The Renaissance in English Literature (1485-1625)

1. The Renaissance in English Literature (1485-1625)

2. The Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)

Named after Queen Elizabeth I who
reigned from 1558 to 1603. Her
rule was so long and illustrious
that the whole period of
history and the magnificent
literature it produced came to
be termed after her.

3. The Renaissance (“rebirth” in French) A Time of Action, Invention, and Discovery

• Views and values: humanism,
individualism, energy, optimism, selfawareness, pride in nation
• Renaissance hero: multi-talented, selfdeveloping, dignified, honourable, welleducated, good in fighting and politics
• Themes: human pride, ambition, time,
death, religious subjects

4. Notable Authors:

Tomas Nash
Sir Francis Bacon
Tomas More
Edmund Spenser
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare

5. Elizabethan Drama

Dramatists:
• Nicolas Udal, John Lily – comedies
• Tomas Norton, Tomas Sackville - tragedies
• Christipher Marlowe – historical play
(“Edward II”, “The Jew of Malta”, “Doctor
Faust”)

6. Major literary forms:

• poetic drama (comedy,
tragedy)
• historical play
• sonnet
• essay

7. BASIC TERMINOLOGY

• comedy - a form of literature that deals with
life in a humorous or satiric manner
• tragedy - a literary work in which the character
is destroyed by forces beyond his or her
control
• historical play - a sub-genre of drama that uses
historical figures, groups of people or events as
a subject matter

8.

• sonnet - a poem consisting of fourteen
lines of iambic pentameter (Shakespearean
sonnet consists of three quatrains and a final
rhyming couplet)
• essay - a piece of prose that expresses an
individual’s point of view; usually it is a
series of closely related paragraphs that
combine to make a complete piece of
writing

9. Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)

Known as the “prince of poets”
who invented nine-line stanza.
• The Faerie Queene
• Shepherd’s Calendar
* stanza - a division of poetry named for the
number of lines it contains

10. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618)

Poetry:
• The Lie
• The Soul’s Errand
Prose:
• The Discovery of the Empire of Guiana

11. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

Named by critics the father of English tragedy.
Tragedies:
• Tamburlaine
• The Jew of Malta
• The Tragical History of
Dr. Faustus
Poem:
• The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

12. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Essays:
• Essays and Counsels
• The Advancement of Learning
Famous quotation:
“Knowledge and human power are
synonymous” (“Knowledge is power”)

13. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Playwright (36 plays):
• tragedies
• comedies
• historical plays
Poet:
• 154 sonnets
• 2 long narrative poems:
Venus and Adonis
The Rape of Lucrece