Transcript The Renaissance Period 1485-1660

The Renaissance Period
1485-1660
The Renaissance
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Rebirth of intellectual and artistic ideals
which characterized ancient Greek and
Roman civilizations
Achievements in cultural and intellectual
capacities and the visual arts flourished
The Renaissance
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Italy was the center of the Renaissance, it
then spread to England and beyond
Humanism
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Focused on seeking human perfection
Humanists wanted to train people to
speak and write with eloquence and clarity
They sought to add grammar, poetry,
rhetoric, history and philosophy to the
Medieval style of education which was
logic and reason
Henry VIII
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After the stability of Henry VII came the
turmoil of Henry VIII
Henry VIII
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In the beginning of the 16th Century the
Protestant Reformation took place- Martin Luther
nailed his 95 theses to the church door
This was done in attempt to reform the Catholic
church which was viewed as corrupt
It fractured Christianity and began a new branch
called Protestantism
Henry VIII
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Henry took the fracture within the church
as a chance to defy the pope, who would
not grant him a divorce from his first wife,
Catherine of Aragon, who failed to
produce a male heir
He divorced her and then married Anne
Boleyn
Henry VIII
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After the pope excommunicated him
because of the divorce, Henry seized the
church’s assets, declared himself the
Supreme Head of the Church of England
and passed the Act of Supremacy
This act gave the king supremacy over the
church
This power makes him brutal
Henry VIII
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Sir Thomas More, the center of a circle of
humanists, was a counselor to Henry VIII
He disagreed with Henry’s split from the
Catholic church and refused to accept him
as the Supreme Head
Henry imprisoned him in the Tower of
London and then beheaded him
Edward VI
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After the death of Henry VIII in 1547- his
9 year old son Edward VI becomes king
Known as “The Boy King,” he is very sickly
The country is ruled by a council of senior
officials
Edward died at the age of 15
Mary
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After Edward’s death, Mary becomes
queen- she is the daughter of Catherine of
Aragon
Mary is a devout Catholic
Wife of Phillip II
Bloody Mary
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Known as Bloody Mary for her treatment
of Protestants at this time
She tried to bring the country back to
Catholicism, if any Protestant refused she
executed them
Roughly 275 people were
killed
Elizabeth I
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After 5 years on the throne, Mary died and
Elizabeth I was named Queen
She is strong, smart and independent and
leads the country back to a national unity
Elizabeth I
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She was a great patron of the arts
Elizabeth also condoned piracy- Sir Francis Drake,
acting under her authority, began raiding Spanish ships
1588 Spanish Armada sailed against England but was
defeated
http://movieclips.com/6btj-elizabeth-movie-elizabeth-speaks-withqueen-mary/
Important Literary Figures
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Edmund Spenser- “Faerie Queene” written
for Elizabeth
Sir Philip Sydney
Christopher Marlowe
Ben Jonson
William Shakespeare
Evolution of Drama
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In the Medieval era drama was used
almost exclusively for moral instruction.
Often Medieval dramas were allegorical
and religious.
Drama was closely linked with the church.
Drama in the Renaissance
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Not only for moral instruction
Characters have more internal conflict and
depth
Plays are less religious
Writers move focus to the beauty of
language and poetry
Shakespeare’s Dramatic Patterns
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Tragic Structure
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Exposition
Problem
Rising Action
Climax
Resolution
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Recurring Patterns
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Contrasting worlds
Rise of one person at the
expense of another
Disguises and deceptions
The supernatural
Redemption
Characters who are
opposites (foils)
Characters facing similar
situations