Renaissance originated from a French word meaning “rebirth”, (a cultural movement) perfectly describes the intellectual and economic changes that occurred in Europe and also in England through 14th to 17th century. This period is also known as the Elizabethan Era or the Age of Shakespeare in English literature. Literature in this period reflected all the changes of the new era. It introduced new genres, popularly sonnets and impressively a new trend of writing in local languages. It was the time when people thought intensely and wrote strongly. After the invention of printing press in 1439 in Germany, literature became more accessible to more readers.
The Golden Era : The Elizabethan Era
A modern age was being set up, ‘the Elizabethan Age’ named after Queen Elizabeth. Under her rule, the importance of the ‘literary’ works wasn’t taken much into consideration at first however after half of her reign there came an era of formation of a great literature. English Literature flourished the most under her reign during the whole renaissance period. Due to her fondness of literature and arts, they thrived to a great extent and still form a major part of our world of art and literature.
Elizabeth I
Major Characteristics
- an era of peace, economic prosperity, stability and liberty and of great exploration
- variety of unlimited creative force; included many kinds of verse and prose ranges
- often exhibited luxuriance style, which sometimes took the form of elaborate affections
- largely influenced by literature of Italian, French and Spanish
- Era of experimentation
- beginning of English prose fiction writing e.g. many of Shakespeare’s plays
- Lyrical Poetry was an another experimentation, for e.g. ‘The Faerie Queene’ was a very famous lyrical poem by Spenser,
- Drama took over the mysterical plays and it was a new beginning for classical comedy and tragedy dramas
- Regular English tragedy, comedy and historical plays were successfully written
- The literary spirit was all-pervasive, and authors were mostly men at first
Themes/Issues
- Dominated by :
- the spiritual romance
- pastoral elaborations
- nature
- dramatic action
- melodrama
- Political issues such as the division of people into classes
- Religious Peace
Authors
Early authors, writers, dramatists and poets such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Erasmus, John Calvin, Mary Wroth, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, Mary Herbert, Queen Katherine Parr, Jane Anger and many others, are still the acclaimed and influential figures of the Renaissance Era. It witnessed a lot of creativity and experimentation. Their writing included poems, sonnets, plays, stories, translations, prose narratives, diaries etc.
- Edmund Spenser(1552-1599) : ‘The Shepheardes Calender’-1579; ‘The Faerie Queene’
- Ben Jonson (1573-1637) : ‘Sejanus’; ‘Song to Celia”
- Sir Philip Sidney(1554-1586) : the Arcadia - 1590; Astrophel and Stella -1591
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616) : Romeo and Juliet (1594-95) - Romeo and Juliet : Death Scene ; Theatre Play ; Shall I compare thee to a summer's day!
In a nutshell, Renaissance literature has stood the test of time. Each era after the Renaissance has been influenced by the works of great writers. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is famous all around the world. The plays have been adapted for many different movies and are still being adapted for different works. The writing style, the language, the genres have been influencing the present works and will be influencing the times yet to come.
List of works cited
Dates accessed : 02.05.2014-03.05.2014
- prologue pic : http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25510765/Prologue-to-Romeo-and-Juliet
- A History of English Literature by Robert Huntington Fletcher (1918) : pg. 44-54, 56-58, 61-64, 65-73
- National Geographic Almanac of World History : Colonizing a New World; Elizabethan Age
- http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SAYLOR.ORG-ENGL401-ELIZABETHAN-GOVERNMENT.pdf : The Saylor Foundation
Images used from :
“All’s well that ends well” :)
- William Shakespeare
Really informative and accurate and the timeline makes it easy for the reader to follow the years and works of the writers. Pictures of the writers was really nice and skillfully put together. Maybe a bit more variety of detail, such as adding more information about the life during the era. Good job!
ReplyDelete-Meija & Aleksi
this entry has a very nice style, and its really well organized. its also been made very easy to understand and the whole text is very clear. the timeline and pictures a lovely as well.
ReplyDeleteand you used very many sources which is always very good. but maybe the text could have slightly more informal.
-Sandra, Bori & Rita
This blog-post is very aesthetic! I like how your post has a lot of colours and it's enjoyable to read. A bit long, but informative. Good job girls!
ReplyDeleteThe format of you blog is very well organized; the well defined titles clearly indicate the components of the blog which makes it easy to follow. The pictures and colourful timeline makes the blog more appealing. The length or the blog is just right. In my opinion, the formal language really suits the theme of the period and the blog post; it adds a sense of realism. I also love the fact that you had a conclusion, this really helps summarize everything and was useful indeed. Overall, it was very pleasant to read. :)
ReplyDelete- Gauri
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