Today, plays by “The Bard” are still performed in theaters all over the world. It’s good to study Shakespeare’s plays before you see them, because the English language has changed a little over the last 400 years.
To modern ears, Shakespeare can be hard to understand. During the Renaissance, however, his plays were considered popular entertainment for common people. Shakespearean theater was like the blockbuster movies of today — full of action, humor, and epic storytelling. Queen Elizabeth I, a huge fan of the theater, saw the Globe Theatre 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. You can visit it today and see Shakespeare’s plays performed the way people in Renaissance England used to see them!
