Elizabethan society had a very strict social code at the time William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Social class in Elizabethan England could determine many things, from how a person spoke to what they could wear. This led Shakespeare to base his plays on these social classes, primarily the upper class. Shakespeare used the upper class in the majority of his plays, such as 'Shakespeare's Henry IV'. Shakespeare relied on Renaissance innovations in his upper-class plays because he liked to give more depth to his characters and vary the overall rhythmic structure of his plays to make them interesting for the audience. important in Shakespeare's plays. They spoke using blank verse, as evidenced by this quote: (bard.org) “The form of verse he uses is blank verse. It contains no rhyme, but each verse has an internal rhythm with a regular rhythmic pattern. Blank verse is mainly used in plays like Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” which is a good example. This quote shows that the upper class were the center of attention because the way they spoke was most favorable to Shakespeare. Blank verse was a complex and powerful way of speaking, making the conversation more interesting in his plays. This form of speech is also used today in poetry. Another example of blank verse is in this quote: (Holowienka) “As the upper class was able to attain higher and better education, their speech was more. The way the upper class dressed was also important in Shakespeare's plays. They wore fine, sophisticated, and expensive clothing, which they wore more to show off than to comfort themselves. This is proven in the following quote: (bardstage.org) "...Costumes therefore conveyed a...... middle of paper ......d dressing differently from the lower class to give everyone a them unique features not found. in the other class. Nowadays, most people talk the same thing, whether they're rich or not, as long as they come from the same place. Most people also tend to dress the same way, unless they can't afford certain types of clothing. The Renaissance era differs in many ways from today for this reason. Works Cited Brown, Starla. “Costumes and sets of Shakespeare’s theater.” www2.springfield.k12.il.us. Web, April 23, 2014. Debora B., Schwartz. “Shakespearean verse and prose”. Cla.calpoly.edu. Web, April 23, 2014. Holowienka, Roxanne. “Henry IV, Part One: Language of the Upper and Lower Classes.” www2.cedarcrest.edu. Web, April 23, 2014. “Globe Theater Costumes.” Bardstage.org. Web, April 23, 2014. “The Language of Shakespeare.” Bard.org. Web, April 23 2014.