Renaissance

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/sidbio.htm

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/renaissance_authors.html

http://portal.tpu.ru/SHARED/g/GREDINA/four/Tab/renessans.pdf

http://www.jmu.edu/english/faculty/faculty_areas_of_study/Renaissance.html

http://people.umass.edu/eng2/per/renaissance.html

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html

http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/tempest/papers/LGoldman.html

http://www.studyguide.org/brit_lit_timeline_renaissance.htm

Renaissance is the idea of rebirth that happened between the thirteen hundreds and the seventeen hundreds, the rebirth of older ideas that were once banned by the church begin to reappear reviving older styles of doing things. This includes science, philosophy, commerce and art. Literacy became popular during this era, especially with the invention of printing and the battle between church and state began.

Historical Context: - King Henry VIII makes himself head of the church of england (1529-1539) - Brings state and church together changing religion and politics (anglican) - cuts contact with church in rome and the pope - Made protestantism popular in europe - Made way of thinking that kings and queens were closest to god and so on in order of important. (bugs being the least important) - King Henry has daughter with Anne Boleyn - Elisabeth became the symbol of the Golden Age (period of stability where all was well) - Anne is executed and elisabeth is declared illegitimate by law and was forced to spend a lonely childhood with her brother. - In 1553 elizabeth's sister rises to power and sees elisabeth as a fret for being a supporter of the protestants. Elisabeth was imprisoned in a tower and then placed under house arrest in 1554. - In 1558 elizabeth becomes queen and is now in charge of fixing the religious strife in england. She tries to reintroduce her fathers religion. - Elisabeth proved to be a great leader being financially prudent and by demonstrating a political skill - Encourages the nation to be self-confident encouraging many literary figures - Wins war vs spain gaining control of the seas allowing for England to bring in supplies from the new world - This aided to the renaissances view of new ways of thinking and understanding the universe - Renaissance is beggining of the modern world in the areas of geography, science, politics, religion, society and art. - English becomes the universal language we know today - Invention of printing involves many texts to be shared around the world and theater becomes an important form of art. Shakespeare is present.

Three periods: -1st
- End of 15th century to first half of the 16th
- First scholars appear studying antique philosophy and literature
- Literature is mostly theoretical
-2nd
- so called elizabethan period - 2nd half of 16th beginning of 17th - Shakespeare writes in this period
-3rd
- After shakespeare's death till 1740’s - decline of the renaissance

Values and beliefs:

Humanism: Humanism rejects religions, and concentrates on human values, capacities and they're worth. They believed that the idea of a god was still the right thing, but that them as humans has the power to make their own decisions and could love and enjoy things without offending god.

Imitation: They used older classics as a source of inspiration. They found it important to deliver the same messages but to also adapt it into a more christian perspective.

The Great Chain of Being: Beliefs that all creatures and nature are sorted in a hierarchy, from god all the way to rocks

Intellectualism: The will to learn, science and philosophy began to make a large impact during the renaissance and they stopped accepting everything the church would tell them.

Individualism: Realizing that an individual person is important and that your life does not have to be devoted to serving God.

Protestant reformation: Religious movement in the 16th century that attempted to change the Roman Catholic Church but ended up creating the Protestant churches

Genre and style:
- Dominant style of the period is called Baroque
-For art it follows Mannerism and Rococo
-Characterized by fecundity, Linguistic experimentations and decorative impulse
-Important in english language
-Renaissance english close to todays
-Big change is vocabulary
-Some writers made new words and that was called inkhorn terms
-English language became a finely tuned instrument to express emotions
-Shakespeare created his own romance genre in the literary period
-Drama’s
-Written in verse, supported by royalty
-Tragedies, comedies, histories
-Metaphysical poetry

Significant Authors and Works: include brief bio of two
-William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice
-John Donne:
-Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus
-Andrew Marvell
-Sir Francis Bacon: The New Atlantis
-Sir Philip Sidney: The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, Astrophel and Stella
-Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene
-Thomas More: Utopia

Highlighted passage

Thomas More: Utopia - Born 1478, Dead 1535 - Thomas studied law and joined parliament in 1504 but soon resigned in opposition of Henry VIII’s religious policies. - Did not swear the oath of succession (the first of three which changed who would be successor to the king) and was arrested for treason (Was against the kings separation from the catholique church) - Was executed later on. - Was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI - In 1516 Thomas wrote Utopia, a book about a perfect society. This shows how much he criticized europe's government at the time. - The book makes reference to the fact that Landlords would replace their tenants lands with sheep farms when it says “sheep devour people” - In the book Thomas makes conversation with a sailman and they talk about many of the present day problems as well : the wars of conquest, cruel legislative power against poor, the problems of enclosures - Utopia is basically the opposite of the european government and in greek means nowhere - the political system is democratic, the labour is the main duty, there is no money at all, but there is an abundance of products; all the citizens are equal in rights and compose successfully the mental and physical work. We still use the word “utopia” to determine something unreal, i.e. unreal society. (Not in own words).

Passage: In the first place, most princes apply themselves to the arts of war, in which I have neither ability nor interest, instead of to the good arts of peace. They are generally more set on acquiring new kingdoms by hook or by crook than on governing well those that they already have.

Sir Philip Sidney:
-Born november 30th, 1554, At Penshurst, Kent
-Comes from a very powerful family, Father was Lord Deputy of Ireland, Uncle was Earl of Leicester
-Went to Shrewsbury School at the age of 10
-Returned to england in 1575, living the life of a popular courtier,
-Queen Elizabeth I sent him to germany to create a Protestant League but Queen Elizabeth found him too ardent
-He went agaisnt Queen Elizabeth’s appointed marriage and was kicked out of her court, he then went to his sisters where he wrote the romance Arcadia
-Was appointed governor of Flushing in the Netherlands
-We was wounded by a musket shot in a battle between Spanish forces at Zutphen in 1586
-He died 22 days later because of unhealed wounds
-Died at the age of 31 almost 32
-His death was mourned in England