Social Class In The Elizabethan Era

Copernicus, Galileo, and William Gilbert are all big names, but they were scientists or philosophers who lived during the Elizabethan Era. There were many more and the all observed the world around them and made studies based on those observations. Subjects varied on what they studied but it all came back to the view of how the world around them worked. They made many amazing discoveries that has impacted the world today. There were many views and discoveries of the world during the Elizabethan Era, though each had an impact on the modern world.

During the period from colonial times to the Civil War, the United States was not truly a “land of the free.” During early colonial times before the American Revolution, the colonies were under the rule of Britain. Not only were the colonists not free from Britain, they weren’t free from themselves. The new Americans put every citizen in a social class. Being under a class meant that you could not do anything that your class was not allowed to do.

The Elizabethan Era is noted as the golden age reigned by the Tudors more specifically, Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth was the only person who historians are sure is at the top of the social hierarchy but there are different variations of the next upper, middle and lower classes. The basic outline of the social structure in the 15th and 16th century was the monarch, the nobility, gentry, merchants, yeomanry, and laborers. For each of these classes, there were very specific rules for what they were allowed to do and who they were allowed to treat as a lesser. Though the rules were very strict it seems that some of the common people had discourteous feeling towards the Queen, there were also cases where the

This was made up of gentry and merchants. www.sites.google.com says “Gentry, this is for knights, gentlemen, gentlewomen, squires of the kingdom.” To be in the group of gentry, you had to be wealthy. Often times they would own large properties to get money because they weren’t born into the class of gentry. This group grew bigger throughout the Elizabethan era and eventually became one of the main backbones for England.

“There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (Chopin 129). One can interpret this to mean that parents in the 1800s (and to some extent today) desired a higher marital status for their daughters, so they could be well positioned for a stable life. As discussed in class, social status still exists in modern America which can significantly attract many candidates who want to marry a person for social status but not necessarily for love. These attitudes that continue to dominate America today stem from the aristocratic Old South as a means to achieve control of wealth for the few at the expense of impoverishing the masses.

The monarch was the the first level of the hierarchy, which is the royalty or rulers. As Prezi.com states, “The Monarchs is usually the King or Queen of the empire.” The second level of the hierarchy was called the Nobility, these people were the rich, powerful, and owned large households. The third level was considered the Gentry, the people of the Gentry were wealthy and owned small to large properties as well. The fourth level was referred as Merchants, the Merchants were the people which produced goods for other people to consume including themselves. The fifth level was the Yeomen, they were people that worked under the Merchants making and producing goods for people. As Encyclopedia Britannica states, “The sixth level was called Servants or Peasants, these people were poor, had little respect from the higher levels, and had little to no responsibilities or

In the early american colonies, a social class was not fully determined. In the 1680’s, the government of United States did not exist. As a country in progress, the citizens determined the freedom of an individual through three classes. The highest class contained the gentry, or aristocratic citizens. Members of this class were typically the most wealthy. As the richest class, they have the most freedom above the other classes. The middle class contains the farmers and plantation owners. Members of the middle class were not as rich as the higher class, however they have much freedom. The lowest class consists of the African-American slaves. This class has no freedom, for they are in command of the gentry or of the plantation owners that own

During the colonial period, the Elizabethan poor laws were adopted to address the social issue of poverty. Residency was a main factor in determining who was eligible for aid. Categories "worthy" and "unworthy" were set to determine who would qualify for assitance. Unfortunately the individuals in the "unworthy" category were the very individuals more in need of assistance.

According to Max Weber, social class is a person’s economic position in a society whereas status refers to one’s prestige, popularity and influence and oftentimes, is not determined by economic worth. For example, a priest may be regarded highly in society however may not be in the same economic bracket as a doctor or lawyer. The film, My Fair Lady tells a story about a man, Professor Henry Higgins and his efforts to transform a lower-class woman Eliza Doolittle into a well brought up “lady”, advising her to change previous behaviors and image. Henry Higgins, a distinguished language professor of high class challenges his good friend Colonel Pickering that he cannot fool society into thinking Eliza as a duchess.

Social class distinction remains a common theme throughout Shakespeare's plays. Shakespearean era society possessed a structured hierarchy of social class, based largely on wealth and nobility. This system influenced social interactions among the population and often guided marriage arrangements. Shakespeare’s commentary on social class, in his comedy Twelfth Night, exposes the divide humorously, by displaying ironic interactions between varying social classes. Twelfth Night places a variety of characters from different social classes in close quarters, causing inevitable conflict among classes.

There were 8 levels of society. The emperor and his family were usually had the most authority. Next was the aristocracy which was more powerful than the emperor if he worked his way up the social hierarchy. Then comes the bureaucracy which was split in two. The eunuchs were the servants in the palace. Under them was the clergy who were above the peasants. They were higher than the artisans and traders who in turn were higher than the slaves(no plebeians).

The Elizabethan Era is often referred to as the Golden Age of England (A Changing View...). The Elizabethan Era, named after Queen Elizabeth I, was a time of change and discovery (Elizabethan Superstitions). Elizabeth ruled in a time of religious turmoil; both the Catholics and Protestants fought to be the official religion of England. (Elizabethan World View). Many people throughout England struggled to find the “correct” religion (Elizabethan World View). Religion was changing and so did science. During the late 1500’s science began to evolve; new ideas, concepts, and beliefs were starting to emerge (A Changing View). Magic was considered to be very similar to science in this era. The belief in magical creatures served as the roots for

Social classes play a major role in society and shape the roles of the people. Since the Elizabethan period began, the social classes were well structured with many influences, such as prestige or wealth. Many citizens found ways to elevate their status and become more successful citizens in the public. The social class structure in the Elizabethan Era was thought to be strict and very well organized, yet still had many opportunities and flaws which lead to changes in citizens’ lives.

In the book Star of the Sea, written by author Joseph O’Connor, he states “They had far more in common than either realised. One was born Catholic, the other Protestant. One was born Irish, the other British. But neither was the greatest difference between them. One was born rich and the other poor.” O’Connor summarises the idea of social class that has been a recurring idea since the dawn of time. Social classes is basically the division of society that is based on social and economic status. The people who were at the top of the social classes were thought to be the prestigious and most worthy people and the further you go down the chain the more common people you began to see. Many people demonstrate the social class system in literature. Shakespeare, especially, offers a challenge to what everyone thought they knew of the social class system.

“Social class refers to a group of people within a society who possess roughly the same socioeconomic status.” (“Social Class”)