Using points and examples from the lecture, explain the changes in Elizabethan period and why they occured.

Task 6: Integrated speaking

(Professor): Today's lecture will be about developments in theater during Elizabethan period in England, which roughly coincides with the reign of British Queen Elizabeth I [Queen Elizabeth the firs]. This period, the Elizabethan period, lasted from the late 1500s to the mid 1600s. It was a dynamic time in the history of English theater. I'm going to discuss two changes and why they occurred.
so, one change was...well, the content of plays changed- plays began to have differnt subjects and themes and became more commercial. You see, earlier, before the Elizabethan period, plays were often about religious or political topics. But during Elizabeth's reign, well, Queen Elizabeth wanted to avoid religious and political controversy in her country, so she outlawed plays with religious and political themes.
So, since plays with religious or political themes were no longer permitted, theater companies had to perform plays about other topics with everyday themes. Plays became more commercial-for entertainment-and avoid controversy. Plays about love, for example, became very popular. Plays about love could entertain people without provoking controversy.
The other change was the sheer number of plays being written and performed. More plays were produced during Elizabethan period than ever before. Why this increase? Well, before Queen Elizabeth came to power, the government or religious authorities used to give generous financial support to playwrights and theater companies. But when religious and political plays were outlawed, religious authorities and pliticians were no longer interested in supporting the theater. Without outside financial support, plays had to pay for themselves; theater companies needed to make more money, so they needed to put more productions. So more plays were written and produced. For example, most playwrights at the time drafted about 4 plays per year-considerbly more plays than ever before.