The Elizabethan hierarchy of Nature is a very clearly expressed and understood matter in our world currently, and must have been even more so in the Elizabethans’ own time. It consisted of several levels which were also representative of religious states and nature outside of the standard flora and fauna type ordeal. Today there is no such obvious hierarchy that is generally agreed upon, and the overall view of nature is not only extremely abstract, but also extremely varied. This essay will describe briefly the Elizabethan hierarchy and our own modern perspective.
In the Elizabethan times, religion was a central part of everyone’s (or nearly everyone’s) life. This is reflected in their view of nature as a prominent aspect of how they viewed the world as a whole. From the bottom up, there were the demonic, earthly, upper, and highest levels. Each of these has some relation to the Bible. The demonic level is fairly self explanatory, being Hell. The earthly level is the one that we inhabit. It is then subdivided into a hierarchy is humans, then other animals, then plants. If we happen to be particularly sinful, we are sent to the demonic level. If we take part in the liberal arts, we rise to the upper level. The upper level is paradise, or alternatively the garden of Eden. Elizabethans believed that art remains immortal in this level of existence. The final and highest level is Heaven. One may only enter this level if they have lived a sinless life according to God.
It does not take extraordinary intellect to understand how much the world has changed since the age when this was almost taken for granted. Today we are a much more secular and scientifically analytic society. In a world where a sizable percentage of people are atheists or agnostic and the wide spectrum of religions is generally accepted, it would be impossible to hold onto such a close minded view. The demonic level is accepted only by a minority the people who believe not only in an afterlife, but the possibility of a Hell. The same applies for the highest level of Heaven. The earthly and upper levels are the ones most similar to how we see things today, but with some important differences. In the earthly level, especially in the past 20 or 30 years, the subdivisions of humans, animals, and plants (particularly in that order) have largely been abandoned. What with the environmental crisis we are experiencing, plants and animals are being taken care of much more than they were in the Elizabethan era, and are seen as much more important to protect than they used to be. The upper level is now less of a garden of Eden, but perhaps we still appreciate it as a Heaven of the liberal arts, which are now as valued as they were then, if not more. People still try to achieve a sort of immortality through the arts, and more recently specifically the sciences. However, both the earthly and upper levels are more assimilated into one wider and more inclusive world.
The World has changed dramatically over the past few hundred years, and for good reason too. It is most likely that in a few hundred years from now our perspective of the world will be as outdated as the Elizabethans’ one is today. Some things will likely remain important and highly valued, most probably the arts, while others will pass out of fashion. This, in a broader sense, is the nature of the world.
In the Elizabethan times, religion was a central part of everyone’s (or nearly everyone’s) life. This is reflected in their view of nature as a prominent aspect of how they viewed the world as a whole. From the bottom up, there were the demonic, earthly, upper, and highest levels. Each of these has some relation to the Bible. The demonic level is fairly self explanatory, being Hell. The earthly level is the one that we inhabit. It is then subdivided into a hierarchy is humans, then other animals, then plants. If we happen to be particularly sinful, we are sent to the demonic level. If we take part in the liberal arts, we rise to the upper level. The upper level is paradise, or alternatively the garden of Eden. Elizabethans believed that art remains immortal in this level of existence. The final and highest level is Heaven. One may only enter this level if they have lived a sinless life according to God.
It does not take extraordinary intellect to understand how much the world has changed since the age when this was almost taken for granted. Today we are a much more secular and scientifically analytic society. In a world where a sizable percentage of people are atheists or agnostic and the wide spectrum of religions is generally accepted, it would be impossible to hold onto such a close minded view. The demonic level is accepted only by a minority the people who believe not only in an afterlife, but the possibility of a Hell. The same applies for the highest level of Heaven. The earthly and upper levels are the ones most similar to how we see things today, but with some important differences. In the earthly level, especially in the past 20 or 30 years, the subdivisions of humans, animals, and plants (particularly in that order) have largely been abandoned. What with the environmental crisis we are experiencing, plants and animals are being taken care of much more than they were in the Elizabethan era, and are seen as much more important to protect than they used to be. The upper level is now less of a garden of Eden, but perhaps we still appreciate it as a Heaven of the liberal arts, which are now as valued as they were then, if not more. People still try to achieve a sort of immortality through the arts, and more recently specifically the sciences. However, both the earthly and upper levels are more assimilated into one wider and more inclusive world.
The World has changed dramatically over the past few hundred years, and for good reason too. It is most likely that in a few hundred years from now our perspective of the world will be as outdated as the Elizabethans’ one is today. Some things will likely remain important and highly valued, most probably the arts, while others will pass out of fashion. This, in a broader sense, is the nature of the world.