Elizabethan Era Research Paper

The Elizabethan Era is huge part of history. This time period was dated during the time when Queen Elizabeth I was ruling, 1558 to about 1603. During these years, many interesting things and beliefs came to be; such as different punishment methods, new techniques of medicine, odd fashion, and poetry and theatres. In 1576, the Theatre was a dream of James Burbage’s that became a reality. The playhouse was kept alive for quite a long time. In 1597, he passed away and the lease of the lot, where the Theatre was located, was beginning to expire. His two sons, Cuthbert and Richard, decided that they were going to keep their father’s idea living and started making plans to construct what is known as one of the most famous auditoriums today: the Globe.

With that being said, they more than likely weren’t really putting much time and thought into the construction. When putting the roof on the building, they used straw and cut down reeds for the base, then it was bound together with wooden pegs and twine. “The thatch kept out rain and kept in warmth, but it had one huge disadvantage: it caught fire easily.” The builders also used pieces of timber from the Theatre (Langley 14, 29). Other than the few faults with the materials used, the Globe was quite a beautiful playhouse. In fact, the Globe was built to resemble a smaller version of the Roman Coliseum. They believed that basing the theatre on ancient buildings would make people treat the auditorium with more respect (Alchin). When the original Globe was being built, there were already two other playhouses standing near; they were called The Rose and The Swan. This little neighborhood was called Bankside. The Globe was located not too far from the London Bridge and it was on the south side of the River Thames (Woog

He is known for many of his plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet to name a few. He didn’t start out as such a star though, he was actually an actor and a prompter. What he did was help people with their lines if they forgot them onstage. “By about 1594 [Shakespeare] was a key member of the top acting troupe in London, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men” (Woog 61). Being part of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men seemed to be a lot of work. In each season they had to come up with about seventeen new plays and every week they present about six plays. The reason why Shakespeare was at the Globe so much is because Richard Burbage was part of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He was also one of the founders of the Globe, so it makes sense that they would perform their plays at the Globe (Langley