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The Queen, as head of government, set policies about what could or could not be represented in a play. Although some blasphemous material was sometimes censored out (including a lot of Falstaff's swearing), the main thrust of government interference had to do with politically sensitive themes or remarks. An attempt to write a play about Sir Thomas More, in which Shakespeare is believed to have taken part, failed because they could not get it past the censors. A play in 1598, The Isle of Dogs, created a furore and caused all theatres to be closed for a time. The company who produced it went broke.

The Lord Chamberlain, the patron of Shakespeare's company. conveniently was the man in charge of entertainments for the court, and the company had many bookings to perform before the Queen. They did so fourteen times between 1595 and 1597. The Queen must have at least tolerated Shakespeare's plays as she kept watching them. On the other hand, Shakespeare was very smooth at knowing just exactly what he could get away with and what he couldn't--compared to other playwrights, he was almost never in trouble. The need to be circumspect is the most important influence the Queen had on Shakespeare.

The following answer is just wrong. Elizabethan England was not extremely anti-Semitic and did not treat Jews harshly. The Queen actually employed Jewish doctors. Shakespeare wrote no violently anti-Semitic plays (although Marlowe wrote one) and only one of his 38 plays has anything to do with Jews.

"During the time of Queen Elizabeth, England was a very anti-Semitic country discriminating harshly against Jews. Queen Elizabeth was the queen and had no objection to this kind of unethical behaviour therefore this may have influenced Shakespeare in the sense that if he wanted a vast audience he needed to go with what is current."

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