The Renaissance: English history, Tudor reigns, and Shakespeare's tragedies

HISTORY LINES

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The RENAISSANCE
(1485-1625)
B
TIVMThe RENAISSANCE
HISTORY LINES
ENGLISH RENAISSANCE: even if filtered by the Reformation, it's a
time of expansion of Knowledge, Philosophy, Science and Literature

THE TUDORS

HENRY VII 1485-1509 - period of financial and governmental stability
HENRY VIII 1509-
1547
- ACT OF SUPREMACY declares himself Head
of the Church in England
- sentences his chancellor Thomas More to
death, accusing him of treason
- marries six times
EDWARD VI 1447-1553
MARY I
1553-1558 - 'Bloody Mary' and her husband Philip II of
Spain harshly persecute Protestants
- war in France
BLACK
CAT
C De Agostini Scuola 2017HISTORY LINES

THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD

The RENAISSANCE
THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD
ELIZABETH I 1558-1603- the 'Virgin Queen' is the leader of a new empire
- highest point of English Renaissance, Golden Age
of literature
- Mary Stuart, 'Queen of Scots', is imprisoned for
twenty years and executed in 1587
- colonization of the New World, consolidation of
the maritime power of England.
- English fleet beats the Spanish Armada
in 1588, aided by bad weather
JAMES I
1603-1625 - he believes in the divine right of kings
- in 1605 the Gunpowder Plot attempts on his life
BLACK
CAT
C De Agostini Scuola 2017

LITERATURE IN CONTEXT

RENAISSANCE PROSE

The RENAISSANCE
LITERATURE IN CONTEXT
RENAISSANCE PROSE
THOMAS MORE
UTOPIA
FRANCIS BACON The New Atlantis
describes an ideal society
a study of a fictitious culture
dominated by natural philosophers

RENAISSANCE DRAMA

• Seneca's influences
• Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare write plays about the
  many sides of human nature and England's history
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

LITERATURE IN CONTEXT
The RENAISSANCE
THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
1576 - construction of the first permanent theatre in Shoreditch
1599 - construction of The Globe, Shakespeare's theatre in Southwark

• no scenery, rich costumes
• no women on stage until 1660
• it's a theatre of action, illusion and poetry
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

AUTHORS AND WORKS

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE LIFE

The RENAISSANCE
AUTHORS AND WORKS
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 1564 - 1616
LIFE

• probably born on 23 April into a
  prosperous family
• probably starts writing his sonnets during
  the plague in 1592
• becomes a leading member of the Lord
  Chamberlain's Men company
• dies in 1616; buried in Stratford Parish
  Church
  Walm Sharele
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

SHAKESPEARE'S POETRY

AUTHORS AND WORKS
The RENAISSANCE
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
WORKS: SHAKESPEARE'S POETRY
He wrote a collection of 154 sonnets. Features:

• are 14 lines long
• have an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme
• are dedicated to a young man and to a
  mysterious dark lady
• speak about the themes of love and time
  BLACK
  CAT
  De Agostini Scuola 2017

SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

The RENAISSANCE
AUTHORS AND WORKS
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
WORKS: SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

• sources of inspiration: from Holinshed to Plutarch, to the Italian novelle
• every play is divided into five acts
• the main themes are: Love, Power, Ambition, War and Death
  Shakespeare wrote three main types of plays:
• comedies
• histories
• tragedies
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

COMEDIES

AUTHORS AND WORKS
The RENAISSANCE
COMEDIES
1593
The Comedy of Errors
The Taming of the Shrew
1594
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Love's Labour's Lost
1595
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1596
The Merchant of Venice
1597
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1598
As You Like It
1560
Much Ado About Nothing
Twelfth Night
1602
All's Well That Ends Well
1604
Measure for Measure
1608
1609
Pericles
Cymbeline
1610
The Winter's Tale
1611
The Tempest
BLACK
CAT
C De Agostini Scuola 2017

HISTORIES

AUTHORS AND WORKS
The RENAISSANCE
HISTORIES
1590
Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, 3
1592
Richard III
1595
King John
1596
Henry IV, Part 1
1597
Henry IV, Part 2
1599
Henry V
1613
Henry VIII
BLACK
CAT
C De Agostini Scuola 2017

TRAGEDIES

AUTHORS AND WORKS
The RENAISSANCE
TRAGEDIES
1593
Titus Andronicus
1595
Romeo and Juliet
Richard II
1599
Julius Caesar
1600
Hamlet
1601
Troilus and Cressida
1604
Othello
1604
King Lear
1606
Macbeth
Antony and Cleopatra
1607
Coriolanus
1608
Timon of Athens
BLACK
CAT
C De Agostini Scuola 2017

Romeo and Juliet

The RENAISSANCE
AUTHORS AND WORKS
Romeo and Juliet 1595

• the unifying theme of the play is doomed young love
• though the classical idea of destiny informs the tragedy, the characters try
  to decide their own fate -> modern tragedy
• the tragedy plays with the audience's emotional involvement
  -> impossibility to change the events
• the language is often lyrical
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

Hamlet

AUTHORS AND WORKS
The RENAISSANCE
Hamlet 1600

• the meaning of action, power, honour, justice, the restoration of order
• inner corruption can be concealed under the false appearance
  of a healthy exterior
• Hamlet and his father and mother are literally killed by poison, but society
  is contaminated by political and moral wickedness
• Hamlet is one of the first truly modern characters in literature
  -> he possesses full self-consciousness
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

Macbeth

The RENAISSANCE
AUTHORS AND WORKS
Macbeth 1606

• it is a tragedy of character: Macbeth's
  ambition causes his downfall
• nature of power and historical destiny
• the witches' prophecies are the motor of the whole plot
• limits of human agency
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017

The Tempest

The RENAISSANCE
AUTHORS AND WORKS
The Tempest 1611

• theme of MAGIC both black and white
  -> Sycorax and Prospero
• theme of POWER: the power of European
  culture over non-European ones, the power of
  language, the power of the artist to create an
  illusion
• relationship Prospero/Caliban reflects
  relationship coloniser/colonised
• Ariel as a metaphor for the powers of art and
  language
  BLACK
  CAT
  C De Agostini Scuola 2017