8-2GreatChainofBeing

What is "The Elizabethan World Picture" and "The Great Chain of Being"? //Answer prepared by Raythan.P //

The “Great Chain of Being” is a list of all things created by God that are put in a strict order of those that are most important, to those that are the least important. __Usborne Internet-Linked World of Shakespeare__, by Anna Claybourne and Rebecca Treays explains that everything from god to the lowest subject in existence is portrayed in the “Great Chain of Being”. This is a concept that was used regularly in the Middle Ages. An example of the order of the strict hierarchy in the Middle Ages would include the King being the highest, to the peasant being the lowest. This is the basis for which the Elizabethans used to make their “Great Chain of Being”. So, like the order of importance that was used in the Middle Ages, the “Great Chain of Being” had some humans being higher than other humans. In the “Great Chain of Being”, the monarch was the highest human. After that, the noblemen and churchmen followed, basically the wealthy aristocrats were in this section. Next, were the gentlemen, and then the commoners. All of the above are men, so the “Great Chain of Being” said that women are inferior to men. Thus, they are at the bottom of the human portion of the “Great Chain of Being”. The only possible exception to this rule would be if England had a women monarch, which is exactly the case with Elizabeth I. Above the human portion of the “Great Chain of Being” would be God and angles; whereas, below the human portion of the “Great Chain of Being” would be animals, plants, and stones. The full “Great Chain of Being”, according to jackeytappet.tripod, is:  God Angels Kings/Queens Archbishops Dukes/Duchesses Bishops Marquises/Marchionesses Earls/Countesses Viscounts/Viscountesses Barons/Baronesses Abbots/Deacons Knights/Local Officials Ladies-in-Waiting Priests/Monks Squires Pages Messengers Merchants/Shopkeepers Tradesmen Yeomen Farmers Soldiers/Town Watch Household Servants Tennant Farmers Shepherds/Herders Beggars Actors Thieves/Pirates Gypsies Animals Birds Worms Plants Rocks The “Great Chain of Being” is also an example of the belief that humans are not seen as equals; this belief is seen throughout history, especially with slaves.

The Elizabethan World Picture or World View is a time when the world of Elizabethan England had new ideas, thought of change, and a lot of excitement. It is closely related to the renaissance. Academic.brooklyn says that the Elizabethan World View is when people in England started to think of the World as a whole, and what past civilizations have done with progresses in religion, art, culture, literature, math, and science. Civilizations like the Ancient Greeks or Romans have been able to accomplish this. According to channel4, the Elizabethan World Picture was during this time period from 1350-1600 that advances in many things occurred. Religion changed during this time period as England broke away from the dominant Roman Catholic Church and instead, formed the new Protestant religion. Ambitious explorers like Christopher Columbus were discovering new lands. In addition, ideas of astronomy made significant advances in science, such as the theory that the earth was in motion and orbited the sun that was proposed by Nikolai Copernicus and proved by Galileo Galilee and Johannes Kepler. This time period was also a Golden Age for theater with the help of great playwrights like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson. The world of art saw advances, as well with artists like Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo Da Vinci and how they began to better the ancient people’s artwork with their own work. The Elizabethan World Picture was a vision of advances in academics and the arts. Most of all, it was a vision to educate more and to strive for a higher learning.   Works Cited Claybourne, Miftress Anna, and Miftress Rebecca Treays. //The Usborne //  // Internet-Linked World of Shakespeare //. London, England: Usborne Publishing, 2001. "Renaissance." //http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html //.  29 Mar 2009. 7 Apr 2009 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">"The Elizabethan World View." //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/spellbinder/worldview_t.shtml //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> 7 Apr 2009 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">"The Great Chain of Being." //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">http://jackytappet.tripod.com/chain.html //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> 7 Apr 2009 This is a picture of the "Great Chain of Being" from the site instruct.uwo.ca/biology/489a/images/Chain%20of%20Being: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; display: block;">