Part Two The English__ Renaissance

Part Two The English Renaissance文艺复兴Content▪ 1. Renaissance & English Renaissance: a general introduction (The characteristics of the English Renaissance; English Renaissance: its three periods)▪ 2. Literature of this age▪ 3. Major literary figuresThe word ” Renaissance” is actually a French word, meaning “re-birth”. It was first used by the Italians to express the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Rome culture. Now we use this term to indicate the intellectual literary movement over Europe from 14th to the early 17th centuries.The Renaissance in the World▪a. It originated in Italy in the 14th century when the art, literature and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome were discovered and widely studied and came to a flowery in the15th century and later spread to France, Germany, Spain, Holland and Belgium and England in the 16th century.▪b. The Renaissance period is markedly by the rediscovery and study of the classics of ancient Greece and Rome, by challenge feudal obscurantism(蒙昧主义) and religious dogmas, by opposing the tyranny of feudal rules.The Renaissance in the World▪c. It is characterized with the growth of a more scientific outlook, major development in art and literature, new invention and overseas discoveries and a general assertion of human value and emancipation of the human intellect and power.▪b. Humanism was the keynote of the renaissance, reflecting the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class. The humanists advocated the emancipation of man, and they tried to have the new evaluation of man and his powers and fought for equality and justice, opposed feudal tyranny and obscurantism and religious obstinacy.文艺复兴▪十五世纪初期在意大利兴起。

后来遍及全欧洲，文艺复兴的影响深入了生活每一层面。

十四世纪时，学者认为西方艺术衰退已有一千年,他们怀念古代( 400 B.C.-A.D.400)希腊、罗马的艺术与文学。

开始钻研古典时代的文学、建筑和雕刻。

文艺复兴是古典艺术的再生；也是对中世纪艺术的反动。

▪中世纪的美德，不再被盲目接受。

人们开始对许多事情发出疑问，寻求答案。

人文主义精神成了整个文艺复兴的推动力。

English Renaissance▪文艺复兴是欧洲从中世纪向近代过渡期间发生的一场意义深刻，影响深远的思想文化运动，始于14世纪意大利的佛罗论萨，后迅速席卷德国、法国、西班牙、英国等国，并于16世纪达到高潮。

▪这一时期的欧洲社会经历了深刻的变化。

工商业的发展，王权的巩固，海外的扩张与殖民，地理与科学的新发现，社会生活的世俗化，德、英、法等国先后进行的宗教改革等极大地开阔了人们的眼界，促进了资本主义经济发展，鼓励人们进一步探索人存在的价值和现实生活的意义。

▪人文主义思想（Humanism）的核心就是强调以“人”为本，宣传个性解放、现世幸福，并积极推进学术，传播科学知识和国家统一等新思想，对封建制度、宗教禁欲主义和上层僧侣的腐败虚伪则进行了无情的嘲讽与抨击。

文艺复兴时期的文学正是以人文主义思想为内容。

意大利诗人但丁、彼特拉克，小说家薄伽丘等人是意大利和欧洲早期人文主义的杰出代表。

Historical BackgroundⅠThe New MonarchyⅡThe ReformationⅢThe Enclosure MovementⅣThe Commercial ExpansionⅤThe War with SpainⅥThe Renaissance and Humanism----刘炳善《英国文学简史》The Renaissance in England▪1. Some major historic events:▪a. The War of Roses (1455-85, a civil war) and the establishment of the dynasties of Henry VII and VIII—the centralized monarchy of a totally new type.▪b. The Enclosure movement:―sheep devoured men‖▪The increasing of cloth industry stimulated the greed of the moneyed class to seize more and more land out of the hands of the peasants. This is known as the Enclosure Movement. As a result of the movement, thousands upon thousands of peasants lost their land and became hired laborers for the merchants.▪c. The religious reformation: Protestant Reformation and the establishment of the Anglican Church▪d. Flourishing in the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)▪e. defeating the Spanish Invincible fleet “Armada” in 1588 and the establishment of the hegemony (霸权)on the seas.▪f. The geographical exploration and trade expansion brought about the growth of the cities and the development of the capitalist textile industry.▪g. Development of BourgeoisieThe word "bourgeoisie" originally meant "town dwellers", especially those who lived by trading. By nature, the feudal order was agrarian. . At the time of the Renaissance, the bourgeoisie appeared as a new class of society, and the conflicts between the newly arising bourgeoisie and feudalism and the Church became the main social contradiction of the time. Humanism was the very weapon for the bourgeoisie to use in its fight against feudalism restrictions and the dominating influence of the church, which had ruled men’s minds for centuries.The Renaissance in England2. The division of the English renaissance▪ a. Beginning: the last years of the 15th century---first half of the 16th century▪ b. Flourishing: the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)▪ c. Declining: the period of James I (1603-1625) early 17th centuryAnother division▪English Renaissance is usually divided into three periods:▪1) The first period called the beginning of the Renaissance started in 1511 and came to an end in 1578.▪2) The second period known as the flowering time of the Renaissance was from 1578 to 1625.▪3) The third period between 1625 and 1660 is the epilogue of the Renaissance.English Literature in the Renaissance Period▪English literature in the Renaissance Period is usually regarded as the highlight in the history of English literature. In the second period of English Renaissance, that is, in Elizabethan Period, English literature developed with a great speed and made a magnificent achievement. The greatest and most distinctiveachievement of Elizabethan literature is the drama. Thus appeared a group of excellent dramatists. Next to the drama is the Lyrical Poetry. ElizabethanPoetry is remarkable for its variety, its freshness, its youthfulness and itsromantic feeling. A group of great poets appeared, and a large number ofpoetry was produced. Since English Renaissance was an age of poetry and drama, and was not an age of prose, there were not so many prose writers. In the beginning period, the great humanist, Thomas More, wrote his famous prose work ―Utopia‖ which may be thought of as the first literary masterpiece of English Renaissance.▪HumanismHumanism was a literary and philosophic system of thought which attempted to place the affairs of mankind at the centre of its concerns. Originating in Italy during the Renaissance, it soon spread throughout most of western Europe. Humanist thought was based on a new reading of Greek and Roman literature, an affirmation of the importance of Platonic philosophy, and a reinterpretation of the writings of Aristotle. It took as a major interest the life of man in the present and, unlike medieval philosophy, which postulated a City of God in the hereafter, it attempted to lay the foundations for a life of justice, nobility, and goodness on earth. Humanism was an attitude rather than a philosophy, non-dogmatic and, in the mare, non-scientific taking as its main concernthe explorations of human potential for a full and rewarding life. Humanism was one of the most important factors giving rise to the Renaissance.The Characteristics of the Renaissance Literature▪All in all, the chief characteristic of the Renaissance literature is the expression of secular values with man instead of God as the center of the universe.1)It emphasizes the dignity of man, affirms and praise the value of man, which often implies a lessening in the power of God. It describes the intellectual and physical "virtues" of the human being, and of its place in the creation.2) It advocates the full expression of individualism and the fulfillment of one’s abilities, against the despotic专制的rule of feudalism. It declares that the purpose of life is the unrestrained and self-sufficient practice of one’s "virtues", the competent and delighted exercise of one’s skill.3) It affirms the delight of earthly achievement, as well as man’s desire for happiness and pleasure. Its preoccupation is with this life and it exposes the hypocrisy and debauchery 放荡of the clergy 圣职者.English Renaissance Literature: its three periods:Period 1:▪1) time span: the last years of the 15th century—the first years of the 16th century▪2) characteristics of literature: imitation and assimilation ▪3) chief achievement:▪(1) Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England; ▪(2) Surrey brought in blank verse;▪(3) ―Oxford Reformers‖ introduced classical literature to England and strove to reform education on a humanistic line.▪ 4) the greatest humanist of the period:Thomas More, the author of Utopia▪ 5) outstanding literary of the period:▪In the early stage of the English Renaissance, poetry and poetic drama were the most outstanding literary forms and they were carried on especially by William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.Period 2:▪1) time span: roughly the second half of the 16th century▪2) characteristics: the Elizabethan Age, a period of the flowering time of English literature.▪3) distinctive achievement: the drama▪4) excellent dramatists:▪(1) Marlowe: t he most talented playwright of the ―University Wits‖▪(2) Shakespeare: the greatest playwright in the Elizabethan Age. ▪(3) Johnson: the most well-know successor to ShakespearePeriod 3:▪ 1) time span: the first quarter of the 17th century or the Jacobe an period (James I’s reign 1603—1625)▪ 2) characteristics: the epilogue the English Renaissance▪ 3) achievements:▪ (1) plays by Shakespeare and Ben Johnson▪ (2) essays by Francis Bacon▪ (3) the accomplishment of The King James Bible in 1611Major Figures in This Periodi. The Beginning of the English Renaissance .Thomas More: Utopia.ii. The Elizabethan Period.Poetry:John Lyly, Sir Philip SidneyEdmund Spenser: Faerie Queene. The Shepherd’s Calendar.Drama:Christopher Marlowe: Dr. Faustus; The Jew of Malta.William Shakespeare: literary creationliterary terms: comedy, tragedy,textual study:a. Hamlet (excerpt)b. The Merchant of Venice (excerpt)Ben Johnson: Volphone.Prose: Francis Bacon: Novum Organicum Eassays .Thomas More (1478-1535) 托马斯·莫尔He was born in a middle-class family. his father was a prominent lawyer, and later a judge. A scholar by nature, he became a lawyer. Quite early he waselected to Parliament and he acted as the spokesman of London merchants who were one of the principal stays of the Tudor monarchy.Utopia (乌托邦)Utopia is More’s masterpiece, written in the form of a conversation between More and Hythloday, a returned voyager. It is divided into two books. The first book contains a long discussion on the social conditions of England. In the second book is described in detail an ideal communist society, Utopia. The name ―Utopia‖ comes from two Greek words meaning ―no place‖ and was adopted by More as the name of his ideal commonwealth.Some Points in Utopia▪ More was the first one to see the relation between wealth and poverty, and points out that the root of poverty is the private ownership of social wealth.▪He undersood the principle ―From everyone according to his capacities, to everyone according to his needs‖ is the only practical basis for a communist society.▪ Emphasizes the importance of labour for every member of the Utopian society, and insists upon a maximum working day of six hours.More’s Limitation▪ 1. The existence of slave in Utopia shows the feature of exploited classes.▪ 2. Wives are subject to husband showing the inequality between man and women also subordination.▪ 3. There are no revolutionary sense and ideas in the work. ▪ 4. He could not find a way to realize his dream. All he wrote is wishful thinking, remained unreached somewhere in the world.Edmund Spenser 埃德蒙·斯宾塞▪He was the Greatest non-romantic poet of Elizabethan Age and also called the ―poet’s poet‖ of the period.▪His works:▪“The Shepherd’s Calendar”(牧羊人日记)▪“The Faerie Queens”(仙后)(His Masterpiece;Spenser's fame in English literature is chiefly based upon his The Faerie Queene. It is a long poem planned in 12 books, of which he finished only 6. The poem was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. The whole poem is suffused with devotion to the queen and the country.)His Life and Literary Career▪Spenser (1552-99), English poet. Influenced by the Roman poet Virgil and the 15th-century Italians Ariosto and Tasso, he published The Shepheardes Calendar in 1579, a series of eclogues 田园诗which heralded the English literary renaissance. Spenser laments the death of his patron, Sir Philip Sidney, in his elegy 'Astrophel'; in 'The Ruines of Time' (1591), he creates an allegory which also laments the decline of patronage and the neglect of literature. His greatest work, The Faerie Queene (1590-6), is a heroic and epic allegory in intricate 8-line stanzas. The fairy queen or Gloriana signifies Glory in the abstract and Queen Elizabeth I in person. The allegory is varied, drawing on pagan myths, Christian doctrine, and medieval and contemporary story, legend, and folklore. Spenser celebrated his courtship of Elizabeth Boyle, his second wife, in his sonnet sequence Amoretti (1595) and his marriage to her in his greatest lyric Epithalamion (1595).Characteristics of His Poetry Spenser’s poetry possesses the following main qualities:▪a perfect melody▪a rare sense of beauty▪a splendid imagination▪a lofty oral purity and seriousness▪a delicate realism. It is his idealism, his love of beauty and his exquisite melody that make him known as ― the Poet’s Poet.‖Features of “The Faerie Queens”▪a. ―The Faerie Queens” is written in the form of allegory a narrative in which general concept or qualities such as sin, despair, purity and faith are represented as people or as aspects of the natural world, that is to say, the characters in the story are used as symbols of these qualities. It hassweet melody and its lines are very musical.▪ b. “The Faerie Queens” was written in a special verse form that has been called the Spenserian Stanza since his day. Each stanza has nine lines, each of the first eight lines is in iambic pentameter form and the ninth line is an iambic hexameter(六音步) line, with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. (term)▪ C.The fairy queen in the poem stands for both the Queen Elizabeth and glory. This allegorical poem is distinguished for its rich content and exquisite style.▪Allegory(寓言): ~ is a story told to explain or teach something, especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself.▪ Allegorical novels use extended metaphors to convey moral meanings or attack certain social evils. Characters in these novels often stand for different values such as virtue and vice.Comment on Him▪Spencer was the greatest non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age, and the first master of English verse, which he made the natural music of his voice.▪Spencer has been cal led the ―poets’ poet‖, because if his superb technical skill, perfect melodies, rare sense of beauty, splendid imagination, lofty moral purity and seriousness, and delicate idealism. Few have ever written with greater fluency, ease or with sweeter music. Spencer has exerted great influence on later poets. ▪However, his poetry lacks two essential qualities: power and unity. Another defect of his poetry is his fondness of obsolete words and archaic language.Drama▪ The highest glory of the English Renaissance was its drama.▪ The real mainstream of the English Renaissance isthe Elizabethan drama with William Shakespeare being the leading dramatist.Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)克里斯托弗·马洛▪ It is Marlowe who first made blank verse(无韵体诗) (rhymeless iambic pentameter) the principal instrument of English drama.▪ Work: “Tamburlaine” 铁木儿大帝▪“The Jew of Malta”马耳他的犹太人▪“The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus ”(“Doctor Faustus”) 浮士德的悲剧His Life and Literary Career▪Marlowe (1564-93), English dramatist and poet. He was involved in political intrigues and in several violent incidents that culminated in his murder in a tavern at the age of 29. An admired literary figure, he gave new strength and variety to blank verse in English drama, preparing the way for Shakespeare, on whose work his influence is stamped. His tragedy Tamburlaine the Great was probably first produced in 1587. The Tragicall History of Dr Faustus(c.1593), the first dramatized version of the legend of the scholar who sellshis soul to the devil, is more a series of detached scenes than a finished drama. The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta (c.1592) is uneven in quality, and degenerates into caricature. Edward II (1594) is the mostmature of his plays. Marlowe's unfinished work Hero and Leander (1598) is an erotic poem in heroic couplets of outstanding grace and eloquence.▪Tamburlaine is a play about an ambitious and cruel Tartar conqueror in the 14th century who rose from a shepherd to an overpowering king. It voiced the supreme desire of man of the Renaissance for infinite power and authority.▪The Jew of Malta expresses man’s desire for wealth.Characteristics of His Drama▪The theme of Marlowe's plays is the praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law, and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human efforts in conquering the universe. There is in his plays a combination of the soaring aspiration after power and knowledge and beauty in their idealforms, and the bold, critical, analytic spirit which leads to theq uestioning of all old traditions and standards of conduct. Man’s reason and power is everything. This is the progressive side of the young bourgeois ideal. It has played its part in pushing human society a step forward.▪The heroes in Marlowe's plays are merely individualist. Their individualistic ambition often brings ruins to the world and to themselves.Comments on Him▪Marlowe was the greatest of the pioneers of English drama. He reformed the English drama and perfected the language and verse of dramatic works. It is Marlowe who first made blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) theprincipal instrument of English drama. His blank verse is a living thing; itvigorous, fluid and precise. It translates thoughts and emotions into rhythmic speech with happy exactness, thus interpreting the restlessly moving andquestioning spirit of the Renaissance. His blank verse has been described as ―titanic" and compared to a swollen river sweeping down on its dried-upchannel, filling its broad banks and moving on majestically.▪Marlowe's dramatic achievement lies chiefly in his epical, and at times lyrical , verse. He rarely supplies a model in dramatic technicalities. In his plays there isa lack of variety in characterization and construction. But he was famous for his"mighty line; its mighty and plastic.Ben JohnsonHis Life and Literary Career▪Johnson never attended a university. Much of his immense learning was acquired through private reading and study. Around 1595, he went to work as an actor and a playwright, and he was immediately successful. Throughout his career he was embroiled in bitter literary disputes with other playwrights: Yet Johnson did grow mellower with age and increasing recognition. From 1605 on, Johnson produced masques for the court of James I. In 1616 James appointed Johnson poet laureate, and granted him a comfortable pension. His death in 1637, which was faced with an open rebellion, was mourned as the end of an era.His Major Works▪Volpone,▪The Alchemist.Characteristics of His Plays▪Ben Johnson is both a dramatist and a good critic, According to him, a play should be realistic, showing "an image of the ti mes.‖ Characters should be selected to illustrate particular " hun mors‖. Comedies should portray manners and follies, and thus could expose, ridicule and censure life. He insisted on an adherence to the unities of his time, place and action. He rejected theadmixture of comedy, tragedy, and thought romantic comedy and chronicle history full of absurdities.▪Johnson's works are in strong contrast with those of Shakespeare and the later Elizabethan dramatists. He fought against the romantic tendency of the age and to restore the classic standards. The whole action of his drama usually covers only a few hours, or a single day His dramas are carefully and logically constructed. His comedies are worth careful reading because they areintensely realistic and present men and women of the time exactly as they were.Comment on Him•Of the many contemporaries and successors of Shakespeare, the best known was Ben Johnson. So he is the most important dramatist in his age. His stature as a poet is no less imposing. Johnson set an example for later poets that would have a lasting effect throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.William Shakespeare(1564-1616)▪ His life：P68-70▪ In 1582 Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter, who was eight years older than her boy husband. They had three children: Susanna and the twins, Judith and Hamnet.▪ He lived in an age when the old feudal social and economic order was being destroyed and a new capitalist society was being born.▪ He died on April 23, the anniversary of his birth, in 1616.William Shakespeare: his literary creation▪ The greatest playwright in the Elizabethan age is Shakespeare. He wrote 37 plays including great comedies,tragedies and historical plays. Besides plays, Shakespeare wrote two narrative poems and 154 sonnets. He has been universally acknowledged to be the summit of the English Renaissance.Divisions of his Literary Career:a. Period of Early Experimentation (1590-1594)b. Period of Rapid Growth and Development (1595-1600)c. Period of Gloom and Depression (1601-1607)d. Period of Calm after Storm (1608-1612)a. Period of Early Experimentation (1590-1594) “Henry VI, Part II” “Henry VI, Part III”“Henry VI, Part I” “Richard III”“The Comedy of Errors”错误的喜剧“Titus Andronicus”泰特斯·安德鲁尼克斯“The Taming of the Shrew”驯悍记“The Two Gentlemen of Verona”维洛那二绅士“Love’s Labour’s Lost” 爱的徒劳“Romeo and Juliet”罗密欧与朱丽叶b. Period of Rapid Growth and Development (1595-1600) “Richard II” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”“King John” 约翰王“The Merchant of Venice”“Henry IV, Part I” “Henry IV, Part II”“Much Ado about Nothing” “Henry V”“The Merry Wives of Windsor”温莎的风流娘儿们“Julius Caesar”尤利乌斯·凯撒“As You Like It”皆大欢喜“Twelfth Night”第十二夜c. Period of Gloom and Depression(1601-1607)“Hamlet”“Troilus and Cressida”“All’s Well That Ends Well” 终成眷属“Measure for Measure”以牙还牙；一报还一报“Othello” “King Lear” “Macbeth”“Antony and Cleopatra”“Coriolanus”“Timon of Athens”雅典的泰门d. Period of Calm after Storm (1608-1612)“Pericles”“Cymbeline”辛白林“The Winter’s Tale”冬天的故事“The Tempest”暴风雨“Henry VIII”The Great Comedies▪―A Midsummer Night’s Dream‖, ―The Merchant of Venice‖, ―As You Like It‖ and ―Twelfth Night‖ has been called Shakespeare’s great comedies.▪In them he portrayed young people just freed from feudal fetters. He sang of their youth, love and ideal of happiness. The victory of their humanist ideal is inevitable, though it is to be attained only after severe struggle against all obstacles. The heroes and heroines fight against destiny itself and mould their own fate according to their own free will. The general spirit is optimism.Literary term: comedy▪A dramatic literary genre generally defined as the opposite of tragedy and characterized by the portrayal of amusing situations featuring ordinary people in ordinary situations. Comedy oftenbegins with a sad or difficult situation but ends happily. Comedy has also been described as having a corrective or punitive character—often ridiculing or satirizing problematic human behavior. The endings of comedies frequently feature marriages or reunions of characters formerly separated by adverse circumstances.Four Great Tragedies▪“Hamlet”▪“Othello”▪“King Lear”▪“Macbeth”▪In them he exposes the social contradictions of the time with penetration.Literary term: tragedy▪ A type of play characterized by the depiction and dramatic treatment of misfortunes, disasters, and/or the death of the main protagonists. The opposite of comedy. The main protagonist is often afflicted by a "tragic flaw", a character problem which is related to the tragic outcomes.▪ Literary term: tragicomedyLiterary term: tragicomedy▪ A type of drama that combines certain elements of both tragedy and comedy. The play’s p lot tends to be serious, leading to a terrible catastrophe, until an unexpected turn in events leads to a reversal of circumstance, and the story ends happily. Tragicomedy often employs a romantic,fast-moving plot dealing with love, jealousy, disguises, treachery, intrigue, and surprises, all moving toward a melodramatic resolution. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a tragicomedy.Hamlet▪Hamlet is considered to be the summit of Shakespeare’s art. The story comes from an old Danish legend.《哈姆莱特》（The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark）是莎士比亚―四大悲剧‖中的第一部，也是他的代表作。