a firm footing in the English society.
But in spite of the growing love for reading and knowledge, the age was emphatically an
unscientific and superstitious one. People believed in ghosts, occult charms fortune telling, omens and what
not. Even the great Lord BACON referred to COPERNICUS as a “man who thinks nothing of introducing fiction
of any kind into nature , provided his calculations turned out we”. Care of the sick and the wounded was still
in the primitive stage of ridiculous ignorance and criminal faith in occult charms. The barber was the surgeon.
A draught of spring water from the skull of a murderer man pills compounded from the skull of a man who
had been hanged, the touch of a dead man’s hand - all those were believed to posess highly curative power.
Even the age insisted on the therapeutic value of washing one’s face only once a week and wiping it with a
scarlet cloth. Dr DEC, the famous physician and astrologer, consulted the stars as to the best date for
Elizabeth’s coronation , and the queen retained him always, as her personal physician and made him
Chancellor of St Paul’s. And above all, in this age, the age in which Shakespeare , the great exponent of
humanitarianism lived and flourished, the English practised witch burning. How close London of that age
resembled Calcutta of the nineteenth century.
This age was characterised by the spirit of romanticism leading to the adventurous search for
the unknown. Destruction of the Spanish Armada by the English, their growing predominance in America, the
undaunted and successful cruising of the English ships on the Spanish main – all these made the English
fearless and self reliant. And to this, romanticism was added the spirit of self expression. And so the English
of this age were filled with intense curiosity, and wanted to glut exuberant joy of life – to suck the marrow
out of life.
