Download The English Renaissance

The English Renaissance
1485-1660
th
14
Century, Italy
European Renaissance
Period Begins
Renaissance =
“Rebirth”
Medieval World View
Religion and the
Afterlife
Rural self-sustaining
system based in farms
and villages
Renaissance World View
International Trading
Economy
Stress Human Life here
on Earth
New emphasis on individual
and development of human
potential
Cultivating innate talents to
the fullest
Arts and Literature flourishes
Questioning Time worn
truths and challenging
authority
English
After 1485 when the
War of the Roses
ended and Henry VII
came to power
Henry VII
Built up the nation’s
merchant fleet
Financed expeditions that
established English claims
in the New World
Henry VIII
Succeeds throne in 1509
Skilled athlete, poet, musician
Well educated in French,
Italian, and Latin
…marries Princess
Catherine of Spain
After 18 years of marriage,
only 1 daughter: Mary
WANTS A MALE HEIR!!
Requests to have
marriage annulled to
marry Catherine’s court
attendant, Anne Boleyn
…marries Anne Boleyn
Breaks from Roman Catholic
Church because Pope refuses
1534 – declares himself head
of the Church of England
Those opposed – paid with
their lives
Dissolved English
monasteries and distributed
their landholdings
Continued …
Anne Boleyn produces
ONLY 1 Daughter,
Elizabeth
She’s charged and
executed for adultery and
incest
…marries Jane
Seymour
She produces one
son Edward VI
Edward dies at age
of 9 in 1547
Mary
takes the throne
Tries to reintroduce Roman
Catholicism
Marries cousin Philip of Spain and
persecutes Protestants
=Bloody Mary
Dies in 1558
Elizabeth I
takes throne
English Renaissance
reached its full potential
Unprecedented prosperity
and international prestige
Elizabeth loved pomp and
ceremony but was frugal
and balanced national
budget.
Absolute authority but
sensitive to public opinion
and respectful of parliament
Continued …
Reestablished Church of
England
Elizabeth kept England out
of wars and ended Spanish
alliance
Never married
Renaissance drama
flourishes during this
time: drama concerned
with the complexities of
human life here on
earth
1603 Elizabeth dies
King James I and
King Charles
(1625)
Belief in the divine right
of kings:
God’s representatives
in civil and religious
matters
1629- Charles
dismisses Parliament =
Operating without trial
by jury
Deepening of
religious, political and
economic unrest
Civil war –
Royalists
vs. Parliament
1649 King executed
(Royalists defeated)
Afterwards
English Theaters closed
Most forms of recreation
suspended
Even walking for pleasure is
forbidden
1660 = New Parliament, Charles II
to throne, RESTORATION
PERIOD begins
POETRY OF
RENAISSANCE
Lyric Poems
Written to be sung
Purpose was to
express the author’s
feelings
Pastoral Verse
Represents an
idealized picture of
nature and rural life
Metaphysical Poetry
Uses unusual
imagery and
elaborate metaphors
(conceits)
Epic Poetry
Examples:
Paradise Lost by
John Milton
The Odyssey
Literary Terms
Rhyme scheme
Simile
Tone
Alliteration
Stanzas
Mood
Paraphrasing