REINAISSANCE
•HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Renaissance is considered the 'golden age' of poetry thanks to the flourishing of literature, poetry and theatre. This period is from the 1485 to 1625: in 1485 came to the throne Henry VII after defeating Richard III in the Wars of Roses. He was the first king of Tudor dynasty and after is death in 1509, his second's son Henry VIII succeeded him. He ruled from 1509 to 1547; Henry VIII married six time to pursuit of a male heir. He married Catherin of Aragon, who gives him a daughter Mary; their marriage was annulled he broke with the Pope and declared himself ' Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England' with the Act of Supremacy. After that he married Anne Boleyn who was already pregnant with his child, and she gave him Elizabeth. He married also with Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Perr, and Jane Seymour, the one who gave him a son, mother of Edward (VI) who ruled only from 1547 to 1553. From 1553 to 1558 succeeded him the other daughter of Henry VIII ( and Catherine of Aragon) Mary I called 'Bloody Mary' for her deeds. In 1558 came to the throne Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's daughter. She ruled longer than any other monarch during the Reinaissance, and was a golden queen: she was able in art, in literature and in music, but especially clever diplomat and a very good politician. In her ages, in 1588 England defeat the Spanish Armada, thanks to his smaller and more maneuverable ships. She did't left heirs, so was succeeded by James, son of Mary Stuart, queen of Scots and cousin of Elizabeth ( she was the next in line for the throne of England but she were imprisoned because she was centre of many Catholic plots to move Elizabeth from the throne. So was executed in 1587). James I became king, and ruled from 1603 to 1625.

HUMANISM
Humanism is a new way of looking at the world. There was the idea that man has a potential for culture. The Renaissance was a Italian movement, but then went to embrace the rest of Europe. It was a time of rebirth of intellectual and artistic energies that characterised Greek and Roman civilization. Famous poets in Italy were Petrarch and Boccaccio, then Giotto was famous as painter, Brunelleschi as architect, Donatello as sculptor and Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as artists. An Italian important figure was Lorenzo de' Medici, who encouraged intellectual trends and artistic accomplishments, and also the goals of Reinaissance Humanism. The emphasised the capacities of the human mind and the achievement of human culture.

Other Renaissance accomplishments in the world were the territorial exploration and discovery, for example Columbus in 1492 who discovered the America.
Sir Thomas More was the centre of an active and brilliant circle of English Humanists, He wrote 'Utopia' in the 1516, the first literacy masterpiece of the English Renaissance. In this period Copernicus and Galileo founded the new modern astronomy.

An other important movement in this period was the Protestant Reformation:
Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five theses, Henry VIII broke with the church and found the Anglican Church.

Entertainment was important: was outstanding the figure of Shakespeare, and theatre; the first was open in 1576.

JACOBEAN ERA
James I created a new version of the Bible, and in his ages were born The Puritans were a group of reformed Protestant. After James I death (in 1625) became king his son Charles than began the civil war. Oliver Cromwell, who drove the Puritan movement, and became commander of the parliamentary forces. After Cromwell death in 1658 return to the throne Charles II, there were new election of Parliament. It was the beginning of a new era.