Renaissance Period (1485-1660) PDF

The Renaissance Period (1485-1660) Outline for this chapter: Brief history of the Renaissance Period – The War of Roses – The Age of Exploration and Discoveries – The Renaissance – The Reformation Literature during the Renaissance The Selected Texts – William Shakespeare’...

The Renaissance Period (1485-1660) Outline for this chapter: Brief history of the Renaissance Period – The War of Roses – The Age of Exploration and Discoveries – The Renaissance – The Reformation Literature during the Renaissance The Selected Texts – William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Sonnet18, Sonnet 130 Brief History of the Renaissance The Renaissance Period in English literature is also called the Elizabethan Period or the Age of Shakespeare. The Middle Ages in Europe were followed by the Renaissance. Renaissance means the Revival of Learning, and it denotes, in its broadest sense, the gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the darkness of the Middle Ages. During this period, England reached one of the most glorious times in its history. The monarch managed to restore absolute power, whereas the church, which was extremely powerful in the Middle Ages, declined. King Henry VIII of England successfully extricated himself from the authority of the Pope, leading to the Reformation. Brief History of the Renaissance In this period, many events took place, each of which affected the development of English literature in one way or another: – The War of Roses – The Age of Exploration and Discoveries – The Renaissance – The Reformation Brief History of the Renaissance The War of Roses (1455-1485) The first important event is the War of the Roses, which broke out towards the end of the Medieval period. It was a war between the House of Lancaster, symbolized by a red rose, and the House of York, symbolized by a white rose. The cause of the war was the ambition of both Houses to gain complete control over England. The Wars of the Roses ended with the victory of the Lancaster family when their distant cousin, Henry Tudor, claimed the throne. He was crowned as Henry VII, starting the Tudor dynasty. Brief History of the Renaissance This war led to the destruction of many noble families. Those who remained were not as powerful as they had been, as the war made them much poorer. Many serfs and peasants, despite facing challenging conditions, gradually gained more freedoms and economic opportunities. Some became small farmers or merchants running their own businesses. A few even amassed considerable wealth and were able to contribute more significantly to the economy of England. Henry VII began giving titles to people from the middle class, creating a new aristocracy that was faithful to the king above all else. Brief History of the Renaissance Tudor Dynasty: King Henry VII King Henry VIII Queen Elizabeth I This period was ruled by three important monarchs: King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, and Queen Elizabeth I. However, it is mostly known as the Elizabethan Age because it was during her reign that England became most prosperous. Brief History of the Renaissance The Age of Exploration and Discoveries This period was also known as the Age of Exploration and Discoveries. Many explorers were supported by monarchs to make journeys around the world, leading to an increase in overseas trade, imperialist expansion, and colonization. – Christopher Columbus’s expeditions sparked a trend of global exploration. – England and Spain expanded their territories, and the economy shifted from being farm-based to one of international trade. These journeys also led to the questioning of former scientific beliefs, such as the Medieval notion that the earth was flat. All of these factors undoubtedly contributed to the wealth and prosperity of England. Brief History of the Renaissance The Renaissance Another remarkable event that took place in this period and greatly affected literary work is the movement called “The Renaissance.” The term literally means a “rebirth,” perfectly describing the intellectual and economic changes that occurred in Europe from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries. During this period, Europe emerged from the economic stagnation of the Middle Ages and experienced financial growth. Most importantly, the Renaissance was an age in which artistic, social, scientific, and political thought turned in new directions. The main cause of the Renaissance movement was that people began to feel that the world around them was gloomy and oppressive, as they lacked freedom in their lives and were subject to either the powerful church or the nobility. These people wanted to create a place where they could enjoy actual freedom. The spirit of the Renaissance led to a new philosophy of life – Humanism, which revolted against the earlier acceptance of Medieval philosophy and religion. Humanism sought to discover human wisdom rather than the divine wisdom of the Middle Ages. In short, Humanism emphasized man’s abilities rather than God’s, making man – not God – the center of interest. Brief History of the Renaissance The Reformation Apart from the intellectual movement mentioned earlier, there was also a religious movement taking place during King Henry VIII’s reign – The Reformation. Before the Reformation, England followed the Catholic Church. However, during the reign of King Henry VIII, England began to separate from Rome and establish a new religion of her own. King Henry VIII’s dissatisfaction with the Pope reached its peak when the King wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she could not provide him with an heir to the throne and he wished to marry Anne Boleyn. This marriage was not recognized by Rome. In the 1540s, King Henry VIII took this opportunity to declare that the Church in England would be separate from the Catholic Church of Rome. He established the newly formed Church of England, which was no longer subject to the Pope of Rome. Literature during the Renaissance The Elizabethan Age is considered a golden age of English literature since there were a large number of literary works produced in this period. There are many reasons that account for this: – England was prosperous enough to have people who were happy to devote themselves to the production of literary works. – The 16th century was the great age of patronage when writers and artists of all kinds looked to members of the nobility to financial support and friendly encouragement. In the same way, the noble men were was eager to surround themselves with writers. – Queen Elizabeth herself was also a writer and thus it was likely that she would encourage the courtiers to produce literary works. Literature during the Renaissance During the Renaissance, literature moved away from fixed ideas of truth and morality imposed by the Church in the Middle Ages. The writer focused more on redefining the role of man in the cosmos. Renaissance Prose – before the novel Nothing similar to the novel (fiction) – the foundations of modern novels were laid in France and Spain. Most of prose in England appeared in the form of a kind of literary philosophizing or essay writing. Renaissance Poetry Sonnet – originated by Italian poets (Dante and Petrarch) Themes included love, friendship, beauty, the destructive effect of time and the desire for women who are unattainable or who cannot return the poet’s love. Literature during the Renaissance Renaissance Drama Theater became popular for people of all classes Theme based on a radical idea that man chose his own density – exploring many facets of human nature. Famous playwrights included Christopher Marlowe (e.g. Doctor Faustus – the humanist revolution) and William Shakespeare (e.g. Romeo and Juliet / Hamlet/ Macbeth – the unanswerable questions) Characters (all male) Stage – Early period (movable platform) – Late period (permanent playhouses – circular, polygonal / open air/ no stage / very few props/ elaborate costumes/ no break between scenes) The most famous theatre is the Globe (closed down by the Puritans in 1642) Literature during the Renaissance William Shakespeare (1546-1616) Play (Romeo and Juliet) Sonnets (Sonnet 18/ Sonnet 130) Shakespeare’s Play As a playwright, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. Only half of them appeared in print in his life time. His plays were grouped into Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Shakespeare used many different sources for his plays, e.g. works from Roman and Italian writers. Among the main themes of Shakespeare’s plays are the great universal theme of power, love, ambition, the conflict between different generations, war, and death. Literature during the Renaissance Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about two young lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Literature during the Renaissance Romeo and Juliet Literature during the Renaissance Romeo and Juliet Literature during the Renaissance Romeo and Juliet In the excerpt, Romeo looks at Juliet’s beauty in death and declares once more his absolute love for her. Convinced that she is dead, Romeo cannot understand why she is still so beautiful. Unfortunately, he is defeated by time and by his fascination with her beauty in death. His sad fate is that if he had hesitated a few seconds before drinking the poison, the two lovers would not have died. But in a way, it is dying that their love can remain pure and immortal, although lifeless. Literature during the Renaissance The use of second-singular pronoun in Middle English Second-person singular Subject Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive determiner pronoun Modern you you your yours yourself English Middle thou thee thy thine thyself English Literature during the Renaissance General Comprehension: 1. In the first 6 lines, Romeo expresses his great surprise at Juliet’s physical appearance. Why is he so surprised? He is so surprised because Juliet stills looks beautiful (as if she is still alive). 2. Now concentrate on what he says exactly about the way she looks. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones and support your answers quoting from the text. F a. He says that she is not beautiful anymore. ______ T b. He says that her cheeks and lips are still red. ______ F c. He says that she has grown pale. ______  Lines 1-6 Death has sucked the honey of your breath, but it has no power to take away your beauty. You haven’t been conquered and your beauty still remains. Your lips and you cheeks are still red. Death has not turned them pale. Literature during the Renaissance 3. Go back to the plot summary who Tybalt is. What happened to him? Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin. Romeo killed him. 4. Now look at lines 7-11. What does Romeo promise Tybalt he will do? Choose from among the following: a. He will try to find the person who killed him. b. He will revenge him by killing the person who killed him, that is to say himself. c. He will cut him in half  Lines 7-11 Are you lying there, Tybalt? What better favor can I do for you than to kill the man who killed you with the same hand that made you die young? Literature during the Renaissance 5. Juliet’s appearance causes Romeo to think that it is death itself which wishes to preserve her beauty. Find the lines which tell you why, according to Romeo, death wishes to do this? Death wishes to keep her as a lover/ a mistress 6. Now look at lines 16-22. What does Romeo promise Juliet he will do? He will stay beside her. 7. What does Romeo do before pouring the poison into the cup? He kisses Juliet. 8. What happens at the end of the extract? Romeo drinks the poison and dies.  Line 11-15 Should I believe that death is in love with you and that the awful monster wants to keep you as his mistress? Line 16-22 I’m afraid of that, so I will stay beside you. I will remain with the worm that are your chambermaid. I will rest here forever. I will forget about the bad luck that has troubled me. Line 23 onwards Romeo kisses Juliet and drinks poison. Let’s crash the ship of life into the rock (= death) Literature during the Renaissance Structure and Style 1. Focus on dramatic technique used here. Although Romeo is talking to Juliet, she doesn’t reply because she is sleeping. Therefore, it seems that Romeo is speaking to himself. What do you call this device? a dramatic monologue (= a poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character) 2. In this extract Shakespeare uses a number of effective images to talk about death. Rearrange them in the order they appear in the text and underline the exact words Romeo uses. 6 a. Death is like the rocks on which the ship of life destroyed. ______ 3 b. Death is like a horrible monster who wants Juliet as a lover. ______ 1 c. Death is like an insect that sucks sweetness of life away. ______ 5 d. Death is like an everlasting sleep. ______ 4 e. Death is like a dark night. ______ 2 f. Death is like an advancing army which plants its “pale flag” on ______ our bodies. Literature during the Renaissance 3. Now look at line 24. What metaphor does Romeo use to refer to the lips? a metaphor = a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren't alike but do have something in common (lips = a door of breath). 4. Underline the stage directions. What information do they give us about the development of the scene? (kissed JULIET, takes out the poison) (drinks the poison) A stage direction = an instruction in the text of a play indicating the movement, position, or tone of an actor, or the sound effects and lighting. Literature during the Renaissance 5. The audience knows more than Romeo about the actual situation. What effect does this have on us, as we read or watch Romeo’s last scene? Fill in the gap with the right words. alive Romeo’s description of Juliet who seems __________ in death confirms the audience’s knowledge that she is actually still alive. The extra knowledge that the audience has makes Romeo’s ignorance more __________tragic in our eyes, as we cannot do anything with our knowledge. We stop would like to __________ him from drinking the poison but we are completely powerless. This is just __________ the feeling of impotence __________ we have while watching a scene danger but in a film when we know that the hero is in __________ we cannot warn him. Review Four main events during the Renaissance – The War of Roses – The Age of Exploration and Discoveries – The Renaissance – The Reformation Literature during the Renaissance – Prose / poetry/ drama Romeo and Juliet – Plot – The excerpt (which part of the play? / main events?) – Dramatic monologue / metaphor Review: Identify which of the following statements are false and provide the correct version. F _____ 1. Romeo believes that death has completely taken away Juliet's beauty. _____ 2. Romeo observes that Juliet's lips and cheeks still have a crimson color, indicating that she still appears beautiful. _____ 3. Romeo refers to death as having a "pale flag" that is not yet displayed on Juliet. _____ 4. Romeo acknowledges Tybalt lying in a bloody sheet nearby. _____ F 5. Romeo does not feel guilty for killing Tybalt. _____ 6. Romeo wonders if death is keeping Juliet to be its lover. F _____ 7. Romeo decides to leave Juliet and escape from the tomb. _____ 8. Romeo imagines that worms are Juliet's chambermaids in the tomb. _____ 9. Romeo plans to set up his everlasting rest beside Juliet. _____ 10. Romeo calls the poison an "unsavoury guide" and a "desperate pilot" before drinking it. Literature during the Renaissance Shakespeare’s Sonnets Sonnet is a short poem of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme. There are two types of sonnet: The Petrarchan Sonnet (or the Italian Sonnet) and The Shakespearean Sonnet (or the English Sonnet). A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. Literature during the Renaissance Sonnets The Italian Sonnet falls into two main parts: an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines) The octave presents and discusses a problem or idea, and the sestet concludes the idea presented in an octave. The usual rhyme scheme is abba abba cde cde. Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet (Cont.) The Shakespearean Sonnet was a modified form of the Italian sonnet and it was named after its great practitioner – Shakespeare. The stanza of this sonnets falls into three quatrains (1 quatrain = 4 lines) and a concluding couplet (2 lines) The first quatrain serves as the statement of an idea. The second quatrain explains the idea presented in the first quatrain. The third quatrain develops the idea presented in the first two quatrains. The couplet is served as the conclusion of the whole poem. The usual rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean Sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet (Cont.) Shakespeare wrote a lot of sonnets. His sonnets are divided into two groups. The first group (sonnets 1-126) was dedicated to a young man and the second group (sonnets 126-154) to a dark lady. Both the young man and the dark lady are a mystery to us, for we are still never know who these two people are. Most of Shakespeare’s sonnets speak about the themes of love and time, suggesting love outlasts time, and of course, poetry outlasts both. Other themes include beauty, death, friendship, the power of beloved and the suffering of the lover. These are typical theme of time, but Shakespeare’s images have a unique complexity and energy. Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Before we start, can you identify the elements of this sonnet? – Three quatrains – A couplet – A rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg) What literary device is used in the first line? A metaphor (= a word or phrase that is used to make a comparison between two people, things, animals, or places) Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? This sonnet deals with the passing of time (beauty outlast time and poetry outlasts both). The beauty of his beloved can be long lasting because the immortality of poetry. General comprehension 1. Shakespeare starts the sonnet with a question. What does he wonder exactly? Complete the following: The compare poet wonders whether he should _________________ the ‘addressee' (the person he is talking to) to a day in summer _________________ Literature during the Renaissance 2. In the second line, he answers his own question with a remark. What does he say exactly? Complete the following: lovely and more ___________ The ‘addressee’ is more ________ calm 3. From line 3 to 8 he justifies his answer. Rearrange the following in the order they appear in the sonnet: 5 a) Nothing beautiful lasts for long. _____ 2 _____ b) Summer lasts too short a time. 4 c) Even in summer the sun is often covered by clouds. _____ 1 _____ d) The wind shakes the buds from the trees. 3 e) Sometimes summer is excessively hot. _____ Literature during the Renaissance 4. In lines 9-12 the poet makes a promise. What does he promise exactly? Fill in the gaps with the following words: He promises that the addressee's 'summer' will never fade ____________ lose nor ____________ its beauty. Thanks to the die poem, the addressee will never ____________. 5. Now look at the last two lines. What does the poet assert at the end? c) The poem will live forever and will therefore make the addressee immortal. Literature during the Renaissance Structure and Style 1. Concentrate on the form of the sonnet and answer these questions: – How is it structured? Three quatrains/ a couplet – What is its rhyme scheme? abab cdcd efef gg – Is a Petrarchan or Elizabethan sonnet? Elizabethan sonnet 2. The poet makes use of a metaphor to refer to the sun. Can you find it? The sun = the eye of heaven Literature during the Renaissance 3. In sonnets there is sometimes a ‘turning point’. Where is it here and what new argument does it introduce? Stanza 3 = the addressee’s beauty 4. What possessive adjective and verb does the poet attribute to Death? What is this poetic device called? Personification (death = “brag” you in “his” shade) Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun. Before we start, can you identify the elements of this sonnet? – 14 lines – Three quatrains – A couplet – A rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg) Literature during the Renaissance Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun. This sonnet was apparently addressed to a dark lady. Although she was physically unattractive according to the conventions of the day, she was irresistible. False compare = conventional description of beauty / exaggerated comparison. Literature during the Renaissance General Comprehension 1. In this sonnet the beloved woman is described through several comparisons. See if you can in the following table: Lady’s attribute Object compared 1 eyes sun 2 lips coral 3 breast snow hair 4 wires 5 cheeks roses 6 breath perfume 7 voice music 8 Way of walking goddess Literature during the Renaissance 2. Are these comparisons positive or negative? Negative (a unconventional description of beauty) 3. Here is a description of the ‘Dark Lady'. Fill in the gaps with the right word. The lady's eyes are completely different from the sun ____________. coral Her lips are not as red as ____________. Her breasts are of a completely different colour from snow ____________. black Her hair is like____________ wires. Her colour cheeks are of a different ____________ from roses. Her compared to perfume. Her Voice is breath cannot be ____________ pleasant as music. In all probability, she not as ____________ walk doesn’t ____________like a goddess. Literature during the Renaissance Structure and Style 1. What are the structure and rhyme scheme of this sonnet? Three quatrains/ a couplet / abab cdcd efef gg 2. Is it typical of an Elizabethan sonnet? Yes, it is. 3. The Peculiarity of Shakespeare's comparison is that the poet compares the ‘beloved’ to what she is not. Underline all the expressions used to make comparisons (e.g. ‘nothing like’) What kind of effect does this produce on the reader? It ridicules the exaltation of women by other poets. Literature during the Renaissance 4. The turning point of the poem is in line 13. What are the two words that introduce it? And yet, … 5. Now look at the statement expressed in the final couplet. Is it in line with the rest of the poem or does it contradict it? What is the adjective used to describe his love? It contradicts with the rest of the poem. He uses the word “rare” to describe his love. 6. Here is a short text commenting on the poem. Fill in the gaps using the following words. Literature during the Renaissance In this sonnet Shakespeare criticises the idealising tendency of compare the beloved to most Elizabethan love poetry to ____________ the glories of nature. All the comparisons he makes are negative At first this seems to suggest that he is realistic ____________. beautiful according to the about the woman: she is not ____________ ideal criteria of ____________beauty. But it also has the effect of mystery surrounding the woman in ____________. We know only what she is not, and therefore we are unable to picture her. All we black learn about her is that her hair is ____________. She has the quality of a secret that is known only to the poet. Indeed, at the end of the sonnet, the poet seems to declare that he loves his mistress precisely for her uniqueness ____________ which only he can appreciate. The poem thus denies the objectivity of beauty, suggesting instead that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.