English 1 Name:___________________

Introduction to Shakespeare
Mini Research Paper Block:_________

This is a long term project which results in a research paper, written using MLA format. One of the
main purposes of this project is so you can learn the MLA format. Also, hopefully you’ll learn a little
something about some aspect of the life and times of Shakespeare and his audience, sometimes called the
Elizabethan Age. In Step One of the project, we will be going to the library to learn about research and
plagiarism. While we are in the library, you will begin doing research on one of the topic questions you’ve
been assigned. You’ll spend time in class, and in the library, and at home, writing and editing and writing
some more.
This is the first of many handouts connected to this important project! Please start an organized
system now, in your notebook, for this project. You need to keep all of the handouts from your teacher and
the librarians.
The Basic Rules and Requirements for your Research Project:
 3 pages, typed, double-spaced, not including the Works Cited page
 MLA Format for the paper (and the Works Cited page)
 Times New Roman (or another “normal” font I can read easily!), size 12
 Proper MLA formatted Works Cited page
 Minimum of three sources; only one can be a general, Googled website (while other web sources,
such as the online databases the librarian will introduce to you, are acceptable!)
 Use of in-text quotations and references, cited using MLA in-text citation format; your paper
must include at least two direct quotes and two indirect quotes
 At least one picture or image, or chart, properly cited using the MLA format

Topic Questions:
NOTE: For these topics and for your paper, “Shakespeare’s time” or the “Elizabethan Era” means
England in the years approximately 1500-1650. Anything you find regarding the 1500’s and 1600’s is
probably okay. This is the time of the Renaissance in England, but the Renaissance is a much longer
period, including all of Western Europe. You’re trying to find sources related to the place and time
Shakespeare lived, as closely as possible.
These topics are phrased as questions to make it easier for you to develop a THESIS STATEMENT
later. Don’t worry, that will be explained when you need it.

1. Shakespeare couldn’t have written so many classic plays. He was not educated enough. Prove that the
public education system of Shakespeare’s day could have produced someone who knew about
geography, history, Latin, literature, the Bible, and other subjects—even someone who did not go to
university.

2. Would a day at the theater watching a play in Shakespeare’s time been an enjoyable experience?
(seating, refreshments, lighting, weather, etc.)

3. Which would be better: a typical meal in Shakespeare’s time, or, say, a modern meal from
McDonald’s? (Consider health, vitamins, vegetables vs. meat, taste, cost, etc.) You might include the
differences between upper class diets and lower class diets.

4. How was Elizabeth I not typical of women during this time?

5. Was Elizabeth I a good ruler, or not?

6. What would have been the worst aspects of going to a doctor or healer or dentist during this time
period? (Consider the belief in The Four Humours in your research.)

7. How did the Black Plague affect economic life during Shakespeare’s time—including, how did the
Black Plague affect the theaters?

8. What would have been the advantages and disadvantages of being a typical daughter, wife, or woman
of Shakespeare’s time? Were there any careers available for women of the time?

9. As a 21st-Century person, evaluate the practice of bull-baiting and bear-baiting in Shakespeare’s time.
(Explain what these forms of entertainment involved, and explain why this was such a popular form of
entertainment.)

10. Who was more important: Richard Burbage, or William Shakespeare?

11. How would the concept of God/Fate/Destiny have affected the daily life of a person in Shakespeare’s
time? (Consider researching astrology as part of this topic.)

12. How did religion and politics affect theaters, and the public perception of actors, playwrights, and
theaters, in Shakespeare’s time?

13. Which was better in Shakespeare’s time for an average person (not royal or high born): life in the city,
or life in the countryside? (Consider quality of life, access to all the things needed or desired in life.)

14. What were the dangers of sea exploration in Shakespeare’s time? What were reasons why anyone
would go out to sea?

15. To an Elizabethan, what was a witch? How did belief in witches affect people’s everyday life?

16. How did belief in the Elizabethan caste and class system (royalty, peasants, landowners, etc.) affect
society? (You might research the “Great Chain of Being” and try to answer why there was so little
movement from one class to another.)

17. What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a professional actor in Elizabethan times?

18. As a 21st-Century person, evaluate Elizabethan fashion (for upper and lower classes) in terms of
comfort, price, materials, styles, availability, etc.

19. What conceptions and misconceptions were there about hygiene, cleanliness, and sanitary conditions
in Elizabethan times? (Study London as well as the countryside; evaluate as a 21st-Century person.)

20. Evaluate the Elizabethan court and justice system: Did the laws and punishment seem fair?

21. What job/career opportunities or apprenticeships were open to boys who were not in the upper
classes? Evaluate some typical options.

22. How did one’s social/economic class affect one’s housing options in the time? (Research architecture,
castles, building materials, wattle and daub, etc.)