Before reading Shakespeare it is always a good idea to spend some time looking at the Elizabethan World View in order to understand many of the elements that Shakespeare used in his plays such as witches, references to astronomy, the idea of chaos and disorder, fortune and misfortune or the temperament of a person. 

This material includes five infosheets about: 

• The Great Chain of Being 
• The Four Temperaments 
• The Wheel of Fortune
• The Zodiac Man 
• Supernatural beliefs 

The infosheets are available as .pdf, .pages and .docx files. A printer-friendly PDF is also included