cs. For the nobleman and the
courtier an intimacy with Greek, Latin, and Italian was essential to
"good form." But the taste for erudition was mainly confined to the
metropolis or the families who frequented it, and to persons of rank, and
did not pervade the country or the middle classes. A few of the country
gentry had some pretension to learning, but the majority cared little
except for hawks and hounds, gaming and drinking; and if they read it was
some old chronicle, or story of knightly adventure, "Amadis de Gaul," or
a stray playbook, or something like the "History of Long Meg of
Westminster," or perhaps a sheet of news. To read and write were still
rare accomplishments in the country, and Dogberry expressed a common
notion when he said reading and writing come by nature. Sheets of news
had become common in the town in James's time, the first newspaper being
the English Mercury, which appeared in April, 1588, and furnished food
for Jonson's satire in his "Staple of News." His accusation has a
familiar sound when he says that people had a "hunger and thirst after
published pamphlets of news, set out every Saturday, but made all at
home, and no syllable of truth in them."

Though Elizabeth and James were warm patrons of the theatre, the court
had no such influence over the plays and players as had the court in
Paris at the same period. The theatres were built for the people, and the
audiences included all classes. There was a distinction between what were
called public and private theatres, but the public frequented both. The
Shakespeare theatres, at which his plays were exclusively performed, were
the Globe, called public, on the Bankside, and the Blackfriars, called
private, on the City side, the one for summer, the other for winter
performances. The Blackfriars was smaller than the Globe, was roofed
over, and needed to be lighted with candles, and was frequented more by
the better class than the more popular Globe. There is no evidence that
Elizabeth ever attended the public theatres, but the companies were often
summoned to play before her in Whitehall, where the appointments and
scenery were much better than in the popular houses.

The price of general admission to the Globe and Blackfriars was sixpence,
at the Fashion Theatre twopence, and at some of the inferior theatres one
penny. The boxes at the Globe were a shilling, at the Blackfriars
one-and-six. The usual net receipts of a performance were from nine to