1558-1603

ELIZABETHAN PERIOD
Historical Context
n The second half of the 15th century and the 16th
century were a turbulent age in English history.
n In the 15th century The Wars of the Roses, the
rivalry between two aristocratic houses, of York and
of Lancaster, ended with the victory of the
Lancaster family, when their distant cousin, Henry
Tudor, claimed the throne.
n He was crowned as Henry VII, starting the Tudor
dynasty. Throughout the Tudor reign, England
constantly fought with its continental neighbors.
n The old aristocracy lost most of its wealth and
power in the Wars of the Roses, so Henry VIII in the
16th cent, began giving titles to people from the
middle class, making the new aristocracy, faithful
to the king above all else.
n The middle class was growing richer and more powerful.
The communications revolution, started with the printing
press, resulted in the fact that in 1600 nearly half of the
population had some kind of minimal literacy.
n The spirit of the Renaissance began to show in England.
The rising middle class had access to education, could
read and write in their mother tongue, instead of Latin,
and was becoming aware of endless possibilities for
wealth and success that lay in trade and the New World.
n In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke with Rome. So in the 16th
century, there happened 3 influential historical
developments: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and
the emergence of England as a maritime power.
n The English Literary Renaissance – from the ascent of
the House of Tudor to the English throne to 1660.
 Elizabethan Age
n The reign of Elizabeth I was also a turbulent period, but
she successfully coped with all the difficulties. England
was threatened by the superpowers of the age – France
and Spain. Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope
in 1570. She was in constant fear for her life.
Nevertheless, English ships beat the Spanish Armada in
1588. Elizabeth managed to maintain a relative peace
between the protestants and the Catholics. She tried to
unite her people, by insisting that they are all English.
This worked well most of the time, and the people
developed a sense of national pride.
 Elizabethan Literature

n The English Literary Renaissance consists of four

subsets: The Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Age,
the Caroline Age and the Commonwealth Period.
n The Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of
literature, especially in the field of drama. The
other major literary style was lyric poetry. Many
of the most important dramatists of the period
were also excellent poets.
Elizabethan Poetry

n Before and during the Elizabethan Age,

medieval tradition blended with
Renaissance spirit of optimism and
freedom.
n The two poets who introduced novelties into
lyric poetry before the Elizabethan Age were
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of
Surrey.
n SONNET – the dominant form of poetry of the
Elizabethan Age
– Origins: Italy 13th c. – Petrarch (14th c.),
Canzoniere (Laura), established the sonnet as
one of the major poetic forms: love poem;
devotion to the Lady who is usually unattainable;
14 lines
– Brought to England in the early 16th century by
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard Earl of
Surrey; they adapted the form to the English
language
n At the time, the writing of poetry was part of the
education of a gentleman. Sonnets were very
popular among the upper classes, and collections
of sonnets and lyrics were often published.
Aristocrats who did not write poetry themselves
were usually patrons to other poets, giving them
financial support.
n W. Shakespeare was one of these poets, since his
collection of sonnets (1609) is dedicated to his
patron, a young man of good family. Scholars are
not certain when each of the 154 sonnets was
composed, but evidence suggests that
Shakespeare wrote sonnets throughout his career
for a private readership.
n One of the best lyrical poets of the Elizabethan Age was
Edmund Spenser. In 1579 he produced a poem in 12
books, called The Shepherd’s Calendar.
n It is significant for experimenting in meter and form, and
the subject matter is diverse, but mainly pastoral.
n Spenser’s greatest work is another long poem, The Fairie
Queene. Spenser invented a special meter for it, called
the ‘Spenserian Stanza’, which has often been used
since.
n His best works also include poems Epithalamion,
Prothalamion, and a collection of sonnets, Amoretti.
n Other famous poets of the age include Sir Phillip Sidney,
Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe.
n Elizabethan prose took several different forms, which in
the time to come will develop into literary genres.
n Sir Thomas North- the translation of Plutarch’s Lives of
the Noble Grecians and Romans.
n Hakluyt and Purchas – accounts of the voyages of
English seamen and explorers
n Holinshed’s Chronicles – English history
n Beginnings of a novel – ‘University Wits’ – John Lyly,
Robert Greene, Thomas Nash
n Francis Bacon – essayist, philosopher and historian
n The Authorized Version of the Bible – first
translation of the Bible into Modern English. It
appeared in 1611, and is also known as King
James’ Bible. It was based on the translations
into Middle English by Wycliffe and Tyndale. The
language of the new translation has held a
powerful influence on writers in English ever
since.
n Ben Jonson – the father of English literary
criticism.
University Wits
n University Wits were a group of late 16th century English
playwrights who were educated at the universities
(Oxford or Cambridge). Prominent members of this group:
Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and Thomas Nashe
from Cambridge, and John Lyly, Thomas Lodge, George
Peele from Oxford.
n the literary elite of the time - they often ridiculed other
playwrights such as Thomas Kyd and Shakespeare who
did not have a university education.
n Some scholars think that Marlowe would have surpassed
Shakespeare as an author if ha had not been killed in a
tavern brawl
n University Wits did make a significant contribution to
Elizabethan literature in various genres
Elizabethan Drama
n Tragedy: Aristotle – imitation of a serious probable
action (mimesis); arousing pity and fear in the
audience; leads to catharsis (a purifying of the
emotions that is brought about in the audience of a
tragic drama through the evocation of intense fear
and pity; emotional release and purification
brought about by an intense emotional experience);
characters: kings and nobles; the main character:
of a high social and moral standing but with a
tragic flaw/fault/mistake (misjudgment, ambition,
gullibility, jealousy, indecisiveness) which brings
about his downfall and final demise. Revenge
tragedy – especially popular – a wronged hero
plans and executes revenge.
n Comedy: Aristotle – comic figures are average to
below average; it deals with ordinary/common
people; only low or ignoble figures can strike us
as ridiculous; the most ridiculous are those who
although well-born are merely pompous or self-
important instead of truly noble.
n Comedy: a story of the rise in fortune of a
sympathetic central character (those of humble
or disadvantageous backgrounds who prove their
real worth).
n The Italian Renaissance had rediscovered the
ancient Greek and Roman theatre, and this was
instrumental in the development of the new drama,
which was then beginning to evolve apart from the
old mystery and miracle plays of the Middle Ages.
The Italians were particularly inspired by Seneca (a
major tragic playwright and philosopher, the tutor of
Nero) and Plautus (its comic clichés, especially that
of the boasting soldier had a powerful influence on
the Renaissance and after).
n The first regular English comedy, Ralph Roister
Doister by Nicholas Udall, was written in this
tradition.
n Another early comedy was Gammer Gurton’s
Needle. Lyly’s comedies were an improvement of
those early comedies.
n However, the Italian tragedies embraced a principle
contrary to Seneca's ethics: showing blood and violence
on the stage. In Seneca's plays such scenes were only
acted by the characters. But the English playwrights were
intrigued by Italian model: a conspicuous community of
Italian actors had settled in London and Giovanni Florio
had brought much of the Italian language and culture to
England. It is also true that the Elizabethan Era was a
very violent age and that the high incidence of political
assassinations in Renaissance Italy (embodied by
Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince) did little to calm fears
of popish plots. As a result, representing that kind of
violence on the stage was probably more cathartic for
the Elizabethan spectator.
n The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd is one of those
violent tragedies, and its plot is in some ways like
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It became known as an example
of a ‘revenge tragedy’ where the hero has to avenge the
death of a close relative.
n The first great dramatist of the time was Christopher
Marlowe. Some of his tragedies, such as Tamburlaine the
Great and The Jew of Malta, are also violent and bloody.
But others, like Dr. Faustus and Edward the Second, set
an example for other Elizabethan dramatists in the use
of powerful blank verse and the development of
characters to heighten the sense of tragedy.
Shakespeare in particular was influenced by Marlowe in
writing the historical plays.
 English Renaissance Theatre
n Renaissance theatre derived from medieval theatre
traditions, such as the mystery plays that formed a part
of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe
during the Middle Ages. The mystery plays were complex
retellings of legends based on biblical themes, originally
performed in churches but later becoming more linked to
the secular celebrations that grew up around religious
festivals. Other sources include the morality plays and
the "University drama" that attempted to recreate Greek
tragedy.
n Companies of players attached to households of leading
noblemen and performing seasonally in various locations
existed before the reign of Elizabeth I. These became the
foundation for the professional players that performed on
the Elizabethan stage. The tours of these players
gradually replaced the performances of the mystery and
morality plays by local players, and a 1572 law
eliminated the remaining companies lacking formal
patronage by labeling them vagabonds. The performance
of masques at court by courtiers and other amateurs
came to be replaced by the professional companies with
noble patrons, who grew in number and quality during
Elizabeth's reign.