In English 1 this year, we have to read Romeo & Juliet (ugh). Before we do though, we're doing a little research about the world Shakespeare lived in and his life. What I found interesting was a fact about his wife, Anne Hathaway: she's Puritan.
Why would a Puritan, someone who had a strong moral objection to plays, marry someone who made his living in it? Now think about plays at the time. Shakespeare was top gun - his plays were watched by the royalty and watched by all. His stuff was cool. So why would anyone take objection to it?
But pleasures of society are never necessarily moral. Take rap for example. The "cool" thing in society today is to live the MTV lifestyle and rap and all that, but is that lifestyle a good one?
And perhaps it was somewhat similar at the time. In the same way that rap is new and cool and shocking, perhaps plays were the same way. "Cool" and hip and new and perhaps a bit racy and shocking for the time, which is why Puritans shunned it. In fact, they closed down the theaters a few years after.
Interesting that Shakespeare has any similarities with rap... they're both pleasures of society...
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