1. English Renaissance

2. Overview Middle Ages: focus on religion and after life
Renaissance: focus on human life on earth
Increased interest in art, literature, nature, and human impulses
Emphasis on the individual and the development of human potential

3. Tudor Monarchy 1485-Henry VII takes throne
1509-Henry VIII takes throne
Renaissance Prince
Originally stayed loyal to Rome, but eventually began the Protestant Reformation in England because he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon
1534-declared himself Head of the Church of England, an Anglican church

4. Tudor Monarchy Henry VIII continued
Popular support for this religious move
Those who did not support often paid with their lives
Henry VIII had SIX WIVES!
Catherine of Aragon-1509 to 1533-divorced-one daughter, Mary
Anne Boleyn-1533 to 1536-executed for adultery, incest, and plotting to kill the king-daughter, Elizabeth
Jane Seymour-1536 to 1537-died, only wife to be buried with the king-son, Edward VI

5. Tudor Monarchy Henry VIII wives continued
Anne of Cleves-January 1540 to July 1540-divorced
Kathryn Howard-1540 to 1542-executed, promiscuity and adultery
Katherine Parr widowed

6. Tudor Monarchy 1547-Edward VI 1553-Mary I
Nine years old when he took the throne
England becomes more truly Protestant
Publication of the Book of Common Prayer
1553-Mary I
Reintroduces Catholicism
Marries cousin Philip II of Spain
Persecution of Protestants; “Bloody Mary”

7. Tudor Monarchy 1558-Elizabeth I Daughter of henry and Anne
Considered one of the best monarchs in English history
Pomp and ceremony
Frugal
Middle of the road religiously
“Virgin Queen”…???
Dies in 1603-end of Tudor reign

8. Stuart Monarchy 1603-James VI of Scotland, James I of England
King James Bible
1625-Charles I
Divine rights of kings
Dismissed parliament
1649-beheaded

9. Stuart Monarchy Civil War-Puritans/Royalists
1649-Oliver Cromwell head of Commonwealth
Later “Lord Protector for Life”
1658-Cromwell dies, son inherits title
1660-Charles II returns from exile to restore monarchy

10. What does all this mean for literature?
Genres: lyric sonnet, poetic drama, masque
Lyric sonnet: Specialized poems (14 lines) adhering to strict rhyme schemes and syllable rules. Very structured.
Poetic drama: combination of play and poetry in which the character in the plays speak mostly in metrically structured verse
Masque: fantastic court dramas with supernatural characters and outlandish costumes

11. English Renaissance Authors
First in history to support themselves as writers
Paid through three institutions: acting companies, universities, and the King’s/Queen’s court

12. Elizabethan Beliefs
Life in Elizabethan England could be cruel and hard. The poor often went hungry, disease was widespread, medical remedies often felt more like tortures, and many women died in childbirth. But through their beliefs, people found ways of making sense of their existence.

13. Elizabethan Beliefs-Religion
People were, in general, much more religious than people today.
Almost everyone believed in God and expected to go to heaven or hell after death.
At this time, England was a Protestant country – it had broken away from the Catholic Church of Rome. This was part of the European movement called the Reformation, which began with attacks on corruption in the Catholic Church.

14. Elizabethan Beliefs Chain of Being, cont.
Accepting one’s place in the chain was a duty that would be rewarded by God in heaven.
Disrupting the chain was thought to lead to chaos, but of course many people still did challenge their position in society.

15. Elizabethan Beliefs The Chain of Being
A concept inherited from the Middle Ages
An attempt to give order, or “degree”, to the vastness of creation.
God created everything in a strict hierarchy, or chain, that stretched from God himself down to the lowest things in existence.
Humans occupied a place in the chain below the angels but above animals, plants and stones. Some humans were higher in the chain than others.

16. Elizabethan Beliefs The Chain of Being, cont.
The monarch was the highest
Nobles and churchmen below
Gentlemen
Commoners
All women were considered to be inferior to men, with the obvious exception of Elizabeth I.

17. Elizabethan Beliefs Myths and Magic
Fairies, magic, witches, spells and prophecies all formed part of their view of life.
Folklore and superstition were often as important to people as the official religious beliefs taught by the Church.

18. Little and Large Elizabethan Beliefs
The human body was thought to be a miniature representation of the universe as a whole – a microcosm.
Various parts of the body were linked to the planets and signs of the zodiac

19. Elizabethan Beliefs Little and Large, cont.
The body was thought to contain four “humours” or fluids – black bile, phlegm, blood and choler.
A person’s temperament depended on the way the humours were mixed.
Most people were thought to have one humour that was more dominant than the others.
Illnesses and mental disorders were blamed on an imbalance of the humours.

20. To be, or not to be, that is the question...
William
Shakespeare's
World
To be, or not to be, that is the question...
This above all, to thine own self be true...

21. William Shakespeare Birth celebrated as April 23, 1564
Died April 23, 1616
Married Anne Hathaway in 1582
She was 8 years Bill’s senior
Lapse from

22. Shakespeare’s Career By 1592- actor and playwright
1594- charter member of Lord Chamberlain's Men
1603- Changed to King’s Men
Retired in 1612
Wrote 37 plays
154 Sonnets

23. Why is his work so popular?
Shakespeare wrote about human nature and how people behave.
Although his words can be hard to understand, his ideas are as relevant now as they were four centuries ago.

24. Shakespeare’s Works
No one knows exactly when each of his works was written; there are approximate dates.
Some experts have even said that “Shakespeare’s” plays are really the work of other writers.
This may be because some people cannot believe that Shakespeare, who came from an ordinary background, could have written such great works of literature.

25. Elizabethan Stage The Globe (“Wooden O”)- Jan. 20, 1599
Caesar -Probably the first play to be performed at The Globe
Sets would primarily be imagined by the audience (heaven, stage, hell)
All actors male
1613- Henry VIII, light fuse to cannon, theatre burned down

26. Shakespeare’s Use of Language
Meter: rhythm of speech organized into patterns called feet
Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter
Heroic Couplet: 2 lines of iambic pentameter that rhyme

27. Iambic Pentameter Consists of iambs (hence, the iambic part)
Iamb=a set of 2 syllables (a foot), the first being unstressed (u) and the second being stressed (/)-opposite is trochaic
Five iambs per line (the pentameter part)
Therefore, there are 10 syllables in each line
Usually, the more important words or parts of words are stressed

28. Tragedies
Imitation of a serious action which provokes pity and fear in the reader/viewer (catharsis=purge of emotions)
Shakespeare’s most famous and popular plays
Romeo and Juliet; Macbeth; Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Julius Caesar

29. Tragic Hero
Character usually of high birth who is not totally good or totally bad. His downfall is brought about by harmatia (a character flaw) or error in judgment, causing the character to become more self aware or learn a lesson.
Hubris-common character flaw of excessive pride

30. Doom and Destiny
Many people believed in fate, or destiny, and in the power of the stars to foretell the future.
Shakespeare uses the idea of fate or destiny to add excitement and anticipation to the tragedies
Uses a prophecy as a way of holding the audience’s interest, because everyone wants to see if it will be fulfilled.

31. The tragedy of Macbeth Set in Scotland
Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England)
Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting
Shakespeare researched The Chronicles - Banquo is an ancestor of King James I

32. King Duncan of Scotland
Murdered by cousin Macbeth
Honest and good
Malcolm & Donalbain
Sons of the King
Malcolm is the eldest son
Macbeth
Duncan’s most courageous general
Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan
The Characters

33. Banquo Lady Macbeth Macduff General and Macbeth’s best friend
Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder
An actual ancestor of King James I
Lady Macbeth
As ambitious as her husband
A dark force behind his evil deeds
Macduff
Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of murdering the king
Macbeth has his family murdered
Swears vengeance

34. The Curse!

35. The Scottish Play
It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre
Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production--horribly
MORE ON THAT LATER...

36. So what really happens? Good guy goes bad Guy wants power
Married to a pushy control freak
She wants power
Kills people- LOTS of people
Gets power
Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy)
Ticks off a lot of people
Want more power! Kill! Kill!
Gets what’s coming to him in the end

37. Best Line!
“Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And is heard of no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”
- Act V; s.5

38. Unlocking Themes in Macbeth
Ambition can subvert reason.
When supernatural powers represent evil, they should be ignored.
The natural order is disrupted by any upset in the proper order of human society.
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39. Unlocking Themes in Macbeth
Appearances do not always reflect reality.
Despite prophecies of the future, people are responsible for their own actions.
Attempts to control the future by overturning the natural order of society are futile.