Literature Survey 1 Part 1

• Here are study notes regarding British Literature

Early Modern & Renaissance History

• The history of British literature and culture encompasses the early modern, Renaissance period between 1485 and 1660.
• It also includes a short outline of pre-medieval, Old English, medieval, and Middle English literature.
• Socio-cultural contexts and literary texts, including poetry, drama, and fiction, are important for a detailed analysis.
• History and literature interact with and shape each other.
• The dating of literary periods is contingent, influenced by reigns of monarchs, political and socio-cultural events, and aesthetic movements.
• Different literary history books list slightly different years or period names to define a hisotircal period.
• The dating of periods called by one and the same name may differ from country to country
• England's Romantic Period: 1789/98–1832/7
• USA's Romantic Period: 1828-1865

Literary Canon Context

• The literary canon is a technical term defining the selection of texts considered "good" or serious literature worthy of academic study.
• The literary canon doesn't exist per se.
• It is constructed.
• Gender, authorship, social hierarchy, and aesthetic judgement also influence what is included.
• For centuries, the field of scholarship and the literary canon were dominated by men.
• Many excellent women writers were excluded from the literary canon.
• Elizabeth Cary's "The Tragedy of Mariam" (1613) was the first original play written by an Englishwoman.
• Double Falsehood: A "badly written” play attributed to the 18th century playwright Lewis Theobald.
• The play may be an adaptation of a lost play co-written by Shakespeare: Cardenio
• Shakespeare's Contemporaries plays were considered "Minor Elizabethan Drama" e.g. Thomas Kyd, Thomas Sackville
• Titus Andronicus: horrible Shakespeare play that scholars tried to deny authorship

The Middle Ages

• The Middle Ages included “Medieval” English Literature from Anglo-Saxon Period: ~450-1066 and Middle English Period (1066-1485)
• The feudal system saw "Church (‚global')" which includes a hierarchy of population.
• The king's power is assisted by the nobility and the high priesthood.
• Below follows the lower nobility (knights etc.), lower priesthood and the wealthy merchant classes.
• These classes are fed and financed by the peasants, farmers etc. who are the biggest social group.
• Cities were extremely dirty with very unhealthy living conditions due to Black Death (Plague)
• The Roman Catholic Church had immense landed property (~30% of medieval England)
• The church held a monopoly of education and literacy.
• The power to decide which knowledge is right or wrong was also held by the church.

The Old English Period to Middle English

• During the "Dark Ages" succeeding the Fall of Rome (476), Germanic/Anglo-Saxon tribes seized power.
• Christianization of the "pagan” culture of ancient Rome occurred.
• The legendary King Arthur and his table round existed around 500 A.D
• Viking invasion (8th/9th century) => Scandinavian influence with the Old Norse as another Germanic vernacular.
• King Alfred the Great (871-900) stops the Vikings, then literature and art flourish.
• 1066 Battle of Hastings: Norman conquest by William the Conqueror ("Billy the Conk")
• In the Old English Period, the Literary system was dominated by poetry and prose.
• Heroic poems such as "The Battle of Maldon", Elgiac poems such as "The Seagfarer" "the wanderer" were popular
• Heroic epos told in verse: Beowulf, Ca. 700 AD; set in Scandinavia
• King Alfred commissioned old English translations of Latin works in the field of religion, philosophy, history
• Vogue of homilies (religious sermons) and saints' lives
• Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum - monk who described Anglo-Saxons as vicious pagan killers and that Christianity shall convert these barbarians
• The Middle English Period was between 1066-1485
• 1066 Norman Conquest shifted “Germanic” Anglo-Saxon to French Culture.
• The taxes were not in form of money, but as whatever was harvested e.g. wheat)
• The Feudal system consisted of a King and Nobles.
• Anglo-Saxons were killed and sometimes exiled and replaced by French nobility so then a New upper class: French aristocratic court culture.
• Norman-French elites spoke Norman-French and English reduced to a vernacular.
• Legal courts and peasants didn't understood the elite language.
• London becomes a capital and commerce centre and universities such as Oxfirdge established
• Catholic monasteries as centres of literacy, latin remained the dominant language

Middle Ages

.Middle English was shaped by French: i.e. a vernacular/Romance language derived from Latin (indirect impact of Latin)

• Latin was rediscovered by the humanist movement during he early modern period
• The Roman influence is reinforced when the Humanists rediscover the Latin tradition of ancient Rome in the Early Modern / Renaissance period.
• A compilation of French and English legends about King Arthur, his table round and the myth of the Holy Grail.
• Popular songs and ballads (narrative poems) were popular
• Layamon, Brut (~1200): first national epic about Britain: King Brutus of Troy
• John Gower (~1330-1408): Mirour de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, Confessio Amantis
• William Langland (~1330-87): Piers Plowman - good Christian life + social satire
• Geoffrey Chaucer (~1343-1400): The House of Fame, Troilus and Criseyde, The Canterbury Tales, The Legend of Good Women
• Italian Renaissance Culture: late 14th century
• Trecento is the 14th century art period while Petrarch died in 1374
• Takes 100-150 years Renaissance culture crosses Alps and travels to the north.
• Poet Petrarch introduces the Italian vernacular rather than Latin as language suitable for literature. This entered the Italian literary canon
• Chancer introduced Middle English into the literary field thendominated by French
• Chancer is considered the Middle english literatute "father"

Chaucers Canterbury Tales

• It's is a collection of tales in verse with a narrative framework
• it resembles Boccaccio's
• Frame narrative and pilgrimage to Canterbury is a story-telling contest
• critical picture of medieval English society occurs with description of social order across classes.
• No consensus about versions of the Tales order Chaucer intended.
• The Miller's Tale begins the trend in succeeding in which is "quite” with 2 middle English meaning repay back.
• A carpenter + wife, affairs, etc.
• Fabliau is a French tradition known as obscene short narritives
• Social satire = society general. church is all-too worldly and vs. medieval world picture
• Wheel of fortune is of religious drama and the danse macabre is vanity, memento mori & the plague.
• The Reformation was driving force of the European renaissance that promoted knowledge and Gutenburg's printing press
• Medieval Religious shapped renaissance drama alongside Miracle and mystery plays
• Miracle Plays involved the staging of biblical miracles, staged in church.
• Gradual secularization occurred, now with performance moving from chirch into popular comedy and drama
• Mystery plays were re-enacted Biblical by local guilds
• localities and religious moments emerged; for example creation to last judgement
• Morality Plays involved allegorical figures where Everyman (mankind) is seduced, falls, repents and is saved by Gof.

Lineage of the throne & Literature

• Dynasty line: Plantagenes/Lancaster (Wars of the Roses)/York claimed to be the Plantiagenent
• Henry Tudor married into House of Lancaster became king.
• Periods of British Literature: Old English/Middle English & Modern British Literature and also known has Early/Modern Renaissance
• "Renaissance”, or “Early Modern" borrowed from the the arts from J Michelet and Jakob Burckhardt.
• Early Tudor Age: Henry VIII, Edward Tudor
• Elizabethan Age: Elizabeth Tutor
• Stuart family: Jacobean Age,Caroline Age & Commonwealth Interregnum,
• Both houses after 1400: side-lines of the Plangtageten claimed to the legitimate line.
• War lead to royalty passing to Henry Tudor who began a new ear for renaissance and early modern
• It takes more than 100 years until Renaissance culture crosses from alps and travels to the north

Henry Tutor

• Henry Tudor unites the fueding forces and created the Tudor Royal dyansty
• Henry 8 transforms kingdom into a major Europower house.
• Tudor England under 8 sees modernization of the army and navy & the construction Royal Court
• Distrubites wealth amond his political elite and relies on absoloute loyalty
• a moden naiton state emerges manages by professional politician rather Medieval king and new gentry
• As money is needed to build the army, a new school systems were created

Thomas Moore

• Reform proved to be the main driven factors in the success of Gutenberg's printing press
• related to money, knowledge arrived and the church was dispossessed
• Henry 8 created new humanist school system available
• Humanism intellectual and classical mvt, new class of political
• important humanist: Thomas Moore appointed to Lord Chancellor rejects the Pope
• Thomas Moore Utopia: satrire that England isn't a common wealth

Shakespeare

• Renaissance meant intellectual and artistic changes were occurring
• New world saw man as focus on new cosmos .A new anthropcentric would could with cosmic spers as man as a hubb
• Renaissance self has display reppresent power
• the early modern period showed focus on display and a need display power after the shift to a public needing to be represented
• at the royal Couirt Henry the Politcal center of the early modern state, Poetry was as means to your ellect and witty

_ - The sonnet with perfecte dby Petraca which sees Wyatt &Surry imoprt it to Engkand

• Sonnets are based on mediu coourly communcation and often follow a convention pattern & challenge

Elizebath the 1

, with he first line is most stricly regulated or restricted,

• socialcutural of Coutly poetry often display their power
• thee Elizabeth Era's poetry was seen as the peak with power poltics which show in the Queen's life with strong an dusefil rule
• Queen Elizabeth the daughter Henry 8 reighds and is often seen as a queen herself, Virgin Queens
• The tudr were very much for arts with all their
• Englsih invasion Spasn see god favour
• Englsihnavy e the greatest superepower ealy modrn rold -Elizabeth portrait w h her right hand rest of the grobe showing Ehgland is ored
• • Shakespeare Sidney in 2nd gernaton
• Sonett were popiar art forms & ovedian
• The English Snonnent had 14 lines/3 quattrine to coupler verse
• the Petrarchan shows woman eomg is compated m stpecious with women duced
• Shakespeare’s sonnet: My mistress is’t are nothing lile the Sun, and Epherimal Life us TImeless Art