Paper – 1 The Renaissance Literature
Prepared by – Shubhda parmar
Roll no - 35
Sem - 1
Email id –shubhadaparmar10@gmail.com
Submitted by – Smt.S.B gardi
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
Gujarat
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Introduction:
The
word Renaissance seems to have been first used by the French historian, Jules
Michelet, in his Historian de france, available in 1855.It was immediately
taken up by other scholars and while all have known its general value as a
narrative of a unique historical time none have really been able to identify it
the debate over its meaning continue to this day. It has been describe as the
birth of the modern world out of the world and the innovation of man, as the
era of untrammeled individualism in life, during religion and art. Recently
some historians, finding that these attribute were present in various people
and place in the middle ages, and also that many basics long detained to be
medieval survived into the Renaissance, have denied that the Renaissance ever
existed. The evidently settled notions of theme devil world were at no time exempt from test and new vistas of human potential were constantly being
opened to view. Thus historians regularly speak of renaissance rather than a
Renaissance. In is possible for us to see that there were in the time of
Shakespeare confident unique attitudes which were not equally present in the
age of Chaucer, and which we can tell to political, economic and logical
changes taking place throughout Europe .
Generally we may agree that the period of the Renaissance was famous for speedy
growth in new scientific discovery, religious controversy, commerce and intense
political nationalism.
As a poet Marlowe is known of
the English Renaissance, a period which for historical convenience we may view
as having begun with the succession of king Henry VII to English throne in
1485.It is hard to say just when the English Renaissance came to a close, some
may argue that it has never broken, that it is active today. We may work its
fading with the death of King James in 1625 while John Milton, who was the only
seventeen years old, was still to be very much a poet of the Renaissance. In
1625 the most literary achievement of the English Renaissance had been written,
individual attitudes which we connect with the age of Elizabeth were being
challenged by new ones often beyond the conception of Shakespeare, and the
modern world had come into being.
The
Renaissance in England
In 1485 the English Renaissance began
with the succession of King Henry VII to the English throne .A movement touching
the lives of the Europeans, it began in Italy almost two the centuries earlier,
and the two most famous names related with its early period are Petrarch and
Boccaccio. From Italy the movement
spread during Spain, Netherlands, Germany,
England, and france The Renaissance
begun with recovery of classical
learning which has come to be called Humanism. It may have been aided by the
reduce of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 and the consequent movement into
Italy of Greek scholars deportment their long preserved classical manuscripts
while the study of Greek had begun in western Europe some time in advance.
The most major event of the
Renaissance in England
The birth of Individualism and
worldliness gave by the Renaissance. These were the same ingredients in the
classical Greek literature which concerned the men of the Renaissance. The
ancient Greek was a knowing man in that his intact life and hope were centered
on this present world rather than on some future one. The Greek literature also
reveals that strong individualism was an attribute of the ancient Greek, for
the voice of the Greek literature was that of democratic and individualistic Athens before the disciplined ant-hill of Sparta
Wrong and this liberty found expression
in the plays Marlowe.
Another important feature of individualism was the resolve on the
well-rounded man. If a man is only a unit in a social mass, there is a strong responsibility
to be as much like the other units as possible. But if a man is an individual
and end in himself, then there is a worth in his difference in his
individuality.
The
English Renaissance Literature
The English Renaissance literature is marked
by four periods;
1. The period of preparation it was
the early life of the Renaissance.
2. The period of Elizabethan it
was the manhood of Renaissance.
3. The period of Jacobean it was the middle age
of English Renaissance.
4. The period of Caroline it
was the old age of the Renaissance.
The efflorescence of the Renaissance
courage appeared in the Elizabethan literature which was obvious by fewness of
national life, an enthusiasm for knowledge, courage of daring. The Renaissance
raised man’s hopes to the mainly
magnificent potentialities inside him, only to dash them again in blackest
doubt as soon as he realized his individual limitations also then life became‘a
tale lold by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’.
The
Renaissance was totally reflected in the literature of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. The prose writing of Malory, Erasmus’ Praise of folly and Sir Thomas More’s Utopian were mostly responsible for
heralding the dawn of the Renaissance which attained its maturity in the age of
the Elizabeth
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard the Earl of Surrey were the pioneers
of the latest poetry in England England
The dramas of the University Wits
bubble with the strength of the Renaissance. John Lyly’s Euphues and Green’s short novels, based on the day
Italian stories, were popular with the leisured reading called’the true child of the Renaissance’. In his four dramas Tamberlaine, Dr.
Faustus, The Jew of Malta
“A god is not so glorious as a king,
I think the pleasure they enjoy in
heaven
Cannot compare with kingly joys in
earth“
The age of Shakespeare and the age of Elizabethan witnessed of the
richest periods in the history of England
The Renaissance denotes, in its broadest intelligence the steady details
of the human mind after the darkness of the middle Ages. Renaissance had its
birth in Italy and spread in Germany, England, and France. In England
The
Renaissance highlighted the thoughts and ideas of the people of the Elizabethan
age. Under the influence of the Renaissance the Elizabethan people made efforts
to free themselves since the rigid institutions of the Middle ages, feudalism
and the churches and to declare their right to live , to think and to convey
themselves in harmony with a more flexible secular code. As men gained this
liberty they felt less inclined to agree to the medieval view that this life
should be sacrificed to the future, they twisted more and more to the present
world, to the problem of gaining mastery in it through wealth or statecraft, of
discovering its secrets through searching and systematic of heightening its
enjoyments through art and literature. During the Elizabethan age there was the
recovery of classical learning the study of the classical authors became an enthusiasm
with the people of this age.
Humanism :
The rediscovery and reinterpretation of
remains gave birth to a new culture that of humanism. The Humanists led by
Erasmus began to take interest in life and in mankind. In England
The Reformation:
The Reformation which began in the
time of Henry VIII reached its culmination through the Elizabethan age. There
was tutelage of Roman influence. Spenser presented the greatest trends of
Reformation in the Faerie Queene.
Nationalism:
The flaw of the Spanish Armada brought about the recovery of
nationalistic and patriotic feelings among the people of this time. At the
defeat of the Spanish Armanda the national spirits rose to confused heights of
self confidence comparable to the exaltation of Greece
Settlement :
Both in politics and religion the English
nation was attaining to a state of solidity. The union of the crowns at last
set at rest the earliest quarrel between Scotland
and England
An Age of
Social Contentment:
It was age of relative social contentment in burly
difference with the days of Lang land. The quick enlarge of developed towns
gave employment to thousands of people who had before been still and economical
.The sense of social defense and contentment gave encourage to literary
activity.
An Age of
Material Advancement:
In
matter surroundings and comforts also there were huge changes and improvements pleasing
place. Commerce was making very extensive progress. Fresh means of wealth were
being originally or fully developed. The suspension of the ministries had
helped to produce an economic revolution which has not so far been sufficiently
recognized.
New Discoveries:
The new discoveries in the field
of astronomy by Copernicus beside the old theories of Ptolemy, and the
discovery of American by Columbus and Cabot brought about a widening of
possibility. New knowledge began to decant in from the rapid and new worlds
were opening in the west. The great journey whose exploits were chronicled in
the immortal pages of Hakluyt brought home equally others as Shakespeare called
them such explorations had significant outcome on the production of literature.
An Age of Adventure:
It was a period of Adventure. The imagination
of the people was encouraged .The new rich lands opened to the sight and
imagination created new forms to people the new lands.
''So
dreams and deeds increase side by side and the
.
That
is the importance of Elizabethan literature.
Printing and Education:
Printing
which Caxton had introduced in the previous age, had currently its full outcome.
The new learning was popularised by the printing press earlier education had
been in the hands the church, but with the Renaissance begun secular education.
A reading public was shaped through the Elizabethan age and the new literature was
welcomed by the people.
Literary Tendencies of the Age
Revival of interest in Greek
literature:
The
ardent recovery in the study of Greek literature brought an incredible light
into many dark place of intellect. The new classical influences were a great
advantage. They tempered and polished the previous rudeness of English
literature.
The New Romanticism:
The
romantic quest is for the remote, the amazing and the attractive. All these wish
were abundantly fed through the Elizabethan age, which is the first and the
greatest romantic age.
“There was a daring and resolute sprite of adventure in literary
as well as other regions and most important of all
these was an unmistakable buoyancy and freshness in the strong wind of the sprite I was the ardent youth
of English literature and the achievement was worthy of it. ”
– Albert
Abundance of Output:
The Elizabethan age was rich in literary productions of every kind.
Singing is impossible when one‘s heart is silent and at any moment one may be laid
desperate. Not till the accession of Queen Elizabethan did better state of
things begin to be. As we have pointed out, the historical condition is quite
wonderful to a healthy production. In the Elizabethan age pamphlets and treatise,
were liberally written. Sometimes writers indulged in scandalous abuses which
were of personal character. But on the whole, the output of literature was very
extensive and after the lean years of the preceding period the prodigal issue
of the Elizabethan age is almost discomforting.
Even the lavishness of the
Elizabethans cannot shine that for this age. The development of new ideas
bright with luminaries of the first magnitude. In prose we may note
particularly the successful yield of the novel, the rejuvenation of the essay,
and the extraordinary activity of critical and miscellaneous writers. This is
the most fruitful period of our literature, but at least they indicated a
lively importance in the literature of the age.
The Sprite of Independence
Despite borrowing from abroad, the authors of
this age showed courage of independence and creativeness. Shakespeare borrowed
freely, but by the alembic of his creative thoughts he transformed the dross
into gold. Spenser introduced the Spenserian stanza, and since his works we get
the impression of creativity and intrepidity. On the whole the outlook of the
writers through this age was broad and independent.
Translation:
The Elizabethan age witnessed
translation keen on English of various important foreign books. In this
admiration Legouis remarks,
“The rich soil was
fertilized by a deep layer of
translations. By 1579, many of the great
books of
ancient
and modern times had been translated
into
English ,almost all of them by 1603, the end
of Elizabeth
formed
current reading and some became as
popular as the writing of English authors. ”
The popularity of Poetry:
Poetry enjoyed its heyday through the
Elizabethan age. While the political
production was not rather equal to the dramatic, it was nevertheless of great
and original beauty. As can be experimental from the disputes of the time, the
passion for poetry was absorbing, and the result of it was equal to expectation
.The whole age lived in a state of poetic fervour. Songs, lyrics and sonnets
were created in plenty, and England
Prose and Novel:
The first time prose rises to
the arrangement of first importance.
“Even the development of poetical drama
between 1579 and 1629 is hardly more extraordinary than the
Hasty expansion of English prose and its version
to Every kind of literary requirement”.
“The dead weight of the Latin belief gradually
passed away and English prose acquired a tradition and universal submission.
English novel made its first proper appearance through this age. ”
The Development of Drama:
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The
act, then story, then the play that seems to be the natural development of the
drama in its simplest form. The Greatest deed of a people are beloved in its
literature, and later generations represent in play or pantomime positive parts
of the story which appeal most powerful to the imagination .Through the
Elizabethan age leap into maturity. Between 1590 and 1593 the theaters were
closed because of instability caused by the actors. But in 1594 the problem was
solved by the licensing of two troupes of players, the Lord admira’s and the Lord Chamberlain’s .one more difficulty the
drama had to face was its affection for taking part in the quarrels of the time
. because
of this meddling the theaters were closed in 1589
.
The drama reached the splendid consummation in the hands of Shakespeare and Ben
Jonson during in the ultimate part of the age; particularly through the
Jacobean period here was a decline in dramatic standards. Such an age of great thought and great action
,pleasing to the eyes as well as to the imagination and intellect ,their
neither poetry nor the story can express the total man , his thought ,feelings
and action ,so in the Age of Elizabethan literature turned to the drama and
brought it quickly to the highest stage
of its development .
The New Classicism:
Time of Elizabethan the
Renaissance, as it was called, had made itself powerfully felt in England
Conclusion:
This age is known as Shakespeare
and Elizabethan age, and this period speak about in England
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