The Development of Literature (1485-1688)

• AN OVERVIEW

Fiction, Poetry and Drama: During the Renaissance period, fiction existed only in ballads, while poetry was the favourite genre at the Court. Theatre was very popular, but then practically disappeared and revived after the restoration of the monarchy. The English language reached its highest level in drama.

English prose: Prose was not very widespread, but many works helped English to be the standard language in literature (and not Latin). Frances Bacon was a scientist who normally used Latin, but wrote "Essays" in English. John Milton claimed the right of men to speak and write with total freedom.

• POETRY

Courtly Poetry in the Renaissance: The Court was a cultural centre and a political institution, thus poetry focused on "courtly" love because almost all poets expressed their feelings for an ideal woman, a Lady who could not be reached. Their language was very refined and aimed at obtaining a poetic effect.

The Sonnet and Sonneteers: The Sonnet, born in Italy in the 14^th century, was introduced in England thanks to Sir Thomas Wyatt. He divided the Sonnet into a quatrain and created a new structure of the English sonnet. Shakespeare broke the tradition and started to write sonnets for a young man and a dark lady.

Poetry and Drama: The majority of plays were written in verse, the fundamental metre was the unrhymed iambic pentameter which was used by Shakespeare as the perfect instrument to represent the life on the stage.

Spenser: He was one of the most important Renaissance poets because all his works reflected the spirit of that age. His main work, though half completed, is an allegorical poem derived from Ariosto and Tasso's works: the work includes themes such as nostalgia for the past, love for pastoral life and patriotism.

Popular Poetry: Ballads often dealt with political matters and were printed on one side of a sheet of paper and then sold in the streets and at fairs.

Donne and the "Metaphysical" Poets: John Donne's "Songs and Sonnet"  were very different from previous poetry because he introduced love as pure passion and physical experience; the language he used created shocking images because he was very frank in describing passion, love and attraction. He had a great influence on T.S.Elliot. 

"Metaphysical" described the style used by the poets and not the content of their works.

"Cavalier" Poets: This poetry is very much simpler than that of the Metaphysicals because they used a refined diction and light-hearted tone.

Milton: John Milton wrote poetry in Latin, Italian and English and this gave him the possibility to expand his vocabulary. His masterpiece is "Paradise Lost": it is an epic poem, in blank verse, divided into twelve books. The book, in spite of the religious theme, made Satan (the fallen angel) emerge as one of the most interesting characters. Although the book has a deep Christian content, it follows the tradition of Homer and Virgil's works. Moreover, the book has a rich language aimed at evoking the magnificence of Paradise and the awfulness of Hell.

• DRAMA

The end of Medieval Drama: It ended because the king was hostile to Roman Catholics and he wanted to avoid conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.

Drama of the English Renaissance: Drama flourished again for a century and during that period the quality of the plays was exceptional because it was addressed to people from all social levels. The language expressed strong emotions such as passion, joy and humour of the common people.

Travelling Companies of Actors:  They helped drama to become more popular. Women were not admitted in this companies because acting was considered immoral for a woman, thus young boys were "forced" to play women's roles.

The Elizabethan Playhouse: It had a circular or polygonal shape, the stage was a rectangular platform and there were no roof and no seats. The performance took place during the day and the scenery was not painted, so it was up to the audience to use their imagination.

Renaissance Playwrights:   The "University Wits" was the name of the group who founded the English drama of the Renaissance because they had a university education. John Lyly and Christopher Marlowe were dramatists, prepared the way for Romantic comedy and had a great influence on Shakespeare's works (as for example, Shakespeare's tragic heroes like Macbeth and King Lear.

Shakespeare: He was the most extraordinary writer of the Renaissance. He wrote histories dealing with events of ancient Rome (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra), comedies presenting contrasting characters (The Comedy of Errors, Midsummer Night's dream) and tragedies concentrated on a single individual opposed to a social group or the universe (Hamlet, Othello).

Shakespeare's Greatness: he is considered a great writer because he was really skilled in the use of language, technique, rhyme, imagery, and he portrayed human passions with such a great strength which appealed all kinds of people. He used 30,000 words and coined new words and phrases which are still used today.

Influence of the Classics on Drama: Plutarch and Seneca were the two writers who were most influential in this period. They were imitated for their style and language used.