Shakespeare was aware of the danger of dabbling in politics
Plays were censored
The Catholic religion was not approved of - Queen Elizabeth was constantly in fear of Catholic plots
Shakespeare knew people who had been arrested and tortured - friends and family members!
Relatives had been arrested and taken to the Tower of London
William Arden, was a second cousin of Mary Arden of Wilmcote, the mother of Shakespeare
In 1583 Arden was indicted for plotting against the life of the Queen
Arden protested his innocence only admitting to adhere to the Catholic faith but was executed at Smithfield on 30th December, 1583
Shakespeare knew of the strict laws prohibiting any explicitly religious or current political events being represented on stage
THE ESSEX REBELLION
Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I
She heaped favours on the ambitious young man and appointed him Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1599
He signed an unauthorised truce with the leading Irish rebel, the Earl of Tyrone
The Queen was furious and ordered his arrest, stripping him of his titles
In January 1601, the rebel earl led an abortive raid against the Queen and London - he plotted to start a rebellion to overthrow the Queen
The supporters of Essex arranged for Richard II to be played at the Globe the day before the rebellion
The play, Richard II, tells the story of how Richard II was overthrown by Henry IV and how Richard the King, like Elizabeth the Queen, had abdicated many of her powers in favour of her advisors Cecil and Raleigh
The theme expressed in the play was hoped to generate support for the rebellion amongst Londoners
The Earl of Essex marched into the streets of London with his followers
But the play had failed to stir up support for Essex and Londoners stayed away from the trouble
The rebellion collapsed and Essex was captured and, on 25th February 1601 he was executed for treason
Did Shakespeare and his company realise the significance of playing Richard II? Did any of them know about the rebellion? Nothing was proved and no charges were made - the company were forgiven by the Queen and they performed for her in December of the same year as the rebellion
