Elizabethan Society: Rich, Poor and Entertainment

Mark Scheme — 2 marks per supported inference (max 4):

Inference 1: Theatre attracted audiences from across social classes.
Evidence: Platter notes "different galleries and places, where the seating is better and more comfortable and therefore more expensive" — this implies cheaper areas existed for poorer audiences alongside pricier galleries for the wealthy.

Inference 2: Theatre had achieved international cultural significance.
Evidence: Platter, a Swiss physician visiting London, specifically chose to attend three plays and recorded his experience in detail — suggesting theatre was a notable attraction for educated European visitors, not just locals.

Note: Inference must be supported by a specific detail from the source to gain both marks.

Mark Scheme:

Level 1 (1–2 marks): Simple statements about what sources show/don't show without developed explanation.

Level 2 (3–5 marks): Some analysis of content and/or provenance of one or both sources, with some own knowledge used.

Level 3 (6–8 marks): Developed analysis of content AND provenance for both sources; own knowledge used to contextualise and evaluate; clear judgement on relative utility.

Model Answer Outline:

Source A (1601 Poor Law) is useful for understanding the challenge of poverty — it shows government felt compelled to create a comprehensive national system of overseers, compulsory taxation and workhouses, suggesting poverty was serious enough to demand legislative action. Own knowledge: This came after harvest failures 1594–97 and the Oxfordshire Rising 1596. As official legislation, it shows intended policy but not whether it worked in practice.

Source B (Platter) shows a different challenge: managing a popular but potentially disruptive mass entertainment. Own knowledge: Puritans condemned theatre; the Privy Council tried to regulate it; Richard II was performed before the Essex rebellion. Platter's neutrality as a foreigner makes it reliable for describing theatre's structure and appeal, but he cannot access the political and moral debates surrounding it.

Together, the sources show two distinct challenges: social disorder from poverty (A) and managing cultural freedom (B) — both requiring government attention. Source A is more directly useful for "challenges" as it explicitly represents government action against a social problem; Source B is most useful for understanding cultural challenges and entertainment's social role.

Mark Scheme:

Level 1 (1–2): Simple description of one or more acts; no linking.

Level 2 (3–5): Some analysis; two or more stages linked; some causal explanation.

Level 3 (6–8): Well-structured narrative with clear causation, consequence, and analysis linking all three stages into a coherent account of development.

Model Answer:

The development of poor relief in Elizabethan England reflected the growing severity of poverty and the government's increasing acceptance of state responsibility. Before 1572, poor relief was ad hoc and locally based, dependent on voluntary charity — wholly inadequate given the scale of enclosures, rising population, and dissolution of the monasteries. The 1572 Vagabonds Act represented a significant shift: it introduced the first compulsory national poor rate (a local tax), though it still focused heavily on punishing "sturdy beggars" through branding and whipping. This harsh approach reflected the view that most poverty was a moral failing.

However, by the 1590s, repeated harvest failures (1594–97) created near-famine conditions, making it impossible to attribute all poverty to idleness. The 1597 Poor Law Act responded by creating a more systematic structure: overseers of the poor were officially appointed in every parish, tasked with collecting the poor rate and distributing it. The distinction between deserving and undeserving poor was formalised. This represented a maturing of the system — less focused on punishment and more on administration.

The culmination was the 1601 Poor Law, which consolidated all previous legislation into a comprehensive three-tier system: impotent poor (sick, elderly) received almshouse relief; able-bodied poor were set to work in workhouses; idle poor faced punishment in Houses of Correction. This system remained the basis of English welfare for over 230 years until the 1834 New Poor Law. The development therefore shows a trajectory from moral condemnation to pragmatic, government-organised welfare — driven by economic crisis rather than changing attitudes to the poor.

Mark Scheme (AQA format):

Level 1 (1–4): Simple statements; one-sided; little analysis.

Level 2 (5–8): Some analysis of given factors; argument beginning to develop; limited own knowledge.

Level 3 (9–12): Analysis of multiple factors; beginning to weigh them against each other; some own knowledge beyond given prompts.

Level 4 (13–16): Sustained, analytical argument weighing entertainment against other factors; convincing judgement with substantiated reasoning; wide own knowledge deployed.

Model Essay Plan:

Introduction: Define "Golden Age" — cultural flourishing, political stability, national pride, defeat of Armada. Entertainment (theatre) is the most visible legacy, but the Poor Laws show government innovation. Other factors: exploration, religious settlement, Elizabeth's personal rule. Thesis: Entertainment was central to the cultural memory but not the main reason — that is Elizabeth's political achievement.

Paragraph 1 — Entertainment (FOR): Theatre was genuinely transformative — Shakespeare alone defined English language and literature. Globe held 3,000; cross-class audiences; English Renaissance comparable to Italian. Bear-baiting, music, festivals gave England a distinctive cultural identity. But: Puritans despised it; government tried to control it; theatre also reflected social tensions, not just Golden Age optimism.

Paragraph 2 — Poor Laws (AGAINST main factor): Poor Laws show a society with serious structural problems. The need for four major poor relief acts in 30 years, plus repeated harvest failures, suggests "Golden Age" is partial. However, the Poor Laws themselves show governmental innovation — creating the world's first national welfare system was a real achievement.

Paragraph 3 — Other factors: Defeat of Spanish Armada (1588) — greatest symbol of Elizabethan achievement; Hawkins/Drake exploration; religious settlement allowing stability after Catholic/Protestant turmoil; Elizabeth's personal image and propaganda (the Virgin Queen). These political and military achievements arguably matter more than entertainment to the "Golden Age" narrative.

Conclusion: Entertainment — especially theatre — is the most visible legacy and justifiably central to cultural memory. However, the "Golden Age" rests most substantially on Elizabeth's political achievements: a stable religious settlement, surviving foreign threats, and innovative government (including the Poor Laws). Entertainment was the flower of the Golden Age, not its root.