About the English Renaissance Period
Queen Elizabeth I ranks as the most important authority of the English Renaissance Renaissance period. The English Renaissance Renaissance Period, Period, which took place during the !th !th and "th centuries, has become well#known for its in$uential literature. Queen Elizabeth stood at the helm of the mo%ement and sponsored many of its greatest artists. &illiam 'hakespeare 'hakespeare also created his inestimable oeu%re during this epoch.
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Queen Elizabeth I . Quee Queen n Eliz Elizabe abeth th,, alon alongsi gside de 'ha 'hak kespe espear are, e, was was the the pri princ ncip ipal al (gu (gurre of the Renaissance epoch. 'he was born in 'eptember )** as the daughter of +enry II. 'he took to the throne at the age of -), yet ne%er took a husband. rts $ourished under her rule and patronage. 'he was the (rst English royal to grant permission for professional theaters to be erected, pa%ing the way for the /ard. Poet Edmund 'penser paid tribute to Elizabeth in 0The 1aerie 1aerie Queene0 2)34, )3!5. Shakespeare -.
&ill &illia iam m 'ha 'hak kespe espear are e sta stand nds s out out as as the the semi seminal nal writ writer er of the the English Renaissance and the greatest playwright of any era. /orn in pril )!6 in 'tratford#upon#%on, 'tratford#upon#%on, his (rst play is reputed to ha%e been 0The 7omedy of Errors,0 Errors,0 performed in )3-. +e began
leadership of the acting troupe 8ord 7hamberlain9s men in )36, whose celebrated :lobe Theater was built (%e years later. The company performed many plays considered to be classic today, including 0 ;idsummer
Other Notable Playrights *.
'hakespeare9s reign did not pre%ent other e>cellent dramatists from producing work. 7hristopher ;arlowe, for instance, became regarded as the father of tragedy for his plays such as 0=octor 1austus0 2)??5 and 0The @ew of ;alta0 2)?35. nother of 'hakespeare9s contemporaries and friends, /en @onson, released plays that ha%e endured to the present, including 0E%ery ;an in his +onour0 2)3?5 and 0The lchemist0 2!45. 1rancis /eaumont, @ohn 1letcher, Thomas Ayd and @ohn &ebster are among the other signi(cant (gures of the day.
!a"or Renaissance Poets 6.
/esides 01aerie Queene0 writer 'penser, the Renaissance welcomed a sizable assemblage of praised poets. 'ir Thomas &yatt was credited with introducing the sonnet form ## pre%iously most associated with Italian writing ## into the literature of the English language. The era is also known for two indi%idual mo%ements of poetryB metaphysical and ca%alier. @ohn =onne, :eorge +erbert and @ohn ;ilton ha%e come to represent the comple> metaphysical formC the more ornate ca%alier style was embodied best by writers such as Richard 8o%elace.
Renaissance Period O#er#ie
0Renaissance0, 1rench for 0rebirth0, utterly describes the intellectual and economic changes that occurred in Europe and also England. &hen referring to England, the Renaissance made its biggest impact between the years of )44 and !44. The Renaissance in England can be categorized in three sectionsB the growth of the Renaissance under early Tudor monarchs 2)44# ))?5, clima> of the Renaissance under Elizabeth I 2))?#!4*5, and weakening of Renaissance by 'tuart monarchs 2!4*#!635. =uring this period known by this name, Europe arised from the economic depression of the ;iddle ges and e>perienced a time of (nancial astronomical growth. lso importantly, the Renaissance was a period that became the turning point for artistic, social, scienti(c, and political thought. ;any people share the %iew that a renaissance like this one seemed radiant, optimistic, and forward#looking. 8ikewise, others ha%e %iewed the Renaissance as a time of uncommonly dire strain that disrupted the English society and aDected e%ery one. The awakening of new possibilities and new doubts somehow ga%e the literature of England its unmatched %igor.
$iterature and the Renaissance
Elizabeth I o% England
Stuart &ing 'a(es )I o% Scotland *'a(es I o% England+
The Elizabethan and early 'tuart periods ha%e been recognized as being one of the greatest century of all in human history because of the period9s brilliant achie%ements. Elizabeth I ruled from )?? until her death in !4*. +er successor was the 'tuart Aing @ames I of 'cotland, who took the title @ames I of England in addition to his other remarkable titles. English literature of his reign as @ames I from !4* to !-) is be(ttingly dubbed @acobean. The time of his rule produced a multitude of authors of genius, some of whom ha%e ne%er been surpassed. ther authors that were not well#known still had the same ability to write with eloFuence, imagination, and enthusiasm. The Renaissance made a big impact on English 8iterature. This was manifested in the poetry of &yatt and 'urrey, who instituted and nglicized, an italian %erse form that has been %ery popular in English. Intricate Renaissance standards of lo%e poetry were adopted.
Idea*s+ o% the Renaissance The word renaissance in itself means 0rebirth0, which originated from a 1rench word. The idea of rebirth came about when Europeans thought that they had (gured out what made the :reek and Roman culture so superior to to other Gust after centuries of scholastic and cultural decline. The supreme intellectual mo%ement during the Renaissance both in England and Italy, was humanism. +umanism was based on the idea that human are le%elheaded beings. It stressed the respectability and importance of indi%iduals, a force crucial to the de%elopment of the Renaissance in many areas. +umanism came about from classical culture. The name itself originated because one of
the period9s maGor concerns for an educational curriculum aimed toward subGects of studia humanitatis , or humanities.
Renaissance Authors , their -orks 8yric poetry and song were one of the things that succeeded during Elizabethan England. ne of the most famous songwriters was Thomas 7ampion. +is (%e collections of songs alongside 0lute0 accompaniment was made a%ailable to all social groups. Hndoubtedly, the Elizabethan period was the pinnacle of drama. 'ome of the greatest dramatists at the time were 7hristopher ;arlowe, &illiam 'hakespeare, and /en @onson. In addition to these writers, there were dozens of other (ne writers including ones that were knighted, including 'ir Thomas &yatt, and 'ir &alter Raleigh.. /lank %erse became the standard by which these dramatists used to construct their literary works, especially in the areas of tragedy and comedy. 'e%eral of 'hakespeare9s tragedies such as Hamlet, and Macbeth were written using blank %erse as was his comedies.
hristo pher !arlo e
-illia( Shakespeare
/en 'ohnson
!a"or E#ents o% the Renaissance
Sir 0ho(as -yatt
Sir -alter Raleigh
Hnder the reign of +enry III 2)43#)6"5, the population of England increased, feudalism was 0dead0, and a counntrywide mo%ement of the people to large cities and towns. The enclosure at the time pro%ided impetus for the mo%ement. The e>pansion of knowledge was facilitated by the in%ention of the printing press and better methods of manufacturing paper. mong the most earliest e%ents taking place in England was the introduction of humanism into >ford uni%ersities during the 634s and )44s.
