Shakespeare’s World

Seeing the Plays through Elizabethan Eyes
An illuminating tour of the Elizabethan mindset for performers, directors, and Shakespeare lovers of all stripes.

It goes nearly without saying that Elizabethan England, the society that produced William Shakespeare, was dramatically different than the modern world of today.

This is true not only in the most obvious wayslanguage, technology, living standards, politicsbut in the ideas and beliefs that shaped Elizabethans understanding of themselves and the world around them. Just as audiences 400 years from now will need guidance to understand concepts like the American dream or wokeness, so too does an understanding of the Elizabethan worldview illuminate Shakespeares plays in new and surprising ways.

For decades, Dennis Krausnick (1942-2018), a beloved teacher of classical acting, brought Shakespeares world and worldview to life for professional actors as Director of