Shakespearean & English Renaissance History

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English Renaissance History

• Dates: approximately 1500-1650

• Renaissance literally means “rebirth.” This term was chosen because the Renaissance was a time when classic literature, art, music, and philosophy were being “reborn.”

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Political History

• The Tudor dynasty ended only a generation before Shakespeare’s birth

• Elizabeth I, or “The Virgin Queen” reigned from 1558-1603

• James I, or James VI of Scotland, reigned from 1603-1625

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Political History

History of the Printing Press

• During the 15th century, books were relatively scarce and had to be copied by hand

• Between 1440-1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed the printing press

• Within 20 years, the printing press had revolutionized information dissemination, fueling the start of the English Renaissance

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Religion• As a result of growing intellectual

curiosity, humans began to question the rules and tenets of the Catholic Church

• On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church, sparking the Protestant Reformation

• Soon after, the Catholic Church launched a Counter-Reformation, filled with heavy propaganda

• Elizabeth I promoted tolerance to all religions, although the Anglican Church was the official Church of England

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Humanism

• The central tenet of humanism was that learning would make humans more just

• Humanism emphasized the power of the individual to influence both himself and those around him

• Famous humanists: Sir Thomas More, Erasmus QuickTime™ and a

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Music, Art, and Literature• Music during this time period

consisted mostly of religious masses (William Byrd) and folk music (street cries, ballads, and love songs)

• Painters were experimenting with new techniques, particularly perspective (da Vinci, Michelangelo)

• Poetry, drama, and religious, political, and philosophical treatises dominated the literary scene (Bacon, Sidney, Donne)

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Renaissance Drama

• Based on Greek and Roman drama• Incorporated the tragic and comedic elements

of both cultures• Focused on Aristotle, an ancient Greek’s,

unities of time and space• Included a Chorus

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Theaters

• Public theaters were wildly popular during the Renaissance and catered to a wide variety of audiences

• Most theaters were “open-air” amphitheaters

• Famous theaters: the Swan, the Globe

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The Globe

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Productions

• New production almost every night

• Very few props were used• Costumes were elaborate

and historically accurate• All parts were played by men• Plays could be shut down

because of political/religious dissidence

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Shakespeare’s Contemporaries

• Christopher Marlowe: Dr. Faustus, Edward II• Ben Jonson: Every Man in His Humour

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Shakespeare’s Biography

• Birth: 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon• April 26, 1564: baptismal records reflect the baptism

of “William, third child of John and Mary Shakespeare”

• January 25, 1616: Shakespeare’s will is drawn up• Death: April 23, 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon

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Family Life• Shakespeare’s father, John, was

a wealthy business owner and civil servant. His mother, Mary, was the daughter of a lesser aristocratic father.

• Shakespeare had 7 brothers and sisters

• November 27, 1582: Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer

• The two had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith

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• Shakespeare most likely began schooling at a “petty school” when he was 4 or 5, where he would have learned to read, write, and complete basic arithmetic problems

• At about 7, Shakespeare would have advanced to a grammar school, where he would have learned Latin grammar. He probably quit at 13.

• There are no records of Shakespeare attending university

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Education

Career Beginnings

• News of Shakespeare’s career first appears in London in 1592, but it almost certainly began before this

• Shakespeare began as an actor, a role he continued to play for the duration of his life

• Although it is hard to date his plays, the earliest were probably Titus Andronicus, A Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Henry VI, The Taming of the Shrew, and Two Gentlemen of Verona

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Shakespeare’s Works

• At least 37 plays - comedies, tragedies, and dramas - although some plays are not so easily classified (Measure for Measure, All’s Well That Ends Well)

• 154 sonnets• At least 6 longer poems: “The Rape of

Lucrece,” “Venus and Adonis,” “The Phoenix and the Turtle,” “The Passionate Pilgrim” “Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,” and “A Lover’s Complaint”

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Shakespeare’s Sonnets• 154, labeled Sonnets 1-154• First 17 are written to a young man,

urging him to marry (procreation sonnets)

• Sonnets 18-126 are written to a young man, expressing the poet’s love for him

• Sonnets 127-152 are written to the poet’s mistress, expressing his love

• Last 2 sonnets are allegories of other issues

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Sonnets 7 and 130SONNET 7Lo! in the orient when the gracious lightLifts up his burning head, each under eyeDoth homage to his new-appearing sight,Serving with looks his sacred majesty;And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill,Resembling strong youth in his middle age,Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,Attending on his golden pilgrimage;But when from highmost pitch, with weary

car,Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day,The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted areFrom his low tract and look another way:So thou, thyself out-going in thy noon,Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.

SONNET 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the

ground:

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

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• 17 comedies• Main plot points/themes: struggle

of young lovers to overcome difficulty, separation and reunification, mistaken identities, frequent punning

• Famous comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice

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Ha! Ha!

• 10 tragedies• Main plot/themes:

protagonist is admirable but flawed, he undergoes a reversal of fortune, plot hinges on chance, elements of the supernatural are often introduced

• Famous tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello

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• 10 histories• Main plot points/themes: tied very closely to

what actually happened in history, end with the death of a king and a the ascent of another, combine the elements of both tragedy and comedy

• Famous histories: Henry VIII, Richard III

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Shakespearean Vocabulary

Here are some common words usedduring Shakespeare’s time that havefallen out of use:Alack, Anon, Cuckold, Ere, Fain, Fie,Forsooth, Gramercy, Methinks, Morrow,Nonce, Prithee, Sooth, Verily, Whence,Zounds

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Much Ado About Nothing

• Much Ado About Nothing tabloid

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Bibliography

• http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/life/fastfacts.html

• http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/ren-humanism/

• http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/incunab/inchome.htm

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/60secondshakespeare/themes_muchado.shtml

• http://www.shakespeare-online.com/

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