Renaissance England during the time of the Elizabethan Era (1520-1620)
Background research for Romeo and Juliet
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Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet by Terry A. Gray at Palomar. An excellent starting point and an extensive set of links, but not recently maintained. The Shakespeare Timeline Summary Chart is particularly useful for his biography and putting his works into context.
On a related note, see "Shakespeare's Life in Context" on Stratford-on-Avon's tourism site.
From Shakepeare's Globe in London. A wide selection of academic research sources.
The Internet Shakespeare Editions hosted by the University of Victoria provides a wide range of useful materials in an accessible format. There are annotated texts, interactives, and resources for students.
Fun, concise resource written for actors and enthusiasts of the period: its scope includes games, food, money, language, occupations, pastimes, religion, fashion, manners, attitudes, masters and servants, the peers, London, and education.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare -- Site created and maintained at MIT. Loads quickly.
Romeo and Juliet by scene.
Digital facsimile of the First Folio, 1623, turned to the first page of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. From the Furness Collection of English Renaissance Literature and History, part of the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
About contemporary theatre in particular, see The Elizabethan Theatre, a lecture by Professor Hilda D. Spear of the University of Dundee held at Cologne University in 1989. Several of the images used were provided by Shakespearean scholar John Drakakis.
The YouTube video "Rapiers and Elizabethan Streetfighting" from the Folger Library talks about the influence of Londoners' concerns about street violence on Romeo and Juliet.
See also our wiki page for Renaissance England during the time of the Elizabethan Era (1520-1620)