Renaissance and Reformation

Characteristics and Impact on English Literature

Reformation
Important religious and political movement Started in most of the European countries in 16th century To reform the abuses in Catholic Church Revolt against Roman papacy Various ups and downs Shattered the supreme and unrivalled position of Pope An attempt at taking Christianity back to the original glory of Jesus Christ and Holy Bible

Reformation
First started in Germany by Martin Luther early 16th century ( Protestant Movement) Then in France, Switzerland and England England-chief initiator was Henry VIII Reasons: Corruptions in the Church; hostility of the English kings and John Wycliffe Effects: Multifariousmost imp. Secularization of thought

Royal Families of England

Norman (1066-) Plantaganet (1154-) Lancaster (1399-) York (1461-) Tudor (1485-) Stuart (1603-) Hanover (1714-1901) Windsor (1901/1917-present)

Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Tudor dynasty (1485-1603)- Tudoresque/Tudor style Children Mary, Elizabeth, EdwardEach became a Monarch ( Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I) Reformation started in Henry VIII reign Pope didnt accede Archbishop of Canterbury supported---breaking away of England from Roman Catholic ChurchHenry, Head of the ChurchThomas Cromwell---Monasteries dissolved--

Reformation
Religion: Gave England its Bible and its Book of prayers. Genuine Protestantism made its first appearance in literature ( Cambridge scholars: William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, Thomas Cranmer and Hugh Latimer) Puritanism of England and in English literature Influenced Milton, Spenser; Edward Hall, John Stow and John Speed ; Hugh Latimer, John Foxe , John Knox Poetry was less ( exceptions in Milton and Spenser both reformation and Renaissance); Drama suffered. Prose flourished Reformation delayed the arrival of renaissance

Summary
When Henry became king in 1509, the church in England was as follows: Head of the Church: the pope based in Rome Church services: all were held in Latin Prayers: all said in Latin Bible: written in Latin -Priests: not allowed to marry By the death of Henry in 1547, the church in England was as follows : Head of the Church : the king Church services : held in Latin Prayers: most said in Latin. The "Lords Prayer" was said in English Bible: written in English--- Priests: not allowed to marry. To reform means to change. This is why this event is called the English Reformation as it did change the way the church was run throughout England. However, the death of Henry in 1547 did not see an end of the religious problems of England.

The Renaissance
French wordRebirth Revival of art and literature in Europe in 14,15 and 16th centuries based on ancient Greek learning Transition from Middle ages to modern world Awakening from darkness of medieval period to light and dawn of modern era Revolt against medieval dogma , ecclesiastical tradition, authority of Church, all that faltered free play of interests and impulses, prejudice , routine and stupidity Revolt rather than rebirth W.J.Long: the revival of art resulting from the discovery and imitation of classic models in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

 1453Constantinople fell to the Turks Latin and Greek scholars fled with their books and manuscripts Helped revival of classical learning and languages Discovery of America Copernicus prepared the way for Galileo Books printed; philosophy, art, science vivified

 Humanismman discovered himself and the universe Individualism; dignity of human personality realised Rediscovery of classical antiquity Scientific outlook Universities and court doors for renaissance to enter England All branches of literature was influenced

 Period of preparation ( 1500-1570) : Youth Elizabethan period ( 1579-1602) : manhood Jacobean period ( 1603-1625) : middle age Caroline Period ( 1625-1660) : old age Efflorescence appeared in Elizabethan period fullness of national life, passion for knowledge, spirit of daring adventures, ambition to achieve great things

 Through a generation of conflict in which the enemy had been foreign, Catholic and dangerous, English people had come to identify their Church and Protestantism, as a cornerstone of their identity.

Renaissance
Yearning for immense/limitless knowledge/ intellectual curiosity Learning without fretters Spirit of adventure Hankering after sensual pleasures of life Lust for power and pelf Love for beauty, richness and magnificence Love for classical learning Air of seriousness, moral teaching, idealizing virtue Weakness of renaissance ( love for beauty, luxury, richness, sensuousness)

Renaissance (1500-1600) 1558-1603 (Elizabethan)

Sir Phillip Sydney, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, William Shakespeare ( greatest in the field of drama) Wyatt and Surreylyricslyrical forms properly shaped--continued

Sir Philip Sydney (1554-1586)

Poet, courtier, soldier Astrophell and Stella, The Defense of Poesy, The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia ARCADIA: The work is a romance that combines pastoral elements with a mood derived from the Hellenistic model of Heliodorous. In the work, that is, a highly idealised version of the shepherd's life adjoins (not always naturally) with stories of jousts, political treachery, kidnappings,battles, and rapes. As published in the sixteenth century, the narrative follows the Greek model: stories are nested within each other, and different storylines are intertwined. The work enjoyed great popularity for more than a century after its publication

Christopher Marlowe
University Wits Embodiment of renaissance spirit Unlimited knowledge, power, wealth Aesthetic side / Imaginative side : Love of physical beauty, pleasures of the senses, infinite longing for truth Doctor Faustusdissatisfied with conventional sphere of knowledge; towering ambition to become a deity;

Christopher Marlowe (baptized 1564-died 1593)

Doctor Faustus
Philosophy is odious and obscure, Both law and physic are for petty wits, Divinity is basest of the three. He wants to attain super human power, like Renaissance man, which can only be gained by necromancy. For him A sound magician is mighty God. So he declares his intention in these words: Here, Faustus, tire thy brain to gain a deity.

Doctor Faustus
Bargains with the devil to achieve his goal. He is ready to pay any price for the attainment of his purpose. Although, his conscience pricks him and there are Good and Evil angels who warn him against the danger of damnation, he cannot resist the temptation . As the true embodiment of Renaissance spirit, starts dreaming of gaining super-human powers and performing miraculous deeds with the help of the spirits raised by him.

 Ill have them fly to India for gold, Ransack the ocean for orient pearl, I ll have them read me strange philosophy, And tell the secrets of all foreign kings. And finally, we find Faustus discarding God and defying all religious and moral principles, when he sells his soul to the devil to master all knowledge and to gain limitless powers. He says Ay and Faustus will turn to God again: To, God? He loves thee not The God thou servst is thine own appetite.

 Just after making the agreement with the devil for twenty four years of worldly pleasures, and his first desire is that of the most beautiful woman. He asks Mephistophilis Let me have a wife, The fairest maid in Germany. For I am wanton and lascivious, And can not live with-out a wife.

Love and adoration for classical beauty

Was this the face that launchd a thousand ships And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss! Her lips suck forth my soul; See where flies it! Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again, Here will I Dwell, for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena.

End
Faustus is gone; regard this hellish fall, Whose fiendish fortune may exhort the wise, Only to wonder at unlawful things Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits To practice more than heavenly powers permits.
Supernatural powers are for God; if men use them may lead to their damnation

Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)

Poet Faerie Queenepic poem and a fantastic allegory celebrating Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth Deals with the adventures of knights, dragons, ladies in distress, etc. yet it is also an extended allegory about the moral life and what makes for a life of virtue.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Philosopher, Statesman, scientist ( scientific method) , lawyer, jurist, author Cold, calculating, selfish, using questionable means to advance literary, scientific , impressive devotion to truth, seeking to penetrate the secret ways of nature with zeal and endless labor Questions of law, State, religion, contemporary politics, etc. The Advancement of Learning ( Natural Philosophy) Classification and summary of all human knowledge; Natural science basis for all education---Novum Organum (new instrument) Use of reason and experiment instead of old Aristotelian logic Essaysterse, pithy, packed with thought--- studies, goodness, riches, atheism, religion, great place, adversity, suspicion, friendship, ambition

Francis Bacon

Studies serve for delight, ornament and ability Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man, and writing and exact man Suspicion amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner. A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion. A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. By indignities men come to dignities. Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more bitter. Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

Cotemporary of Shakespeare Poet, Playwright, writer of masques, comedy of humours Every man in his humour, Volpone Some one peculiar quality Doth so possess a man, that it doth draw All his affects, his spirits, and his powers, In their confluctions, all to run one way. Volpone: compulsive acquisitiveness and abuse of privilege exposure of the pomposity of the legal system and the hypocrisy of wealthy lawyers who are prepared to argue anything for a price.

Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Jacobean Age (1603-1625)

the prose writings of Bacon, John Donne's sermons, Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy", king James translation of the Bible, major writings of poets and playwrights including Ben Jonson, Michael Drayton, Beaumont, Fletcher, John Webster, George Chapman developed. Elizabeth Cary was the first English woman whose biblical drama "The Tragedy of Marium, the Faire Queen of Jewry" was published at that time.

Caroline Age (1625-1649)

First English Civil War John Milton began his writing during this period. It was the age of the religious poet George Herbert and of the prose writers like Robert Burton and Thomas Browne. The poets of this period were called Cavalier Poets. There were the writers of witty and of polished lyrics of courtship and gallantry. This was the group of Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling and Thomas Carew.

Commonwealth Period (1649-1660)

Commonwealth Period extended from the end of the Civil War and the execution of Charles I in 1649 to the restoration of the Stuart monarchy under Charles II in 1660. Dramas disappeared for almost eighteen years after the puritans closed the public theaters in September 1642, not only on moral and religious grounds, but also to prevent public gatherings and assemblies that might create civil disorder. It was the age of Milton's political pamphlets, of Hobbes's political treatise Leviathan (1651) ,Religio Medici (1643) of the prose writers like Sir Thomas Browne, Metaphysical poets like Abraham Cowley and Andrew Marwell.

PuritanismPuritan Age/ Age of Milton 1600-1660

More extreme Protestantswish to purify church from every shred of catholic influence--Nonconformists Elizabeths reignsome thoughtAnglican Church=Roman Catholic Church Deeply influenced by John CalvinFrenchFollowers -Presbyterians Against practices: ministers wearing surplices (loose, white garments); people kneeling while taking Communion; ornaments, paintings and stained glass windows in churches; the playing of organ music during services and the celebrations of saints' days; bishops appointing church ministers Elizabeth opposed Puritans-threat to monarchy

 Puritans happyJames Stuart (1603)Presbyterianstill intended to continue with Elizabeths religious practices--died 1625son Charles I--married Henrietta Maria, a Catholic princessPuritans angrylarge number emigrated to North America1633 William Laud Archbishop of Canterburybrought changesforced Scotland alsoScottish army marched1639Charles couldnt manage---1640 parliament summonedJohn Pymmain opponent of Charles I---Powers were taken Charles retaliated---formed own armycivil warCharles imprisoned1649 executed for high treason-- (Puritans supported Parliament Anglicans and Catholics supported the Royalists)

Commonwealth / Cromwellian Interregnum

Cromwell now imposed military rule. England was divided into eleven districts. Each district was run by a Major General. The responsibilities of these Major-Generals included maintaining order, collecting taxes, granting poor relief and imposing Puritan morality. In some districts bear-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing and wrestling were banned. Betting and gambling were also forbidden. Large numbers of ale-houses were closed and fines were imposed on people caught swearing. In some districts, the Major-Generals even closed down theatres.

Metaphysical Movement (1633-1680)

Revolted against the deliberately smooth, flowery and sweet tones of much 16thcentury verse A group of poets adopted a style that is energetic, uneven, and rigorous; wit, inventiveness , love of elaborate stylistic maneuvers; ingenious images, conceits, paradoxes A great departure from the primarily religious poetry that had immediately followed the wane of the Elizabethan era. Poets shared an interest in metaphysical subjects and practiced similar means of investigating them. Metaphysical concerns are the common subject ; investigates the world by rational discussion of its phenomena rather than by intuition or mysticism. Samuel Johnson : far-fetched nature of their comparisons as 'a kind of discordia concors; a combination of dissimilar images, or discovery of occult resemblances in things apparently unlike T.S.Eliot : their work fuses imagination with reason; unification of thought and feeling John Donne, Andrew Marvell, Henry Vaughan, Abraham Cowley The term : Highly intellectual and often abstruse imagery

Chief Characteristics
Argumentative structure: Often engages in a debate or persuasive presentation; an intellectual exercise as well as or instead of an emotional effusion. Dramatic and colloquial mode of utterance: Often describes a dramatic event rather than being a reverie, a thought, or contemplation. Diction is simple and usually direct, inversion is limited. The verse is occasionally rough, like speech, rather than written in perfect meter, resulting in a dominance of thought over form. Acute realism : Often reveals a psychological analysis; images advance the argument rather than being ornamental; a learned style of thinking and writing; often highly intellectual. Metaphysical wit: Contains unexpected, even striking or shocking analogies, offering elaborate parallels between apparently dissimilar things; analogies drawn from widely varied fields of knowledge, not limited to traditional sources in nature or art; analogies from science, mechanics, housekeeping, business, philosophy, astronomy, etc., are common. "conceits" reveal a play of intellect, often resulting in puns, paradoxes, and humorous comparisons. Metaphors sometimes take over the poem and control it.

John Donne (1573-1671)

Minister in the Anglican Church ; possessed a deep spirituality that informed his writing throughout his life; but as a man, Donne possessed a carnal lust for life, sensation, and experience. Both a great religious poet and a great erotic poet Perhaps no other writer strove as hard to unify and express such incongruous, mutually discordant passions. Mixes the discourses of the physical and the spiritual; over the course of his career, Donne gave sublime expression to both realms.

John Donne (1573-1671)

Most independent of the Elizabethan poets Psychological poetprimary concern is feeling Revolted against easy, fluent style; stock imagery, pastoral conventions of the followers of Spenser Aimed at reality of thought, vividness of expression Forceful, vigorous, harmonious (despite the faults of rhythm), startling languagecolloquial rather than conventional; vein of satire; prefer to arrest attention rather than to lull senses; intensely personal

John Donne (1573-1671)

A Valediction : forbidden mourning ( idea of spiritual love that transcends merely physical; sequence of metaphors and comparisons to look at their separation) The Canonization ( defense of love against the corrupting values of politics and privilege) The Flea: (his aptitude for turning even the least likely images into elaborate symbols of love and romance; uses the image of a flea that has just bitten the speaker and his beloved to sketch an amusing conflict over whether the two will engage in premarital sex) The Broken Heart: (compares love to death by a violent diseaseunusual)