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Partial Summary The Penguin Guide to English Literature, ISBN: 9780140815955
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Partial Summary The Penguin Guide to English Literature, ISBN: 9780140815955
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The Renaissance, 1485-1649:Introduction, Setting the Scene:
Renaissance means re-birth. From 1500 to 1600, the world was reborn in many
ways. The Renaissance began in Italy in 1400s in especially art and architecture.
England discovered new worlds and developed new ways of thinking as England
became a powerful country in Europe. Columbus discovered America in 1491,
Copernicus and Galileo made important discoveries about the stars and planets,
Ferdinand Magellan sailed all around the world. The Renaissance was thus
worldwide.
King Henry VIII made himself head of Church and took over the Pope's power and
authority. Protestantism took over. The King and Queen became the closest human
being to God. Dutch thinker, Erasmus wrote of man as central figure in the world
and this humanist view was the basis of Renaissance thought.
Henry VIII's daughter Elizabeth became the symbol of the 'Golden Age' in England
from 1558-1603. England defeated Spain and became the ruler of the seas,
exploring and bringing valuable goods from the New World.
The Renaissance was concerned with new ways of believing, new ways of seeing
and new ways of understanding the universe.
The Renaissance was also the beginning of the modern world in areas of
geography, science, religion, politics, society and art.
London not only became the capital of England but also a main city of the known
world.
Shakespeare was a thing then and developed the English language.
Thanks to printing, all kinds of writing was available for those who could read.
New ways of writing also developed.
Most important form of expression was, however, the theatre. This was the age of
Shakespeare and the 'Golden Age of English Drama'.
William Shakespeare, 1564-1616:
Hamlet's [1600] father has been killed by his uncle who takes over the throne and
marries his mother. Hamlet wants to seek revenge on his father but struggles with
moral issues such as how he is supposed to kill a King when a king is considered
next to God. He also faces issues with love, friendships, study and family. His
problems are thus very familiar issues of what every individual will have to face
sooner or later and is not just the issue of a prince. His final issue which he has to
face is his own death and in the Renaissance, as opposed to in the Anglo-Saxon
Times from 410 to 1150, religion has less to offer than it used to in the medieval
times. [Early medieval times and Anglo-Saxon times: 410-1066, and later medieval
times: 1066-1150 --> Middle English from 1150-1485].
Hamlet is a tragedy where the hero dies at the end. Many of Shakespeare's plays
[37 of them] which are best known are tragedies. In a tragedy, the heroes dies and
the harmony in the universe is overturned; the audience have been deeply moved
by the description of the struggles involved. Shakespeare has experimented with
different genres and styles throughout his carrier [1590-1613].
History Plays and Roman Plays:
, Many of Shakespeare's plays are history plays where he makes the kings human,
with real human issues and weaknesses, rather than to depict them as next to God
and things like that.
Shakespeare also wrote Roman plays which shows similar tendencies as the history
plays, where Shakespeare tries to depict anyone involved as human as possible and
with issues and struggles every human being has or will have.
Both his history and Roman plays depicts the political situation in England but he
was careful not to offend the monarch, the earls and lords who supported him
financially. Many other writers of his time was jailed because there weren't as
careful or as clever as Shakespeare in this regard.
Soliloquies and Structure:
A Machiavellian is a person who tricks and deceives others for his own gain.
Richard III as depicted in Shakespeare's plays were depicted as a Machiavellian.
Shakespeare shows this by giving the character of Richard III a soliloquy where he
talks badly about his brother, King Edward IV. Soliloquies are used for the actors
to give their thoughts to the audience who are all gathered around the 'thrust stage'
[1576-1590s]. Soliloquies are more often than not private rather than public speech.
Shakespeare's plays were written to be performed and not the other way round. He
did not thus expect them to be published. His plays were divided into acts and
scenes when published much later after the first edition of his 'First Folio' in 1623.
The Tragedies:
Most of Shakespeare's tragedies were written between 1598-1607 - called his 'black
period'. It is speculated that he had a son 'Hamnet' who died at the age of 10 in 1596
but otherwise there's not too much to be known about him.
'Romeo and Juliet' was one of his earliest tragedies and the most know. It is less
complex and philosophical than his later tragedies.
His major tragedies are 'Hamlet', 'Macbeth', 'King Lear' and 'Othello'. These have
the common theme of mankind constantly pushing to go beyond the limits in order
to achieve perfection and harmony in the world when mankind itself is not perfect
and must fail in these attempts. Most tragedies end in pessimism but show some
kind of hope for the future - like a new king in 'Hamlet' or 'Macbeth'.
'King Lear' is the most pessimistic tragedy where a king grieves the loss of his only
child who truly loved him, despite there being a misunderstanding between father
and daughter.
The Comedies:
Comedies takes on heavy subjects much like tragedies but does not end with
someone dying, instead it ends with a happy ending. Some serious themes are:
identity, the role of women, love and jealousy, love and power, and the power of
money and the attempt to deceive. Many of the comedies produced are called
problem plays. Problem plays raises serious questions but does not resolve them.
The Final Plays [1608-13]:
Some of Shakespeare's final plays were considered serious comedies or problem
plays. Some critics prefer to call them pastoral comedies since their setting involve
the escape/return to countryside. Others call them fables.
Whatever we call these final plays, it is true that the themes were related to topics
from his earlier days but that they are different in tones. 'The Tempest' is the most
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