William Shakespeare and Renaissance England

1
William Shakespeare and Renaissance England

• Freshman Focus
• English I

2

• King Henry VIII
• A true Renaissance Man
• Developed his own church.
• Indulged every impulse.
• Killed many wives.
• Left two powerful daughters and one weak son to
  fight and divide a nation for many years

3
Wives Who Changed England
Wife One Katherine of Aragon
Katherine was a Spanish princess selected by
Henrys father to marry him. She was originally
married to Henrys brother, who died shortly
before taking the throne. She was five years
older than Henry when they married. Katherine was
a devoted Catholic woman who did not believe in
divorce or disobeying her husband. She eventually
had six children, including two sons, but all
died at birth or within a short time except for a
daughter, Mary I This misfortune led to her
imprisonment and a divorce because she would not
give him a son.
4
Wife Two Anne Boleyn Sixteen year old Anne was
pregnant with their first child when they
married. Their marriage took place before the
divorce from Katherine. She gave Henry his
second daughter, Elizabeth. Henry had her
beheaded when she did not produce a son for him.
He said she was guilty of adultery, incest, and
treason.
5
Wife Three Jane Seymour Jane was the only one
of his wives to give him a son, Edward. Jane was
a gentle woman, kind and calm. Henry seemed to
love her very much, but Jane was frail and died
of blood poisoning soon after Edwards
birth. Rumors recorded at the time stated that
Jane would have been the last wife had she lived.
Henry truly seemed to be happy and strong when
he was with her.
6
Wife Four Anne of Cleaves She was the daughter
of a German prince. Henry married her to make
peace and to receive much needed money from
Germany. Anne was said to be young and
beautiful, but when she arrived in England, what
Henry saw was a pocked-face, middle aged, very
ugly, and ill-tempered woman. What she saw was a
tremendously fat and ill-tempered man. She left
on the same boat the marriage was annulled six
months later.
7
Wife Five Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard was an elegant young
lady-in-waiting who was supposed to work for Anne
of Cleaves. She proved to be too much for Henry
with her fiery tongue and taste for fancy parties
and feasts. Legend tells us that she brought her
personal man-servant with her to the palace. It
was later discovered that he was really her
husband. Henry had her beheaded for adultery and
treason.
8
Wife Six Catherine Parr Henry married this
Catherine because he was old and fat and needed
someone to take care of him. Henry VIII has
developed gout a disease that split the skin
open into raw sores. These sores had to be
constantly cleaned and massaged. This was
Catherines job. Catherine had been a lowly maid
working in the castle when he spotted her and
requested that she be his bed warmer. She
outlived Henry and was accused of poisoning him.

9
King Edward Vl
Only legitimate son of Henry VIII He took the
throne at the age of nine after his fathers
death Edward reigned six years and died at the
age of sixteen.
Legend suggests to us that his half sister
Elizabeth had something to do with his death.
She had taken him horseback riding on the day
before the illness that killed him.
10
Sisters in Name Only
Their childhoods of neglect and violence coupled
with their hatred for each other changed a nation
and cost many lives!
11
Mary I, called Bloody Mary Being a devout
Catholic, she was known for her bloody
persecution of Protestant ministers and
believers. Mary ruled for many turbulent years
until her death of cancer at the age of
42. Some reports state that she had several
children others say that she suffered false
pregnancies. Mary was an unhappy child and a
fearsome monarch.
12
Elizabeth I Protestant Virgin Queen She was
responsible for much of the cultural changes of
her time, including most of the writings we study
today. Elizabeth is reported to have killed or
maimed many of her lovers as well as anyone else
who crossed her. Her very public tantrums
changed England for ever socially and
politically. Shakespeare feared her wrath and
wrote to please her most of the time!
13
Shakespeares Writings
Comedies The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Taming
of the Shrew The Comedy of Errors Love's
Labour's Lost A Midsummer Night's Dream The
Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor
Much Ado About Nothing As You Like It Twelfth
Night Troilus and Cressida Measure for Measure
All's Well That Ends Well Pericles Prince of
Tyre The Winter's Tale Cymbeline The Tempest
Poetry Venus and Adonis The Rape of Lucrece
Sonnets A Lover's Complaint' The Passionate
Pilgrim The Phoenix and The Turtle

• Histories
• 2 Henry VI
• 3 Henry VI
• 1 Henry VI
• Richard III
• Richard II
• King John
• 1 Henry IV
• 2 Henry IV
• Henry V
• Henry VIII
• Tragedies
• Titus Andronicus
• Romeo and Juliet
• Julius Caesar
• Hamlet
• Othello
• Timon of Athens

14
Romeo and Juliet