After attending both Janelle
Jenstad’s open lecture and a private lecture she led for our Literature class I
am increasing interested in the layout of Early Modern London and its’
inhabitants. More so, I am interested in the themes and life lessons these
plays try to elaborate to its’ audience. Janelle Jansted discussed the lodgings
of early modern inhabitants in London which helped me to understand the
distinct difference in lifestyle between the upper class and lower class. This
distinct difference allowed me to deduce that Shakespearean plays could either
be relatable (for the upper class) or, for the lower class, a fairy tale that
allows the poor to step outside of their internal hell of daily life and experience
a life many would dream of, in the form of Shakespearean plays.
I used the Map of Early Modern London to look at different
housing units. Janelle drew a little map of what houses would’ve looked like in
the 16th century and elaborated on the upper classes placement and
the Lower classes housing. The map allowed me to see how separated the units
were. It’s amazing that this map is over 400 years old and yet, geographers can
still continue to make this map.
posted by EM on behalf of Chelsea Mills
Chelsea, I am glad your interest caught fire, particularly (it seems) at Jenstad's elaboration of the water / kitchen / crowding /sewage conditions of London. In your account of the talk it is not clear to me whether you caught her emphasis on the shared space of the social classes. I also wonder what this domestic space tells you about Shakespeare's theatrical imagination. The happy fantasy of escape is certainly extended to members of the non-aristocracy in All's Well, but for Hal, the site of escape is the Eastcheap word of taverns and (relative) poverty. That might be a good place to start a paper.
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