Shakespeare's Restless World 16. A Time of Change, a Change of Time
May 7, 2012
A rare 1598 domestic clock and its novel minute hand reveal how timekeeping transformed city life. The rise of public bells and urban schedules shaped punctuality, theatre rhythms and social control. Clock metaphors and onstage strikes are linked to dramatic tension and changing attitudes. Immigrant clockmakers and plague, plus a poem comparing Elizabeth I to a clock face, highlight cultural upheaval.
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Clocks Made Minutes Audible
- Mechanical domestic clocks introduced a new audible sense of minutes to Elizabethan life.
- Shakespeare uses clock imagery to show modern self-awareness of time in plays like Richard II.
The 1598 Vallin Home Bell Tower
- Neil MacGregor describes a 1598 domestic clock in the British Museum made by Flemish refugee Nicolas Vallin.
- The clock is a portable iron-and-brass bell tower with thirteen small bells and a large hour bell, dated 1598.
Bells Broadcast Urban Rhythm
- Domestic clocks mirrored public belfries and echoed municipal timekeeping within homes.
- Church and civic bells in London broadcast an audible pulse that coordinated urban life and activities.