English literature
Writers
Thomas More
1478-1535
Most important humanist of England
Friends with Desiderius Erasmus
Catholic
1515 → Utopia
He describes his ideal society
In Latin
Another country → Henry VIII can’t give cri cs
1534 → imprisoned in tower of Londen by Henry VIII
Christopher Marlowe
1564-1593
Spy for Queen Elizabeth I
1592 → Doctor Faustus → It's about a man who sells his soul to the devil
1593 → Arrested on charge of atheism and treason
William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Stratford-upon-Avon
Anne Hathaway
Susanna, Judith and Hamnet
Actor and playwright
1602 → Secured the patronage of King James I
He took good stories and retold them in his own style
, Elizabethan theatre
Audience stood packed up in small area in front of the stage
Seatings were for the wealthy
Emphasis was on costumes
Women were not allowed on stage → immortality
Sonnets (1590-1600)
154: 127 were produced to commission; 27 were more personal
abab cdcd efef gg (vorige: abba abba cde cde)
Time is a common theme
Sonnet 18 - based on sonnet 75 of Edmund Spenser - Immortalizing the poet's love
through poetry
Comedies
All characters have their faults, but they’re minor
Comic reversal = placing characters in circumstances where they have to reverse
social roles
Prominent themes: love, sex and relationships
Ends mostly in a wedding
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Romeo and Juliet → roman c comedy
Tragedies
About fate and destiny
The fatal characters flaws of the lead character
It is fascinating because we recognize ourselves in the stories
Comic relief = light-hearted incidents amid the grim events
Hamlet (1602)
Othello (1604)
King Lear (1606)
Macbeth (1606)
Influence of the Classics
Five acts:
First act (prologue): become familiar with characters, location and background
End fourth/begin fifth: catharsis
Aristoteles rules:
Chronological sequence
In a single location
No subplots → Management (unity) of time, location and action
Writers
Thomas More
1478-1535
Most important humanist of England
Friends with Desiderius Erasmus
Catholic
1515 → Utopia
He describes his ideal society
In Latin
Another country → Henry VIII can’t give cri cs
1534 → imprisoned in tower of Londen by Henry VIII
Christopher Marlowe
1564-1593
Spy for Queen Elizabeth I
1592 → Doctor Faustus → It's about a man who sells his soul to the devil
1593 → Arrested on charge of atheism and treason
William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Stratford-upon-Avon
Anne Hathaway
Susanna, Judith and Hamnet
Actor and playwright
1602 → Secured the patronage of King James I
He took good stories and retold them in his own style
, Elizabethan theatre
Audience stood packed up in small area in front of the stage
Seatings were for the wealthy
Emphasis was on costumes
Women were not allowed on stage → immortality
Sonnets (1590-1600)
154: 127 were produced to commission; 27 were more personal
abab cdcd efef gg (vorige: abba abba cde cde)
Time is a common theme
Sonnet 18 - based on sonnet 75 of Edmund Spenser - Immortalizing the poet's love
through poetry
Comedies
All characters have their faults, but they’re minor
Comic reversal = placing characters in circumstances where they have to reverse
social roles
Prominent themes: love, sex and relationships
Ends mostly in a wedding
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Romeo and Juliet → roman c comedy
Tragedies
About fate and destiny
The fatal characters flaws of the lead character
It is fascinating because we recognize ourselves in the stories
Comic relief = light-hearted incidents amid the grim events
Hamlet (1602)
Othello (1604)
King Lear (1606)
Macbeth (1606)
Influence of the Classics
Five acts:
First act (prologue): become familiar with characters, location and background
End fourth/begin fifth: catharsis
Aristoteles rules:
Chronological sequence
In a single location
No subplots → Management (unity) of time, location and action
