Week 5 The English Renaissance(jiaoan)

The English Renaissance (1485—1660)Chapter I. RenaissanceI. RenaissanceThe word ―Renaissance‖ means ―rebirth‖( of learning). The Renaissance Period was marked by a reawakening of interest in learning, in the individual and in the world of nature. The Revival of learning led scholars back to the culture of Greece and Rome. The Rebirth of interest in the individual gave rise to a new appreciation of beauty, to a desire for self-expression in varied activities and to the creation of great works of art. The renewal of curiosity about the natural world ultimately drew men to discover new lands and new scientific truths.II. HumanismBroadly, this term suggests any attitude which tends to exalt the human element or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the supernatural, divine elements—or as opposed to the grosser, animal elements. In a more specific sense, humanism suggests a devotion to those studies supposed to promote human culture most effectively—in particular, those dealing with the life, thought, language, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. It proclaimed that man is the most important noble creature in the world; the goal of life is to enjoy oneself in this present world instead of afterlife. According to the humanists, both man and world are hindered only by external checks from infinite improvement. Man could mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks by exercise of reason. In literary history the most important use of the term is to designate the revival of classical culture which accompanied the Renaissance.III. The Bourgeoisie1. ―town dwellers‖ lived by trading.2.At the time of the Renaissance, the bourgeoisie appeared as a new class of society, and the conflicts between the newly arising bourgeoisie and the feudalism and the Church became the main social contradiction of the time.3. Humanism was the very weapon for the bourgeoisie to use in its fight against feudal restrictions and the dominating influence of the Church, which had ruled men’s minds for centuries.IV. The Main characteristics of the Renaissance LiteratureAll in all, the chief characteristic of the Renaissance literature is the expression of secular values with man instead of God as the centre of the universe:1)It emphasizes the dignity of man, affirms and eulogizes the value of man, which often implies a lessening in the power of God.2) It advocates the full expression of individualism and the fulfillment of one’s abilities, against the despotic rule of feudalism.3) It affirms the delight of earthly achievement, as well as man’s desire for happiness and pleasure.V. Renaissance in EnglandEnglish literature of the Renaissance may be roughly divided into three stages of development:1.The fist stage, the beginning of English Renaissance, is from 1485 to 1558.2.The second stage, which lasts from 1558 to 1603, is called the Elizabethan Age.3.The third stage (1603—1660) includes the reign of James I (or the Jacobean Period 1603—1625), the reign of Charles I (or the Caroline Period 1640—1660). Many books consider the literature of the third phase separately and term it as the seventeenth Century. Chapter II. The Beginning of the English Renaissance(1485—1558)I. The Oxford Reformers1. a group of scholars, students and later teachers at Oxford University.2. traveled and studied in Italy, introduced classical literature to England and strove to reform education on a humanistic line, by emphasizing the study of Greek and Latin and secular science in opposition to the rigid church dogmas of medieval scholasticism.3. helped to spread the light of a new science and new world outlook, to combat medieval scholasticism and by so doing laid the foundation for the rise of a new literature in England in the later decades of the 16th century.II. Thomas More(1478—1535)1. A great humanistic leader of 16th century.2. His masterpiece is Utopia which means ―no place‖ coming from two Greek words.3. The first to see the relation between wealth and poverty, and to bring up the ideal of an advanced society – a communist society.III. Two Poets of Importance Before the Elizabeth Age – Wyatt and HowardSir Thomas Wyatt (1503?—1542) brought the Italian sonnet to England and wrote sonnets in imitation of the great Italian poet Petrarch.Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517—1547) invented the English form of the sonnet and blank verse.Chapter III. The Elizabethan Age (The Age of Shakespeare) (1558—1603)I. The Social Condition of the Age1. The Religious Reformationa. Church’s Supremacy and men’s thought strictly bound to religious belief in the dark Middle Agesb. People living for God and a future world after death.c. Protestantism --- a bourgeois movement.d. Henry VIII---the head of the Church of England.e. England---a Protestant nation.2. The Rising of the British Empirea. Defeated ―invincible‖ Armada in 1588.b. The greatest sea power of the world.c. Enthusiastic development.d. An age of rapid growth and development3. The Queena. Extravagant, vain and artful.b. A patron(赞助者,支持者) of learning, a lover of England, and one of the strongest sovereigns(统治者) of England.c. Wrote poems herself.II. Elizabethan Poetry1. John Lyly (1554—1606) romance : Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit (尤弗伊斯).The style in which the book was written came to be known as euphuism绮丽体2. Sir Philip Sidney (1554—1586) 锡德尼works: Apology for Poetry(为诗辩护）;Astrophel and Stella（阿斯特罗菲尔与斯特拉）3. Edmund Spenser(1552—99)艾德蒙·斯宾塞The greatest non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age, and the first master of English verse, t he ―Poet’s poet‖ of the period, invented the Spencerian Stanza (rhyming ababbcbcc)Works: The Shepherd’s Calendar(牧童的日历）The Fairy Queen(仙后）Amoretti (Sonnet 75) by Edmund Spenser（little love poems爱情小唱）One day I wrote her name upon the strand,But came the waves and washed it away;Agayne I wrote it with a second hand,But came the tyde,and made my paynes his pray."Vayne man,"sayed she,"that doest in vain assay.A mortal thing so to immortalize,For I my selve shall lyke to this decay,And eek my name bee wyped out lykewize.""Not I,"quod I,"let baser things devize,To dy in dust,but you shall live by fame:My verse your vertues rare shall eternize,And in the heavens wryte your glorious name.Where whenas death shall all the world subdew,Our love shall live,and later life renew."III. Elizabethan Drama1. Two Influences upon the Dramaa. the classic plays: Italian and Greek comedies and tragediesb. popular drama : a growing demand for plays2. The ―University Wits‖ and Christopher Marlowe马洛(1564—1595)a. ―University Wits‖ :a group of Elizabethan playwrights and pamphleteers.b. Christopher Marlowe克里斯托弗·马洛:c. His works:Tamburlaine the Great《帖木耳大帝》:desire for power;The Jew of Malta《马耳他的犹太人》:desire for money;Tragical History of Doctor Faustus《浮士德博士》:desire for knowledgeHis achievements: He first made blank verse（无韵诗）the principal instrument of English drama; he created the Renaissance hero for the English drama.。