The term “Elizabethan Era” refers to the English history of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often describe it as the golden age of English history and it has been widely romanticized in books, films, plays and TV series. The Elizabethan Age is considered an era of English Renaissance that inspired national pride through classical ideals, international expansion, and naval triumph. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Elizabethan age saw the flowering of poetry (the sonnet, the Spenserian stanza, dramatic blank verse), was a golden age of drama (especially of Shakespeare's works), and inspired a wide variety of splendid prose (from historical chronicles, versions of the Holy Scriptures, pamphlets and literary criticism to the first English novels). From the beginning of the 17th century a sudden darkening of tone was noted in most forms of literary expression, especially in the theatre, and the change more or less coincided with Elizabeth's death. English literature from 1603 to 1625 is properly called Jacobean, after the new monarch, James I. But, to the extent that 16th-century themes and models were carried over into the 17th century, the writings of the early part of his reign, at least, it is sometimes referred to as the amalgam "Jacobethan". In the Elizabethan era, one chain prevailed, as the Elizabethans believed, namely “The Great Chain of Being” or also called the Chain of Being. The Elizabethans believed that God established order for everything in the universe. This was known as the Great Chain of Being. On Earth, God created a social order for everyone and chose who you belonged to. In other words, the king or queen was in charge because God put them there and they answered only to God (the divine right of kings). This meant that disobeying the monarch was a sin, which was helpful in keeping people in their place. This also led to the idea that if the monarch was the wrong person, everything would go wrong for a country, including whether the crops would be good or whether the animals behaved as they should. The Elizabethans were very superstitious. The Great Chain of Being was not believed only from the Elizabethan era (Plato's 15th BC: see also, faculty.grandview.edu). Nowadays, it has been the generic structure believed by people all over the world. The Great Chain of Being includes everything from God downwards to angels, demons (fallen angels) above, star, moon, king, queen, princes, nobleman, man (represented human), wild animal, domestic animal ( represented animals), trees, other plants (represented plants), precious stones, precious metals (represented materials) other minerals and finally, rock at the bottom. It moves from beings of pure spirit at the top of the Chain to things made entirely of matter at the bottom. Humans are pretty much in the middle, being mostly mortal or made of matter, but with a soul made of spirit. The theory began with the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, but was a fundamental assumption of life in Elizabethan England. You were a nobleman, a peasant or a beggar, because that was the place God had ordained for you. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The Great Chain of Being has a great influence on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth upsets the natural order of things by killing the king and stealing the throne. This throws all of nature into turmoil, including the story told by an old man that the horses in their stables went mad and ate themselves..