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Shakespeare
lived during the Elizabethan Age.
Shakespeare lived in very exciting
times. England's ruler, Queen Elizabeth I, was strong and intelligent
and made the country very powerful. You see the picture of Queen
Elizabeth I here. Her reign is often called the "Elizabethan
Age." The other picture shows an Elizabethan festival. Queen
Elizabeth's navy defeated the country's enemies, opened up trade
to other countries, and made England wealthier. The queen enjoyed
the arts, and could afford to help them. London became a center
for poets, musicians, and writers. One of the groups of actors
who performed for Queen Elizabeth included William Shakespeare.
The queen's support and the good economy helped make the theater
a popular form of entertainment during the Elizabethan Age. Shakespeare
and his acting company built the Globe Theater in 1599. By that
time, Shakespeare's plays were so popular that he was becoming
rich. The Globe could hold an audience of 3,000 people. And rich
and poor alike came there to watch his plays. His performances
drew big audiences, and people quoted the lines from his plays
the way people today quote lines from movies or television. Since
most people besides the rich and well educated could not read,
plays were something that everyone could enjoy. Have you ever
seen a Shakespeare play, or a movie based on one?
 
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