The document discusses Shakespeare's London during the late 16th/early 17th century, including the Globe Theatre and bear-baiting pit. It describes the classical education actors received to help them learn lines, and travelling players who performed in marketplaces and visited Stratford, where Shakespeare was from. When the plague struck London, theatres closed and Shakespeare wrote poetry. Both Queen Elizabeth I and King James I patronized Shakespeare's playing company, with some of his plays written specifically for their royal enjoyment.