lecture 2 Renaissance

Lecture 2
The epoch of humanism.
Elizabethan poetry, drama and fiction.
XVII-th century – the English bourgeois revolution.
John Milton- a poet, prose polemicist and civil servant.
The Restoration literature.

The moral dogmas of church – neglected;
The human being – of a great interest;
The mind of the human being – free; new concepts;
The lack of knowledge – the real data +poetic fantasies.
1. The Renaissance

Historical background
16th century – the Renaissance period;
1485-1603 – the royal House of Tudor;
Queen Elizabeth I - 1558-1603;
The brilliant literary output of the Elizabethan Age;
1476 – William Caxton – the first printing press in England;
More books – at a far lower cost;
Literacy increased – the desire to read;

Historical background
The 1500s – English scholars + European scholars – rediscovered the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome;
New literary forms: the essay –France, the sonnet - Italy;
1588 – the English fleet defeated the mighty Spanish Armada;
Distant lands – explored and colonized;
London – a great commercial and cultural center.

Literacy
Francis Bacon – the founder of materialism and experimenting science;
The early Renaissance – Thomas More – coined the word “utopia” – “the Utopian alphabet” – an early attempt at cryptography;
Edmund Spenser – the allegorical representation of the Tudor Dynasty – “Faerie Queene”;
John Milton – the retelling of mankind’s fall from paradise – “Paradise Lost”

Literacy
Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare – composed theatrical representations;
Sonnets – madrigals (songs for several singers without musical instruments);
Thomas Morley – collections in the Italian manner with a unique Englishness

2. Poetry
The lyric – Thomas Campion, “Books of Airs”
A short poem with a poet’s personal emotions
Narrative poetry – William Shakespeare, “Venus and Adonis” and Edmund Spenser, “The Faerie Queene”

2. Poetry
The sonnet – Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the sonnet; The Earl of Surrey modified the form from Petrarka’s ababcdcdcdecde to ababcdcdefefgg; white verse
A 19-line poem;
Italian sonnet and English sonnet – different arrangement of the rhymes

Sonnet
William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser – sonnet sequences – sonnets to ‘a dark lady’; “Amoretti”
Philip Sidney – a master of sonnet; a cycle “Astrophil and Stella”; “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia” (W. Shakespeare–for “King Lear”) - the Greek model

Drama
1575 – James Burbage – first playhouse, “The Theatre”;
Thomas Kyd – “The Spanish Tragedy”;
The “University Wits” – Christopher Marlowe, George Peele, Robert Greene, Thomas Nashe;
Benjamin Johnson – creator of comedy of manners – the satire of daily life with one feature pointed out;

Drama
John Lyly – popularized a highly artificial and elegant style - “The Anatomy of Wit”;
Pastorals – stories about the romantic adventures of shepherds - Th. Sydney and J. Lyly;
1599 - “Globe Theatre”- built by actors for actors - “Julius Caesar”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
“The Bard of Avon”;
4 periods: comedies-tragedies- tragedies – tragicomedies (romances);
154 sonnets; two contrasting series –’the dark lady’ and ‘the fair youth’;

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Elaborate metaphors, rhetoric language;
Standard poetic form – blank verse – unrhymed verse with 10 syllables to a line, stress on every second syllable; composed in iambic pentameter

3. XVII-th century – the time of contradictions between classes
1603- King James I of England – the House of Stuart;
1625- Charles I ascended to the throne – conflicts between the monarchy and Parliament;
1642 – Civil War broke out – Cavaliers (the King’s followers) and Puritans (Parliament’s supporters)

Literature during the Stuart period
Metaphysical poets – John Donne, Abraham Cowley, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell – intellect rather than emotions; wit, subtle argumentations; unusual similes and metaphors;
Cavalier poets – Thomas Carew, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling – dashing love poetry;

Literature during the Stuart period
Jacobean drama – violent actions and revenge themes – John Webster’s “The Duchess of Malti”; satirical comedies;
The quality of drama – declined;
1642 – closing of theatres (for 18 years)

4. John Milton (1608-1674)
Poetry and prose – the reflection of deep religious convictions, reacting to contemporary circumstances;
Epic poem “Paradise Lost” – its sequel “Paradise Regained”;
The eloquent treatise “Areopagitica”( used during the drafting of Constitution of the USA);
The influence of Milton’s poetry on the Romantic era (W. Wordsworth, Mary Shelley’ “Frankenstein”);
Coined many words- dreary, self-esteem, jubilant, acclaim, etc.;
1928 – The John Milton Society for the Blind

5. The Restoration period
(1660-1700)
A strong reaction against a strict moral code of the Puritans – reflection of relaxed morality in works;
John Dryden – “Marriage a la Mode” – a comedy, “All for Love” – a tragedy;
Dryden’s literal criticism – a brilliant analysis of W. Shakespeare’s works