To prepare for reading Much Ado about Nothing, you will work in groups to find information about the following aspects of Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's life. 

1. Historical and Social Context
2. Intellectual and Religious Life
3. Marriage Customs
4. The Elizabethan Theater
5. Shakespeare's Life
6. Literary Terms Relating to Shakespeare's Works

You will be responsible for answering questions about each topic, presenting your responses to the rest of the class, and taking notes on the presentations of other groups.

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With your group, answer the questions for your category, using the links on this WebQuest.  You may want to decide in advance who will answer each question. You will then prepare a lesson to share what you have learned with the class.  Students will be responsible for taking notes in answer to all the questions on all the topics.  

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Historical and Social Context

1. Who was Queen of England during the time Shakespeare began to write?  Who ruled after her?
2. Give the approximate dates of the Elizabethan period.
3. Identify the social classes during Shakespeare's time.
4. Describe the status of women.  How would a young woman respond to a request from her father?
5. What is primogeniture?
6. What was the Bubonic Plague and how did it affect society during Shakespeare's time?
7. Describe these aspects of Elizabethan life:
   • food
   • socialization
   • city life, hygiene, crime
   • homes
   • clothing

Elizabethan Timeline
Clothing
Elizabethan Houses
Elizabethan Period
Plague
Homes
Primogeniture
Education

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Intellectual and Religious Life

1. Describe the four elements thought to compose the universe.
2. Describe the four humours and their relationship to personality.
3. What was the relationships between humours and illnesses.
4. What type of medicine was administered and by whom was it dispensed during this time period?
5. Describe the religious climate during this time.
6. What was considered to be the center of the universe at this time?  Who controlled it?
7. Describe the hierarchy of beings or "chain of beings"  believed in by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

Ideas
Science and Health
Medicine
Religion

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Elizabethan Marriage Customs

1. Where did marriages take place during the Middle Ages? 
2. Why were marriage contracts arranged?
3. Who performed the marriage ceremony?
4. What was the common age for marriage?
5. What is a betrothal?
6. What was the goal of a Renaissance wedding?
7. Describe the common wedding attire during this period.
8. Describe what foods might be served at a wedding feast.

Bethrotal and Wedding
Love and Marriage
Feasts, Attire, and Customs

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The Elizabethan Theater

1. Where were most theaters built? (in or out of the city)?  Why?  Why is the Globe Theater so famous?
2. What time of day did performances take place?  How was the public notified about performances?
3. Who played the female roles and why?
4. What type of scenery and props were used?
5. What were the costumes like?
6. What other skills did actors need besides acting ability?
7. What was the cost of standing room at the Globe?
8. Who was Richard Burbage?
9. Who were the King's Men or Chamberlain's Men?
10. Identify:
    • Pit
    • Groundling
    • Heavens
    • Trap door
    • Tiring house

Globe Theater
Theater
More Theater
Actors
The Meaning of Colors

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Shakespeare's Life

1. When and where was Shakespeare born?
2. Describe his upbringing and education.
3. What were the four types of plays he wrote?
4. Where were his plays performed and by whom?
5. Besides writing plays, what other skills made Shakespeare a "jack of all trades?"
6. When and where did Shakespeare die?
7. Why do we still read his works today?  (Hint: think of theme)
8. Find several famous quotations that originated in Shakespeare's works.  Mention the works  from which they come.

Shakespeare's Life
More on Shakespeare's Life

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Literary Terms Relating to Shakespeare

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• Notes will be graded for accuracy and thoroughness.  They must be typed, single-spaced, Times New Roman.  30 points possible, Classwork category.
• Lessons will be graded for ideas, coordination among group members, visual aids and vocal quality.  20 points possible, Project category.
• Notes on lessons will be turned in.

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When you have completed this assignment you should have some insight into the Elizabethan Era. It will further your appreciation of the works of William Shakespeare.
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Credits & References

Revised by Anita J. Anderson

Based on Shakespeare - His Life and Times

a WebQuest by Mary Baur

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Last updated on April 7, 2008.

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page