Treatment of the poor changed in the Elizabethan period due to the categorisation of the poor. There were 3 categories for the poor ion Elizabethan England. There were the helpless poor, people who couldn’t do anything about their situation like disabled people. Then there were the deserving poor who wanted to excel in life but haven’t had many opportunities to do so. Lastly, there were the undeserving poor who were people like criminals. This categorisation transformed the way that society saw the poor, from being all just one category, people were placed into these 3 categories to help identify how worthy they are of help. This made people feel more sympathetic to the living conditions of the helpless and deserving poor as they don’t belong in poverty and should have the opportunity to excel. This shift in understanding helped people to give less harsh treatments on the helpless and deserving which is why the treatment of the poor changed in the period 1558-88. Another reason for the change in treatment of the poor during the Elizabethan era was the introductions of poor relief. This was different plans and schemes which made life easier for the helpless and deserving poor. If they could work, then they would be found a job which pays a stable income. If the person cannot work then they will have separate treatments and guidance plans on how to escape poverty. This is important as people were starting to not only understand, but also take action for helping the helpless and deserving poor. The different poor relief laws helped the helpless and deserving people in poverty get back to work or receive extra support from the government. Even though the treatment of the helpless and deserving poor changed positively during the Elizabethan era, the undeserving poor received harsh treatment from the poor laws which were put into action. For example, the poor laws of 1563, they said that whipping the undeserving poor in public was perfectly legal. Another poor law in 1576 stated that a poor person should be sent to prison if thy do not accept to work. This shows that the undeserving poor were receiving harsh treatment and as the 16th century goes on, these laws became even more strict, in the aim of completely removing the undeserving poor.