When it comes to reading William the one and only Shakespeare, one can not simply pick up Hamlet or King Lear, read it, and hope to understand it.

So, how to read Shakespeare?

Reading the Bard's plays requires quite the knowledge in the way the world worked back in Elizabethan times. And where better to start than with the Renaissance?

How the Renaissance Came to England

Well, the Renaissance came not with a bang, but a whimper. And what a loud whimper it was.

At the end of the 1400's, the world changed completely. But, to point the precursors, there are three very important events. The first is the War of the Roses, or well, the end of it in 1485. The invention of printing and the discovery of the Americas quickly followed.

This gave a whole new world, both literally and spiritually, and here lies the key to the Renaissance. A whole new 'rebirth' of learning and culture was brewing, starting in Italy in the early 16th century, and then in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

 

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The Rise of the Tudor Dynasty

When the Wars of the Roses ended, the Tudors emerged victorious. As time went by, the greatest monarch of the Tudors at the time, Henry VIII, was trying to father a son. He tried so much, in fact, that he married a total of six whopping times. Sadly, his six wives gave birth to only one son and two dauthers: 

-King Edward VI

-Queen Mary

-Queen Elizabeth I

Remember the last one.

The Elephant in the Room: You Couldn't Remarry 6 Times... Or could you?

So, because Henry VII was a playa, the need to annul his first marriage was becoming painfully obvious. And Henry wasn't about to give up, so he flipped an enormous bird at the Catholic church by completely ending its rule in England. Oh, and it didn't stop there. As a final insult, he closed and largely destroyed the monasteries, and established himself as the head of the church and head of the state.

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Henry VII Reformed England. Kind of a “Reformation”, Don’t You Think?

All jokes aside, the Reformation was huge. In a blink of an eye it replaced centuries of religious faith and beliefs with a new way of thinking. Henry VII was, of course, the being closest to God, not much different than what the Pope was.

And, along came Protenstantism with all 95 Theses of Martin Luther. It became the official national religion. 

Henry VII remained Catholic though, despite the Pope hating everything in his general direction and excommunicating him. Still, this didn't stop people from questioning all the Catholic tenets, from confession to heaven and hell. 

This was the most radical revolution in beliefs ever to affect the nation, period.

The Identity Crysis

Because of these events, England fell in an overwhelming identity crisis. The reason was that never before had the nation been separate and distinct from Europe. So, it had to affirm its individuality, and it did. 

How you might ask?

Simple: by becoming a friggin Empire and later by dominating the undisputed kings of the sea, the Spanish Armada.