Entertainment

Entertainment

In the Elizabethan era, there were a wide range of leisure activities entertaining both the nobility and the common classes. Among these leisure activities were animal fighting, team sports, individual sports, games, drama, music and the arts. One of the most popular sports in the entertainment industry (before William Shakespeare's plays) was Bear- Baiting. There would be a bear tied to a post and blindfolded while wild dogs fought at it gruesomely. There would be a man ready to unleash the dogs and a man in charge of switching out wounded dogs for newer ones. As long as one of the animals got hurt it was good enough for the people. You would usually watch a Bear-Baiting match in a pit (normally in a bar) with areas to stand or sit all around it, a bit like wooden bleachers. The entire scene looked similar to an arena or a boxing match in my opinion. Bear- Baiting still continues in various contries such as: Pakistan and in some states in the United States of America e.g. South Carolina. Bear-Baiting is controversial.