The Renaissance

1485-1625

“The English Renaissance.” Prentice Hall Literature: The English Tradition.

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 1989. 153-170.

“The Renaissance 1485 -1660”. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course.

Literature of Britain. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2000.

190- 212.

Some focus questions:

How do historical events influence the literature of the era?

How does literature shape or reflect society?

How does the literature of one era carry over or contrast from the previous one?

The End of the War of the Roses

• Henry marries Elizabeth of York (Richard’s niece) to secure his position, and acts to ensure peace with foreign powers. This house of Tudor will rule until Elizabeth I, who is the chief monarch during Shakespeare’s time.

• In 1485, Henry Tudor defeats the Yorkist king Richard III and establishes the Tudor dynasty, which rules for 118 years. He unites the houses of York & Lancaster.

The Coming of the Renaissance: Beginnings of Tudor Rule

around 1455

• The printing press is invented by Johannes Gutenberg.

• William Caxton sets up a press in England.

in 1476

• Books become widely available throughout western Europe.

by 1500

The Printing Press

More things that pave the way for the coming of the

Renaissance

Definitions and Characteristics

Renaissance: rebirth; a flowering of literary,

artistic, and intellectual development that

began in Italy in the 14th century

It’s inspired by the arts and scholarship of ancient Greece and Rome

The religious devotion of the Middle Ages,

with its emphasis on the afterlife, gave way

to a new interest in the human beings’ place here on earth

Universities introduced a new curriculum

called the humanities, which included history,

geography, poetry, and modern languages;

more scholars are writing in the vernacular.

The Renaissance encouraged individual curiosity and creativity. Bold thoughts, beautiful poetry, and powerful dramatic works emerged.

The instruments shown in this painting suggest the ambassadors have mastered astronomy, mathematics, and music. The Ambassadors (1533) by Hans Holbein

the Younger. Oil on canvas.

Renaissance Learning

Some Other Key Terms and Concepts

Renaissance Man- someone who is interested in

science, art, literature, history and other subjects. Example: Henry VIII or Thomas Jefferson

Utopia- a perfect society. Thomas More wrote on this

Reformation- The rejection of the Pope & church; to

change the church & its politics

Humanism- Renaissance writers who were part of an

intellectual mvt that combined traditional Christian thought with Latin & Greek classics to teach people how to live and to study themselves. More on next slide!

Humanism—an intellectual movement that greatly influenced Renaissance thinkers, writers, and artists.

• studied the Bible and the classics to explore questions such as “What is a good life?”

• revived old Greek and Latin classics

The humanists

• made history, literature, and philosophy popular again

• sickly “boy king” • rules in name only

• dies at age 15

• “Bloody Mary” • restores pope’s power• hunts down and

executes Protestants

Heirs of Henry VIII

Edward VI

(r. 1547–1553)

Mary Tudor

(r. 1553–1558)

Elizabeth I

(r. 1558–1603)

• “The Virgin Queen” • brilliant, successful monarch

The Tudor Dynasty in brief

• The “Virgin Queen” foiled several murder plots by her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots.

• Elizabeth’s first task was to restore law and order and reestablish Church of England.

History of the Times

• England under “Bloody” Mary was torn by religious feuds after she restored power to Catholics and executed Protestants.

• Elizabeth I inherits kingdom after deathsof her brother Edward and sister Mary.

• Queen Elizabeth’s defeat of the Spanish Armada was one of her finest hours.

England’s Greatest Monarch