English literature in the renaissance

孫慧婷

Before we talk specifically about the English Renaissance， theres a really simple question we should probably answer， which is： what is a renaissance？

Renaissance basically means rebirth or ‘revival， refers to the rebirth of the Greek and Roman cultures. In a more specific sense， the “Renaissance” contains far more rich connotation. The renaissance began in Italy， especially in art and architecture， in the late fourteenth century. It made its way over to England and the most of the rest of the Europe somewhere around 1500 and lasted about one hundred years.

The Renaissance was the beginning of the modern world in the areas of geography， science， politics， religion， society and art. London became not only the capital of England， but also the main city of the known world. And English， in the hands of writers like Shakespeare， became the modern language we can recognize today. The invention of printing meant that all kinds of writing were open to anyone who could read. Many new forms of writing were developed. But the most important form of expression was theatre. This was the age of Shakespeare， and the Golden Age of English Drama.

We can distinguish three periods of literature of English Renaissance. The first period covers the end of the 15th and the first half of the 16th centuries. In England the first scholars and humanists appeared， they studied and investigated the antique philosophy， literature. In Oxford and Cambridge Universities the first generations of the English humanists were trained， the development of the book printing was of importance for humanistic culture. In this period the English humanistic literature was mainly of theoretical character.

The second period， the so called Elizabethan one covers the second half of the XVI century and the beginning of the XYII. It is the time of flourishing the English Renaissance literature， the time of creating of the new literary forms： Shakespeares masterpieces are created in this period.

The age of Elizabeth is an age of dreams of adventure， of unbounded enthusiasm springing from the new lands of fabulous riches revealed by English explorers. The young philosopher Bacon is saying confidently， “I have taken all knowledge for my province.” The mind must search farther than the eye； with new， rich lands opened to the sight， the imagination must create new forms to people the new worlds.

We can find that the Age of Elizabeth was a time of intellectual liberty， of growing intelligence and comfort among all classes， of unbounded patriotism， and of peace at home and abroad. Such an age of great thought and great action， appealing to the eyes as well as to the imagination and intellect， finds but one adequate literary expression ； neither poetry nor the story can express the whole man， his thought， feeling， action， and the resulting character ； hence in the Age of Elizabeth literature turned instinctively to the drama and brought it rapidly to the highest stage of its development.

The third period – the time after Shakespeares death and up to 1640 （the forties of the 17th century）， it was the time of declining the English Renaissance literature.

To sum up， the renaissance period is generally regarded as the greatest in the history of English literature. Historically， we note in this age the tremendous impetus received from the Renaissance， from the Reformation， and from， the exploration of the New World. It was marked by a strong national spirit， by patriotism， by religious tolerance， by social content， by intellectual progress， and by unbounded enthusiasm.

Such an age， of thought， feeling， and vigorous action， finds its best expression in the drama； and the wonderful development of the drama， culminating in Shakespeare， is the most significant characteristic of the Elizabethan period. Though the age produced some excellent prose works， it is essentially an age of poetry； and the poetry is remarkable for its variety， its freshness， its youthful and romantic feeling. Both the poetry and the drama were permeated by Italian influence， which was dominant in English literature from Chaucer to the Restoration. The literature of this age is often called the literature of the Renaissance， though， as we have seen， the Renaissance itself began much earlier than the age of Elizabeth， and for a century and a half added very little to our literary possessions.

In study of this great age we can noted：

（1）the Non-dramatic Poets， that is， poets who did not write for the stage. The center of this group is Edmund Spenser. His most famous work is The Faery Queen.

（2）The Rise of the Drama in England； the Miracle plays， Moralities， and Interludes； our first play， “ Ralph Royster Doyster ”； the first true English comedy， “ Gammer Gurtons Needle， “ and the first tragedy， “ Gorboduc ”； the conflict between classic and native ideals in the English drama.

（3）Shakespeares Predecessors， Lyly， Kyd， Nash， Peele， Greene， Marlowe； the types of drama with which they experimented， ——the Marlowesque， one man type， or tragedy of passion， the popular Chronicle plays， the Domestic drama， the Court or Lylian comedy， Romantic comedy and tragedy， Classical plays， and the Melodrama. Marlowe is the greatest of Shakespeares predecessors.

（4）Shakespeare， his life， work， and influence.

（5）Shakespeares Successors， Ben Jonson， Beaumont and Fletcher， Webster， Middleton， Heywood， Dekker； and the rapid decline of the drama. Ben Jonson is the greatest of this group. His chief comedies are “Every Man in His Humour，” “ The Silent Woman， ” and “The Alchemist”； his two extant tragedies are “Sejanus” and “Catiline.”

（6）The Prose Writers， of whom Bacon is the most notable. His chief philosophical work is the Instauratio Magna （incomplete）， which includes“The Advancement of Learning”and the “Novum Organum”.