Download renaissance notes pp. 226

The English Renaissance, 1485 – 1625
pp. 226 - 236
1485 – King Henry VII becomes the first Tudor king.
1534 – King Henry VIII establishes the Church of England
1564 – Shakespeare is born!
1599 – The Globe Theater opens.
1611 – King James Bible is published.
1625 – King James I dies.
Historical Background
 A period of “re-birth” and interest in the Greek and Roman
classics.
 Age of naval exploration due to the development of the
compass.
 Catholic Church came under scrutiny; many felt members of
the church were corrupt.
 Martin Luther published his dissenting beliefs, the Protestant
Reformation begins; new Christian denomination,
Lutheranism
 Tudor monarchs – Henry VII, then his son Henry VIII who
dissolves the Catholic Church in England in order to obtain a
divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Spain) so that he can
marry Anne Boleyn.
 Henry and Catherine had a daughter, nicknamed Bloody
Mary for her persecution of the Protestants.
 Henry and Anne had a daughter who became Queen
Elizabeth I.
 Elizabeth’s greatest contribution was establishing a policy of
religious compromise.
 Elizabeth was the last Tudor king; King James I of Scotland
(and a member of the Stuart family) is her successor.
 James I was a patron of the arts. His reign is known as the
Jacobean Era. Jamestown, Virginia, was founded and named
after him.
 James’s belief in the divine right of kings offended the
Puritans, leading to their migration to Plymouth Colony in
1620.
Literature of the Period
 Elizabethan poetry: lyric poems were most popular, replacing
the narrative poems of the Middle Ages (like Canterbury
Tales).
 Sonnets: 14-line poems in iambic pentameter, about love,
Italian: abbaabba cdecde, English abab cdcd efef gg
 Pastoral poetry: rustic simplicity of rural life; typically
idealized the life of the shepherds without acknowledging the
hardships of such agrarian-based lifestyles.
 Elizabethan drama: modeled in the classic Greek and Roman
tragedies.
 Comedies: Stories of family conflict and some violence; end
with a wedding
 Tragedy: downfall of a tragic hero; ends with death(s)
 History: Plays about the English kings
 Prose: Not as popular as poetry. But some authors were
writing about science, philosophy and literature. The King
James Bible.