Downton Abbey, a British period drama television show, aired
its fourth season on Sunday January 5th in the United States. The
series follows the Crawley family and their servants as they react to
events of
the early 20th century. Some events being, the Titanic’s sinking in first
season, the outbreak of the First World War, the Spanish influenza pandemic,
and the Marconi scandal in the second seasons, the Interwar period and the
formation of the Irish Free State in the third season, and the Teapot Dome scandal
in the fourth season.
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| Downton Abbey Series Poster |
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| Highclere Castle |
But does the show have some Renaissance influences in it? Of
course it does! The main one being their set. Downton Abbey is filmed in the
Highclere Castle in southern London. Although the castle wasn’t built in the
Renaissance, it was built in 1839 which was just in time to use the architectural
style named the Jacobethan style. This
style is commonly referred to as a Renaissance Revival style using influences
from both the building styles of the Jacobean Era and the Elizabethan Era (both
happening during the Renaissance). Hence the name, Jacobethan. Highclere Castle
is built in this style of architecture. The Renaissance inspired architecture
almost 200 years after it ended. This architecture still being used today,
almost 400 years after this era, in television shows like Downton Abbey.
I found this intriguing because we discussed in class how the people of the Renaissance focused on the past, present, an future and they definitely influence the future through all outlets.
Sources:
I like how you did not directly link two pieces of information from what we have learned in class and a personal connection. Instead, you went deeper and connected a style we learned about and a show that is popular on TV. I liked how you carefully connected these two things while adding pieces of new information in at the same time, but not overdoing it. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you connected a popular TV show to elements of history and things we had studied in class. We did focus on the fact that people in the Renaissance looked to the future, and this connects very nicely. It is amazing that things like an architectural style can affect us in the modern world in such a way. I might've liked to hear some of the specific hallmarks of the Jacobethan style. Overall, I really liked this post. Great job!
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