The Historical and Political Background

The "history" of Shakespeare's plays means two things: the history of earlier times he used in many of his works, and the history of his own time which informs and shapes much that he wrote. This "book" explores both these kinds of history, and in addtion provides some background on the legal system of the time, and the growing influence of puritan, anti-monarchist forces.

Chapters in this section:

• Shakespeare and early history
• The history of the Histories
• Henry VIII and the Tudors
• Elizabeth
• James
• Crime and the law
• The puritans

EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents From Western Europe. A useful list of pointers (Brigham Young University).

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