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Elizabethan Diaries
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A Day in London
**Introduction** ~ In this quest, you will become a resident of Elizabethan London. The guided research you will do will prepare you to write a detailed account of one day in your life.

**Task** ~ You are between 12 and 21 years old and you live in London in 1592-1604. It is summer and you decide you need to go see one of the latest Shakespeare plays. Your task is to write a diary entry for this day. In the entry you should allude to or indicate your age, marital and social status, occupation (if appropriate), religion (if relevant), level of learning and other information you feel is important for us to imagine your character.

**Specific questions to answer** ~ Supply the following information about yourself ~ First research each question and record in point form. Then, turn all the information into a journal entry, from the point of view of your character, on the events of the day revealing the information in a subtle, realistic manner. Remember, the intent of a journal entry is to reflect on the day __for the writer__ you are not writing this for someone else.

You will hand in the written responses (point form) of the questions below and the Journal Entry. Both will be handed in in hard copy form on paper. **Bonus marks will be awarded for the use of hand written old english script (2.5%) and language(2.5%) in the journal entry.**



Age Name – please select a name from [|Elizabethan Names] or [|Faire Names for English Folk] Sex Marital status Occupation (if any) - find ideas at the [|Services and Occupations] listing from Life in Elizabethan England Income Where in London do you live? [|Tudor London map] How much education did you receive? What were you taught? What is your religion? How has your religion affected your life in terms of how you are treated by people in power? What play do you go to see? How did you know it was playing? What other Shakespeare plays might you have been able to see? What play by Shakespeare was your favorite until now? What actor in the company is your favorite actor? How are you dressed when you attend the play? Describe some of the costumes the actors wear. You are planning to go to a ball (fancy dance party) after the play. How will you dress for that? What did you dine on before going to the theater? When did you eat? What did you drink? How much did it cost? How much did you pay for your ticket? Where did you sit? A number of your friends chose to spend the afternoon seeing another kind of entertainment, What was it? Who was the most important person you recognized in the audience? Who ruled England at the time? What was some gossip about the ruler? Who was the Lord Mayor of London at the time? What is the last book you read?

**Resources** ~ these are recommended starting points. Please share your own site discoveries with the class.

These sites are a great place to start, however you are going to have to do your own "digging" for some of the required information.
Shakespeare's Life and Times - http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/intro/introsubj.html - short articles cover just about everything Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet (Palomar) - http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/ - big Shakespeare page, many links. Shakespeare's Globe Theater - http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html - page on the Globe Theater Elizabethan Clothing: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-clothing.htm Elizabethan Food and Drink - http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/elizfood.html - page on food and drink The Elizabethan Cost of Living - http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/society/cost.html - what some items cost. How Much is That Worth Today? - http://www.eh.net/ehresources/howmuch/poundq.php - a way to figure out how much something would cost today relative to another time. The Collected Works of William Shakespeare Arranged Chronologically - http://www.dlhoffman.com/publiclibrary/Shakespeare/by-year.html - a chronology of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare's Actors (1) - http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/stage/burbage.html