Rodriguez 1

Ryanna Rodriguez
Mr. Munoz
English IV, Per 3
2 November 2014
The Renaissance Historical Context
The Monarchy & the Church
o Sir Thomas More & Sir Walter Raleigh were put to death for not following orders
from their ruler.
o Held different beliefs of religion
The Tudors
o Henry Tudor took the throne with a different name Henry VII in 1485
Shrewd harsh leader
Negotiated favorable commercial treaties abroad, built up the nations
merchant fleet, & financed expeditions that established English clams in
the Americas
Had a son named Arthur who married the Spanish Princess Catherine of
Aragon
Created a political alliance with Spain Englands greatest New
World rival
Arthur died causing the Pope to grant his younger brother to marry
Catherine
He would then be the new heir
The Protestant Reformation
o Problems in the catholic church began to spread in Europe during Henry VIIs
reign
o There was corruption
Cardinals living in a materialistic way
Friars traveling countryside selling indulgences
In exchange for forgiveness of sins
o 1517 Martin Luther who was a German monk wrote out 95 theses (problem of the
church) & nailed it to the church door
o Copies were soon printed & spread around Europe
o Wanted the church to reform, others went as far as to say it should be split
The Church of England
o Henry VIII became obsessed with wanting a son that he divorced Catherine &
married her court attendant Anne Boleyn
o He wanted an annulment from his wifethe Pope refused
o He then broke with Rome & declared himself head of the Church of England in
1534
o Only had 1 son & 6 wives
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Edward VI who was sick
Succeeded at the age of 9 but died when he was 15
o During Edwards reign radical Protestants believed the church needed even
further reform purify
o Puritans came about & would clash with the monarchy
o After Edward, the daugher of Catherine, Mary took the throne
Brought back Catholicism and persecuted the Protestants
Her nickname was Bloody Mary
Died in 1558
Successor: half-sister Elizabeth
The Elizabethan Era
o Unwanted daughter of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn was Elizabeth I
Ablest monarchs in history
Her reign gave prosperity & prestige
A consummate politician exercising authority but being considerate of the
publics opinion & being respectful of Parliament
Her accomplishments include keeping England from expensive war,
ending the Spanish Alliance & encourage overseas adventures
Sir Francis Drake discovered circumnavigation of the globe
Sir Walter Raleighs attempt to establish a colony in Virginia
Reestablished the Church of England
Used it to separate Catholics & Puritans
Had a cousin Mary Stuart who was queen of Scotland
Everyone thought she deserved the English throne
Elizabeth ordered Mary to be beheaded in 1587
To fight back, Philip II who was a catholic ruling over Spain sent an
Armada (fleet of warships) to challenge the English Navy
English ships beat the Spanish Armada after a violent storm
o Made Elizabeth a great military power
The Rise of Stuarts
o Tudor Dynasty came to an end in 1603 after Elizabeths Death
o Succeeded by James VI of Scotland (Mary Stuarts son) who ruled as James I of
England
Supported the Church of England
Catholic group including Guy Fawkes had a plan to kill him and bomb
parliament (unsuccessful Gunpowder Plot of 1605)
o Clashes with the puritans worsened when James son Charles I took the throne in
1625
o 1629 dismissed Parliament for 11 years
o To escape persecution Puritans moved to North America
o 1637 Anglican practices were presented to a Presbyterian church in Scotland
creating a rebellion
The Defeat of Monarchy
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o Royalists were defeated under the guidance of Oliver Cromwell who was a
dedicated Puritan general
The king then surrenders one year later
o Appointed Cromwell as lord protector of commonwealth
o Died in 1658 making his son take up his title but fails leaving a new parliament to
be created in 1660.
Charles I has a son Charles II who returns from exile and takes up the
throne.
This caused a new chapter in English historyRestoration
The Renaissance
o Time period of writers, painters, scientists, and scholars
o Means rebirth or revival created by a energy of a more modern time than
medieval time
o Started in the 14
th
century in Italy quickly spreading throughout Europe to the
North
The Renaissance Worldview
o People of this time were interested about life then not about the afterlife like in
the Middle Ages
o The ideal Renaissance man was not a bold and dashing knight or a scholarly
monk but well-rounded person who cultivated his talents to the fullest.
Creativity & Exploration
o Time period of Columbus, Galileo, and Shakespeare
o Curious about literature, nature, human impulses, exploration
o Compass, astronomy were discovered
o Gutenbergs printing press created a new way for books to be made instead of by
handcreating the population of England to read by 1530
o James I helped create the new translation of the Bible
o 1660 Renaissance Period ended due to Cromwells reign and closing of theaters
Pastoral Poems & Sonnets
o Elizabeth I wrote lyrics and poems and encourage Sir Walter Raleigh & Sir Philip
Sidney
o Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene in 1590 for Elizabeth
o Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe wrote pastoral poems
o Pastoral poem: a poem that portrays shepherds and rustic life, usually in an
idealized manner.
Didnt write in a shepherd voice
Wasnt written in common language instead was written in courtly
language
Improving Nature
o Elizabethans viewed nature as beautiful, intricate, & complex.
o Natural world was not for imitation but for improvement by creative minds
o Elizabethans created literary devices (metaphors, allegories, analogies, sonnets)
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o Sir Thomas Wyatt & Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey created the 14-line verse form
of poetry
o Sonnet became a popular form to express love
o Sonnets by Shakespeare do not form a clear sequence, many believe they were
addressed to Amelia Lanier (mysterious dark lady who was a poet)
o English Sonnet became Shakespearean Sonnet
Shakespearean Drama
o Mystery, miracle, & morality plays were performed in churches, inns, and
markets.
o Interludes mocked customs & manners of the commoners
o Latin & Greek Dramas were study at Oxford & Cambridge and shared the
qualities of tragedy & comedy
o Were often staged in courts or nobles homes or inn yards where people could see
from their balconies
o Englands first theatre was the famous Globe Theatre
Shakespeares Influence
o 1600 London had more playhouses than any other part in Europe.
o Shakespeare created 37 plays
Tragedies: Othello
Comedies: A Midsummer Nights Dream
Histories: kings of England
o People would pay a penny to watch a play while the royal family would get
special performances.
o Shakespeare was the it factor in the 16
th
& 17
th
century
o Christopher Marlowe-first playwright to exploit the English language as a
dramatic medium
o Ben Jonson- comedic playwright who provided a satiric, cynical commentary of
ordinary lives.
Masques attracted aristocratic audiences with its scenery, costumes,
music, and dance
o By Elizabeths death in 1603, puritan influence had spread in England.
Believed Elizabethan dramas & rowdy crowds that attracted them were
immoral
o Shakespeare wrote Macbeth during Elizabeths successors reign James I
o All playhouses were closed when James son Charles I was overthrown in 1649
The Rise of Humanism
o Humanism: worth and importance of the individual, about the spiritual value of
beauty in nature and art, about the power of human reason to decide what is good
or bad.
o Those who taught this view were called humanists
Studies humanities such as art, history, philosophy and literature
o Erasmus was a Dutch monk who studied ancient Greek & Hebrew and led the
Christian humanists
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English Humanists
o Sir Thomas More
English writer & scholar
1516 published Utopia (Greek for no place) about a perfect society with
no poverty or greed
o Humanists were concerned with classical learning
o Translated George Chapmans of Homers Iliad & Odyssey
o Sir Thomas More did not approve of Luther and Protestants
o John Milton was a great writer
Spiritual & Devotional Writings
o England remained a Christian nation even with all the chaos that has happened
o King James Bible molded English prose style better than any other work
o In the 14
th
century the first English version of the bible was translated by John
Wycliffe who was attacked by an archbishop
o Another translator William Tyndale was condemned as a heretic & was burned at
the stake
The King James Bible
o 1604 James I created 54 new leading versions of the bible in Hebrew & Greek as
well as Latin
Two Masterpieces
o John Milton was a puritan poet who was influenced by the King James Bible
Supposedly knew the bible by heart
Paradise Lost is said to be about the first humansAdam & Eve and the
story of their fall from grace
o John Bunyan was an uneducated tinker and preacher who was a puritan
Jailed for his beliefs
While jailed he wrote The Pilgrims Progress
The Metaphysical & Cavalier Poets
o Ben Jonson was not only a playwright but an accomplished poet
o Wrote about the classical forms
o His followers were called sons of Ben many were sophisticated aristocrats
Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling
Known as Cavaliers for taking the side of Charles I
o John Donne was a metaphysical poet
Used imagery, metaphors, convention about death, physical love, and
religious devotion