Betrothed

In Shakespeare’s London, a common form of entertainment was “bear baiting.” A bear would be tied to a pole while a pack of wild dogs was unleashed. Bets would be placed to see who won. The “bear baiting” stadium was right near Shakespeare’s theatre. Many of the rough bear baiting crowd would then go and watch a Shakespeare play.

In Shakespeare’s time, the crowd that went to see his plays was not elitist or sophisticated. On the contrary. The majority of people who went to see his plays were rough, crude people, commoners who came for entertainment and had to only pay a penny to get in. For that price, they had to stand on the ground throughout the whole play – and thus became known as the “groundlings.”

Shakespeare’s London was civilized – but it was also barbaric. It was common to see executions and public torture of criminals in the streets. The entrance to its most famous roadway – the London Bridge – was often adorned with pikes, on which sat the severed heads of criminals.

The Bubonic Plague (also known as the Black Death) killed millions in Europe, and struck London repeatedly throughout the centuries. It spread in places with poor sanitation and massive crowds, and hit Shakespeare’s theater district the hardest. It would take centuries until it was discovered that the carrier of the plague was fleas, hosted by rats.