random stuff from Writing.om

Group Project Research Paper for English

Life
Mr. Pitzing
English 9
9 March 2020
People's Lives During The Shakespearean Time
During this time, people did not live near as long as we do now. Most children that were born in this time didn't make it past fifteen years of age. The average life span was around thirty years old. That isn't long compared to nowadays. The people didn't last long due to a lack of medical knowledge by doctors during this time. Doctors used primitive medications, unfortunately, those did not work well. The bubonic plague took out most people; this was a very deadly disease.
"The poor could've easily starved if there was a series of bad harvests. Plus, their and the aristocrats' diets weren't very nutritious. This caused the whole population to acquire illnesses caused by vitamin deficiencies." (Flores) Many people's lives during the Shakespearean era were not the same as others. People ate different foods, celebrated different holidays, had different jobs, and practiced different religions.
Shakespeare was born in the time of the English reformation. In this time King Henry VIII Tried to divorce his Spanish wife(Catherine of Aragon). The Pope would not allow Henry to do this. "Henry was Furious"(93), so he broke away from the Catholic church. He soon made his own church called the Anglican Church, with him at the head of the church. He forced all of England into his new religion. After "Henry married Anne Boleyn, a noble lady"(93), Henry married four more times while having only one son Edward. After Henry died, Edward took the throne marrying his half-sister Mary Tudor, a Catholic. Edward died in his teens, bringing Mary to the throne. She tried to make England Catholic again. "She failed, but not before hundreds of Protestants including the archbishop Craner, were burned at the stake for heresy."(94)
During the Shakespearean era, people celebrated the same holidays we celebrate today. People also celebrated holidays that were different from what we celebrate today. Some of the same holiday people celebrated back then were the twelve days of Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. People also celebrated very different holidays than we celebrate today. Some examples were May-May Day, which is celebrated on the 1st of May. This celebration is about trying to use remembrances of pagan attempts to force spring back into the world. Another holiday that they celebrated was St. Swithin's Day, which was celebrated on July 15. It celebrates the old Bishop's death and is used to predict the weather for the next 40 days. Another holiday they celebrated was Lamma's Day also known as "Lammastide". The festival was celebrating the first wheat harvest of the year. Another holiday that they celebrated was Michaelmas day. The article states that "Michaelmas is a holiday celebrated in September and this day was made for honoring St. Michael. He was the second most famous dragon fighter." ( Lyon) The last holiday that they celebrated that was different from what we celebrate today was St. Catherine's Day. This holiday was celebrated in November and this celebration honors one of the most famous women saints, St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Jobs during the Shakespearean Era mainly revolved around the theatre and the arts. The reason for this is because theatre and the arts rose in popularity due to popular playwrights and artists, including Shakespeare. Several theatre and arts-related jobs included actors and actresses, play writers, and business managers. These jobs were important to the arts because all of these jobs worked together to create a form of entertainment for the people. Other jobs outside of the arts included publishers for different books or newspapers, cooks or farmers around the towns to supply food, and law authority figures. Whereas these are still popular jobs in today's world, they play a very important role in the lives of the people.
During this era, food was a very important part of life; people's daily lives revolved around eating. Some foods they ate included bread, meat, potatoes, ale, "bean or pea porridge, eggs, salt fish, cold meat, and cheese"(Taylor). As Davis said, "When the day begins, at first dawn the field hands and servants have their porridge. About Half-past six, their masters take a light breakfast- usually not more than a little butter washed down with a pot of ale. People of leisure and quality usually assemble at eleven for the great meal of the day-dinner; and again a little after 5, although merchants and busy folk generally wait until noon for dinner and six for supper. Farmers seldom eat supper until after 7 when the evening chores have been disposed of" (Davis, 68-69). If you were a peasant, then your food would be "bread, fish, cheese, and ale" (Taylor). If you were a noble or one of authority, then you would eat a large variety of foods for dinner and supper every day.
In conclusion, many people's lives during the Shakespearean era were not the same as others. People ate different foods, celebrated different holidays, had different jobs, and practiced different religions. Similarly, we all do those things today. Some people are Baptist, others are Catholic. Some people like sushi, while others enjoy porkchop more. We all have our differences, and that's what makes diversity beautiful.

Works Cited
Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare in His Time. 1960.
Davis, William. Life in Elizabethan Days. Harper and Row, Publishers, 1930, pp. 68–69.
Flores, Stephan. Shakespeare's World.
Accessed 10 Jan. 2020
Lyon, Karen. "Elizabethan Holidays: Christmas... and Plough Monday?" Shakespeare & Beyond, 28 Feb. 2020,
Ellis, Elisabeth, and Anthony Eseler. World History the Modern Era. Pearson Education, 2016.
Elizabethan Foodways.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.