Transcript The English Renaissance: Celebrating Humanity

The English Renaissance:
Celebrating Humanity
1485-1625
Life in Elizabethan and Jacobean England
London expanded greatly as a city
People moved in from rural areas and
from other European countries
Strict class system
Busy and crowded;
lots of commerce,
craftsmen
Not a clean or safe city—“The
Thames was a beautiful sewer”
(224) and disease and criminals
ran rampant
Grew into substantial port and
admired European city
Southwark: suburb known for its
“vice” – theaters, gaming,
prostitution, etc.
Renaissance = rebirth
Rebirth of:
•interest in learning, especially that of ancient Greece and
Rome
•civilization in general
•arts and sciences
Reaction to “Dark Ages” of medieval Europe
Historically speaking…
UK
represent!
Exploration by sea: John Cabot, 1497
Religious rifts:
New sense of nationalism prompted many to
question ethics in and teachings of Church
Questioning of Papal authority and Scripture
Erasmus (Dutch) – version of New Testament
Thomas More – Utopia
Protestant Reformation sparked by Martin
Luther’s 95 theses
The Monarchy:
strengthening themselves and the nation
Henry VII:
•Catholic
•Restorer of national economy and prestige of
monarchy
Henry VIII:
•Catholic, at first…
•Supports Pope against religious dissenters (“Defender of
the Faith”)
But…
•Church’s refusal to annul his marriage leads him to break from Catholic
faith
•Dissolves Church ownership of property, monasteries
•Has Thomas More executed for refusing to renounce Catholic faith
•Marries 6 times
•Fathers Elizabeth and Mary; has a son, Edward, with his 3rd wife,
Jane Seymour
More Tudor action…
Edward, Henry VIII’s son, rules from the ages
of 9-15 (whatever; that’s like a 7 grader ruling your country)
th
Parliament drastically changes religious practices
•English replaces Latin
•Book of Common Prayer required in public worship
England is on its way to becoming a Protestant nation until…
We’re
back,
baby!
Mary I takes throne
•Restores Roman practices to Church of England
•Restores authority of Pope over English Church
•Known as “Bloody Mary” for ordering execution
of about 300 Protestants
Mary rules for 5 years, and then…
Cate Blanchett
Elizabeth I takes the throne!
•Classically educated; patron of the arts
•Reinstated monarch’s rule over Church of England,
ending religious turmoil
•Established climate of religious compromise
•Known as one of the best rulers in English history
•Spoiler alert! Dies in 1603
Hey, I wonder if that’s where
they got the name for the
Elizabethan period…
Elizabeth…
arrgh…
The Mary Stuart problem:
I rule!
(literally and
figuratively)
•Catholics considered Mary Stuart, Queen of
Scotland, rightful heir to throne of
England (marriage annulment issues)
•Imprisoned by cousin, Elizabeth, for 18 years
•Hatched numerous Catholic plots against her
•Elizabeth let her live, punished Catholics
•Parliament insisted on beheading Mary in 1587
Life after Elizabeth…
James I
the Stuarts
(well, James VI of Scotland, but James I of England)
•Son of Mary Stuart
•Named by Elizabeth as her successor
•Protestant
Hey, I wonder if that’s where
they got the name for
•“Jacobean” era (from Latin for James)
Jamestown…
•Expanded England’s position as world power (colony in VA)
•Believed in “divine right” of monarchs
•Power struggles with Parliament
•Persecuted Puritans (who migrated to Plymouth
Colony)
I may have
divine right, but
this outfit is just
wrong…
Smell
you
later,
Jimmy!
Finally, the good stuff…
Renaissance Poetry
Lyric over narrative poetry
Sonnets! Yeah!
Sonnet cycle: A series of sonnets, usually fit loosely
together to form a story
 Heavy hitters: Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser,
Shakespeare
 Two major rhyme schemes: Petrarchan/Italian and
Shakespearean
 Shakespearean rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg

Psst! Sonnet: 14 lines,
iambic pentameter,
various rhyme schemes.
Word!
Psst! Lyric poem:
a short poem with
one speaker (not
necessarily the
poet) who
expresses thought
and feeling.
Many sonnets consist of 8 lines
setting up one idea, 4 lines
responding to that idea, and a
concluding couplet at the end.
Rock and roll!
Pastoral poetry
•Idealized rustic simplicity of rural life
•Heavy hitters: Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter
Raleigh
I’m a poet, soldier,
explorer, historian and
member of the Royal
Court. Phew! It’s tiring
being a true
Renaissance man!
Hey, I wonder if
that’s where they
got the name for
Raleigh, NC…
Renaissance Drama
Turned away from religious focus and toward classical Greek
and Roman tragedies and dramas
Christopher Marlowe: First major dramatist
(1580s)
Shakespeare (1564-1616)
•Started as actor
•Famous playwright by 1592
•37 Plays: most can be categorized as
tragedy, comedy, or history
•Deep understanding of what it
means to be human helps maintain
popularity
And I might have gotten credit for stuff you wrote!
Too bad!
People say that if
I’d lived past 30 I
might have
eclipsed
Shakespeare as
England’s
greatest
playwright!
Dang!
Renaissance Prose
Not as popular as poetry
Which is the
more satisfying
bacon:
pioneering
English author
or tasty
breakfast meat?
Heavy hitters:
Sidney, Raleigh and Thomas Nashe
Sir Francis Bacon: essays, science, philosophy
King James Bible
•Translated Latin Bible into English
•Huge achievement—probably most important in
English Renaissance
•54 scholars worked 7 years!
•Influential, used to this day
Important Dates

1485: Thomas More publishes Utopia

1534: Church of England established

1535: Thomas More executed

1549: The Book of Common Prayer issued

1558: Elizabeth I becomes Queen

1563: 20,000 Londoners die in Plague

1564: Shakespeare is born!
Important Dates (Cont.)

1594: Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet

1599: The Globe Theater opens

1603: Queen Elizabeth I dies; James I becomes
King of England.

1606: Guy Fawkes executed for Gunpowder Plot

1607: Royal Colony of Jamestown established

1611: King James Bible published

1620: Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock

1625: King James I dies.