How are Shakespeare's world and the renaissance similar and different than today?

Answer 1

People thought and felt very much as they do now. An arrangement like the Shakespeares', where the breadwinner was away from home most of the time, was more common. People were more inured to death, particularly the death of children. People took it for granted that the government could go around trying to force people to be of a particular religion. And of course the technologies were different, especially in the realm of communication. If you were not communicating with someone face-to-face, you had to write to them, and your letter might take a while. It was important to know how to write if you were going to write letters. But many things were the same. The rich were much richer than anyone else. Governments cared little about most of the people in the country. If you wanted to live, you pretty much had to work for it. Some people were depressed, some stupid, some active, some kind, some noble, some funny. A modern person would adapt quite quickly, I think, to life back then.