ENTERTAINMENT in the Elizabethan Era

Some of the Entertainment of the Elizabethan Era was the same as today :
Listening to music is the same whether listening to a full orchestra of through an iPod --- it is still listening to music. Making love never changes. Drinking beer and wine will always be an enjoyable pastime. Even reading books, whether a physical book or a kindle. We also play games the same as the Elizabethans, Chess being a favourite then as it is today, it's just that today Chess can be played electronically as well as with a real chessboard and pieces. Of course, during this Era, the Theatre came into its own and we are well aware of Shakespeare and his plays --- which we still see performed today, even in the very same theatres he originally performed in !

                                      So how was the Entertainment different to ours today ?
Over hundred of years, buildings change, move, are destroyed or built, so Sight seeing would have been different, although like today, the expense of seeing certain sights would have meant that very few Londoners would have seen them.
                                       Another pastime which we would find disgusting to watch was baiting (bull or bear baiting / cock-fighting / etc,etc) and seeing criminals hanged or drawn and quartered.  We can't imagine this for Entertainment today, but back then --- the crowd would cheer at such things.
                                     It is funny how people (mostly men) would go to the alehouses and / or taverns to have a pint and a smoke, when today smoking is no longer allowed in pubs.
                                    Playing cards was a favourite, especially amongst the rich, who could afford to gamble. Bowls and tennis was often played, and archery was not just a game but a very useful skill to practice, especially for men and boys who would fight for their country. Of course, the preferred sport for the gentry was hunting, a good way of getting food for supper. Fishing is a dying art today but it must have been very popular and useful in the Elizabethan Era, again, putting food on the table.

                                                                 What about football ?
Yes, the Elizabethans played football but it was a much different game to what we know today. Resembling rugby more than "football", it was a violent game with no referee, no rules as such and it was very much the common man's game. The ball was a pig's bladder filled with peas and there were two goal posts. Today we use a leather ball and still have the goal posts but that is where the similarities end.

The Elizabethan Era is known for its theatre and literature and we are very fortunate that so much from this Era is still available to us today --- hundreds of years later !