Shakespeare was and still is called “The Bard,” or poet. Today, his plays are still staged in theaters around the world. Of course, the English language has changed a little over the last 400 years.
So it’s good to study his plays before you see them, so you can follow along. To us, Shakespeare can be hard to understand. During the Renaissance, however, his plays were seen as popular shows for common people. Shakespearean theater was like today's blockbuster movies — full of action, humor, and epic storytelling. Queen Elizabeth I was a huge fan of the theater. The Globe Theatre was built during her reign, in 1599. The original Globe in London was home to Shakespeare’s greatest plays.
This replica of the original Globe Theatre was built in London and opened in 1997. Today, you can watch Shakespeare’s plays being performed the way people in Renaissance England saw them!
