11-12 Phillips Shakespeare Families

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Professional Development Programs for Teachers

The Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610

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The Newberry Digital Collections for the Classroom project is generously funded by The Grainger Foundation.

Marriage and Familyin Shakespeares England

Newberry Digital Collect ions for the Classroom

King Lear. Act I. Scene I.


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Marriage and Family inShakespeares EnglandNewberry Digital Collections for Classroom Use

Introduction

What is the matter with Shakespeares families? Why do so many of his tragic plays involve injuries and

betrayals committed between parents and children, husbands and wives, sisters and brothers? How do these

plays respond to changes in the understanding and organization of the family during the English Renaissance?

Historians such as Lawrence Stone have identified the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries as a crucial

period in the history of the family in Britain. At the beginning of this period, most marriages were arranged,

not by the two people getting married, but by their parents and other relatives. The primary purpose of

marriage, especially among the upper class, was to transfer property and forge alliances between extended

family networks, or kin groups. A marriage might provide a way of combining adjacent estates or ofconcluding a peace treaty. In fact, people used the termfamilyto refer to all of the people living in one house,

under one head, including servants as well as parents, children, and other blood relations. Gradually, during

these centuries, these understandings of marriage and family changed. The conjugal (or marrying) couple

became more important and, increasingly, people came to think of the family as centered on parents and their

childrenwhat we refer to as the nuclear family.

Historians attribute these changes, in part, to the Protestant Reformation. Protestant religious leaders rejected

the Catholic Churchs policy that clergy could not marry. Instead, Protestants developed the idea of holy

matrimony and wrote extensively about the spiritual and political as well as personal significance of marriage.

As literary critic Mary Beth Rose explains, Protestant writers equate[d] spiritual, public, and private realms by

analogizing the husband to God and the king, the wife to the church and the kingdom. These Protestant

writings provided religious support for changes in family structure that were also due to wider socioeconomic

changes, such as population growth, urbanization, increasing mobility, and greater trade.

While historians might look to this period for the emergence of the modern family, it is important to note

some distinctly pre-modern legal and social conventions which lasted into the nineteenth century. Under the

English system ofcoverture, a womans identity was covered by her husbands when she married. A married

couple was regarded by the law as a single entity and that entity followed the will of the husband. Mothers

had no legal rights over the guardianship of their children and any property that a woman possessed at the

time of marriage came under the husbands control. Numerous married women may have found ways to

work around the law and to exercise legal and economic power, but these conventions had a significant

impact on womens status, rights, and opportunities.

The social and cultural transformation of the family took place gradually and unevenly. Works by Shakespeare

and other Renaissance writers rarely provide a straightforward expression of either older or newer beliefs

about the family and marriage. What their texts can show us, instead, are the conflicts and contradictions that

emerged as writers examined family relationships during this period. The following collection of documents

provides some historical context for Shakespeares plays. The documents include advice manuals and crime

literature as well as Biblical family trees, all of which shed light on the many ways that Renaissance people

thought about and participated in the family.


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Please consider the following questions as you review the documents

How did Renaissance writers define the family? Which relationships seem to them the mostimportant? What makes these relationships important? To what extent do writers seem concerned

with emotions like love or happiness and to what extent do they seem more interested in ideas of

duty, property, lineage, or Christian faith?

What are the obligations of family members to one another, according to these documents? How dothe writers expect husbands, wives, parents, children, and siblings to behave toward one another?What differences or contradictions appear between these writers?

What are the perceived threats to the family? How should these threats be addressed? What does writing on the family tell us about the history of gender, or the expectations and

experiences of women and men during the English Renaissance?


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Document 1: Biblical Genealogies

The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: Newly

Translated Out of the Originall Tongues ... by His Maiesties Speciall

Comandement. 1611. Title page, pp. 1 and 10.

Newberry Call No. VAULT Case folio C 223 .611

The Protestant Reformation fueled efforts to translate the Bible into modern, vernacular (or spoken),

European languages from its original Hebrew, ancient Greek, and Latin. Only the clergy and a small elite

knew how to read ancient languages. The lack of modern translations reinforced the Catholic Churchs

hierarchical structure, which Reformation leaders opposed. Protestants believed it was important for

laypeople (or church members)including womento be able to read Gods word themselves. In 1604 King

James directed a group of nearly 50 scholars to undertake a new translation of the Bible into English. It was

not the first English translation of the Bibletwo others had appeared in the previous centurybut it was

the first designed specifically to conform to the teachings of the Church of England. Their translation,

eventually known as the King James Bible, was published in 1611. By the next century, it had become the

standard translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. The edition presented here opens with 34pages of Biblical genealogyfamily trees which trace an unbroken line of descent from God, Adam, and Eve

on the first page to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus on the last.

Questions to Consider

1. Examine these two pages from the King James Bibles genealogiesthe first portrays God, Adam,Eve, and their immediate descendants, the second portrays Jacob and his immediate descendants.

How is the information on each page organized? What does the organization suggest about family

structure?

2. Why do you think these family trees were included? Why might Jesus lineage matter to RenaissanceChristian scholars and laypeople?

3. What do the family trees suggest about how people thought about the family and lineage during theRenaissance?


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Document 2: Queen Elizabeth I

Francis Delaram. Elizabeth I. In William Camden.Annales: The True and

Royal History, of the Famous Empresse Elizabeth, Queene of England,

France and Ireland, &c. 1625. Frontispiece.

Newberry Call No. Case F 4549 .137

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 at the age of 70 after 44 years on the throne. Then and now, writers give

Elizabeth much of the credit for Englands remarkable prosperity, stability, and cultural achievement during

her reign. She shielded the country from the religious wars then tearing apart Europe, and she defeated the

Spanish Armada, a great fleet of ships poised to invade England, in 1588. Above all, she was an

extraordinarily skillful politician who effectively ruled England in the face of considerable resistance to the

idea of a female monarch. Elizabeth did not promote other women to positions of authority or encourage the

extension of greater rights to women. But, she provided a powerful model of female independence and self-

determination. She carefully crafted her public image, whether as the Virgin Queen devoted to England or as

the military commander leading her troops into battle, in ways that provide an important context for

Shakespeares representations of women and the family. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeblewoman, Elizabeth famously declared, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.


1. How does the frontispiece of William CamdensAnnalesportray Elizabeth? In what ways does theimage indicate her power? What other attributes does it convey?

2. Examine the poem from the frontispiece detail. According to the text, what were Elizabeths primaryaccomplishments and virtues? What role, if any, does her gender play in this tribute?


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Documents 3, 4, and 5: Advice to Husbands, Wives, Parents, and Children

William Gouge. Of Domesticall Dvties: Eight Treatises. 1622. Title page,

duties and aberrations tables, pp. 428 and 452.

Newberry Call No. Case B 68 .36

Dorothy Leigh. The Mothers Blessing: Or, the Godly Counsell of a Gentle-

Woman. 1636. Title page and pp. 5255.

Newberry Call No. Case miniature C 696 .495

The Advice of a Father: Or, Counsel to a Child: Directing Him How to

Demean Himself in the Most Important Passages of This Life. 1688. Title

page, pp. 3033, and 3637.

Newberry Call No. Case B 692 .007

During the Renaissance, as now, advice books were very popular. Following the Protestant Reformation,

many of these books (often called conduct manuals) addressed the subject of marriage and the duties of

husbands, wives, parents, and children to one another. Some of the most popular are excerpted here. William

Gouge was a prominent English Puritan pastor. He explains in the preface to Of Domesticall Dutiesthat the

book was based on a series of sermons he delivered to his congregation. He adds, somewhat defensively, that

the sermons were criticized as being too harsh on women and seeks to explain his positions at greater length

here. Dorothy Leighs The Mothers Blessingwas originally published in 1616 and went through at least 20

editions. The book is addressed to Leighs sons from her deathbed, which made the books publication more

acceptable at the time. It was considered improper for women to publish their writing or to offer moral and

religious instruction. Finally, The Advice of a Fatherwas published anonymously later in the seventeenth

century. Like Leighs book, the author explicitly addresses his son, but offers plenty of evidence that he had a

wider audience in mind.


1. What are the duties of wives and husbands according to the table that Gouge provides at thebeginning of his book? What are the aberrations, or deviations, from those duties? Why is

ambition the primary quality that undermines the wifes primary duty of subjection? Do

husbands have unlimited power over wives according to Gouges model?

2. What is the childs duty to the parent, according to Gouge? Why should the child both fear and lovehis parents? Why do you think Gouge places so much importance on parental approval of a childs

marriage?3. What is Leighs advice to her sons concerning marriage? How does she support that advice with

evidence from the Bible? Why do you think she places so much emphasis on a husbands obligation

to love his wife? Does her advice on marriage challenge or support Gouges?

4. What is the authors critique of the institution of marriage inAdvice of a Father? What does he argue isthe basis of happiness in marriage? Why does the author caution against having children? In what

ways does his advice challenge Gouges and Leighs?

5. What differences do you notice in the advice given by Gouge, Leigh, and the anonymous father?How do these differences between the books shed light on the different experiences and concerns

that men and women may have had at this time? Do they suggest areas of conflict or change in the

prevailing expectations of women and men?


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Documents 6 and 7: Crimes against the Family

The Life and Death of John Atherton. 1641. Title page, frontispiece, and p. 1.

Newberry Call No. Case E 5 .A86

A Full Account of a Most Tragycal and Inhuman Murther. 1699.

Newberry Call No. Case 6A 161 no. 33

Seventeenth-century executions were elaborate public rituals attended by hundreds, or even thousands, of

spectators. Public officials approached executions as an opportunity to vividly demonstrate the importance of

obeying the law. At the moment of death, the condemned criminal was held up as an example of the

consequences of crime. Printers increasingly took these events as opportunities to sell inexpensive pamphlets

recounting the convicts life. Like the executions themselves, these publications had a specific, instructional

purpose, but also contained sensational elements that could overshadow the intended lesson.

The Life and Death of John Athertonis a pamphlet published several months after Athertons execution. Atherton

had been a Protestant bishop in the Church of Ireland which was affiliated with the Church of England.Atherton was executed for buggery, or sexual acts with another man, a church official who was also hanged.

However, the pamphlet devotes little attention to this crime, emphasizing instead a lifetime of various

misdeeds. (Note: Aprelateis a high-ranking cleric, or church official. A beneficeis financial support provided to

a member of the clergy.)A Full Account of a Most Tragycal and Inhuman Murtherdescribes the case from Holland

of Claes Wells, who was convicted of murdering his entire family.


1. What does the writer of the pamphlet accuse Atherton of? Why do you think the writer includes somany different examples of unacceptable behavior? What are the relationships between Athertons

lesser transgressions and the crime for which he is executed? Why does the writer also describe

Athertons education and clerical positions?2. What does the pamphlet tell us, by negative example, about the expectations for how people should

conduct their family and other personal relationships? What kind of behavior is frowned on, but

permitted? Why?

3. Why do you think London printers found Claes Wells case worth publishing, even though itoccurred relatively far away, in Holland?

4. Based on your reading of the narrative, why do you think Wells committed the murders? Whatlessons does the writer of the broadside draw?


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Documents 8 and 9: Lears Family

William Shakespeare. M. William Shake-Speare, His True Chronicle History of

the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. 1619. Title page.

Newberry Call No. VAULT Case 3A 896

Henry Fuseli and Richard Earlom. King Lear. Act 1. Scene 1. InA Collection

of Prints, from Pictures Painted for the Purpose of Illustrating the Dramatic

Works of Shakspeare. John Boydell, ed. Vol. 2. 1803. Plate XVIII.

Newberry Call No. Case oversize YS 65 .11

Shakespeares King Learremains one of the darkest and most compelling explorations of family relationships

in English literature. The play opens with the aging King Lear offering to divide his kingdom between his

three daughters according to how persuasively each can express her love for him. Two of his daughters,

Goneril and Regan, lavishly proclaim their devotion. But the youngest, Cordelia, refuses to participate in the

competition and Lear disowns her. Terrible events unfold as Goneril and Regan betray Lear, he descends intomadness, and Cordelia, the daughter who does truly love him, is imprisoned and executed.

The documents presented here include the title page of a 1619 edition of the play (inaccurately identified as

1608 on the title page) as well as an illustration of the first scene, created almost 200 years later. In the late

eighteenth century, the London printer and engraver, John Boydell, commissioned artists to create paintings

illustrating the works of Shakespeare. He then produced engravings based on their paintings and published

them together with Shakespeares plays. This plate is based on a work by the Swiss-born Romantic painter

Henry Fuseli. The caption quotes Lears famous lines to Cordelia:

Thy truth then be thy dower! ...

Here I disclaim all my paternal care,

Propinquity and property of blood,And as a stranger to my heart and me

Hold thee from this for ever.


1. Read the title page, a text which may have been used to advertise the play itself. What details aboutthe family drama are included in this early title? What does the title tell us about what this printer

thought was most important about the play or would be most useful in selling it?

2. Examine each of the figures in the engraving of Act 1, Scene 1. Describe the postures, gestures, andfacial expressions of Lear, Cordelia, and others. How does the engraving convey the importance and

meaning of Lears condemnation of Cordelia? How does Cordelia appear to respond?

3. What relationship does the play as a whole have to the instructions included in the advice books andcrime literature presented earlier in this collection?


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