Shakespeare and Work (Oxford Shakespeare Topics)

What did work mean to Shakespeare? And what does it mean to work in Shakespeare's plays?Work was a quintessential part of early modern society, as it is today.But the meanings attached to different forms of work were changing in important ways during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England.Developments such as the enclosure movement, the growth of venture capitalism, and the diversification of the wage-labour market transformed England's labour economy and helped reshape the everyday lives of men and women in both rural and urban communities.These socio-economic shifts had a direct effect on the professional theatres of Shakespeare's day.The world of work, including the people at all social levels who performed it, was vital to Shakespeare's drama, both because the theatre was a highly successful business enterprise in its own right and because work significantly influences the plots, language, and structures of Shakespeare's plays throughout his career.Shakespeare and Work