Significant Events cont.

*invention of the printing press in 1476; helped to make literature more widely available.
*the growth of a wealthy middle class who had the ability and time to read and write.
*the opening up of education to the laity rather than being the exclusive domain of clergy.
* theaters such as the Globe (1599) and The Rose (1587) were built.
*writers such as Ben Johnson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare wrote many comic and tragic plays.

Historical Developments