Life in Shakespeare's England A Book of Elizabethan Prose [Paperback]

These extracts from Elizabethan literature convey first-hand the social conditions and cultural concerns of Shakespeare's age.Using the life of Shakespeare as its framework, this anthology takes the reader on a journey through Elizabethan England. The atmosphere, activities and social conditions of Shakespeares age come vividly to life in selected extracts from the periods poetry and prose, covering topics from witchcraft to fashion to the plague.Using the life of Shakespeare as its framework, this anthology takes the reader on a journey through Elizabethan England. The atmosphere, activities and social conditions of Shakespeares age come vividly to life in selected extracts from the periods poetry and prose, covering topics from witchcraft to fashion to the plague.Entertaining and informative, this 1956 anthology paints a vivid picture of the world in which Shakespeare lived. Using the playwright's life as the framework  his birth, his education, his move to London, his life in theatre, his death  the book uses selected extracts from key Elizabethan publications to embody the atmosphere of this period. From sport to superstition, from festival to fashion, from the plague to playhouses, the significant features of the age are described through its prose, providing the reader with first-hand accounts of the conditions in which Shakespeare's masterpieces were created. All chapters are prefaced with illustrative Shakespearean quotations; the collection representing a commentary on the work as well as the life of Shakespeare. All texts have been modernised to assist the reader, and a glossary is included which explains names, unfamiliar words and difficult passages.1. England and the English; 2. The countryside; 3. Superstition; 4. Education; 5. London; 6. Books and authors; 7. The theatre; 8. The court; 9. House and home; 10. Rogues and vagabonds; 11. The sea; 12. Conclusion; Glossary and notes; Index.