Assignment - 5 - Renaissance or Elizabethan Era

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:-

This blog is part of an assignment for the paper 105A - History of English Literature – From 1350 to 1900, Sem - 1, 2022.

 RENAISSANCE OR 

ELIZABETHAN ERA 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:-

• Personal Information
• Assignment Details
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Introduction
• Renaissance
• Elizabethan Era
• Combination and Influence of Renaissance and/on Elizabethan Era
• Religion in Elizabethan Era
• High Culture and Popular Culture in Elizabethan Era
• Sonnet in Elizabethan Era
• Major Themes of Elizabethan Sonnet
• Reasons which brought the Renaissance in England

• Works Cited

PERSONAL INFORMATION:-

Name:- Pooja Anilbhai Bhuva

Batch:- M.A. Sem 1 (2022-2024)

Enrollment Number:- 4069206420220005

E-mail Address:- poojabhuva2002@gmail.com

Roll Number:- 17

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:-

Topic:- Renaissance or Elizabethan Era 

Paper & subject code:- 105A - History of English Literature – From 1350 to 1900 & 22396

Submitted to:- Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar 

Date of Submission:- 7th November, 2022

About Assignment:- In this assignment I try to describe that the Elizabethan Era was influenced by Renaissance and what type of changes come with Renaissance and other aspects of Elizabethan Era and Renaissance Period.

ABSTRACT:- 

The Rebirth or Revival can be a great thing and a big part of life and Literature too. How Renaissance and Elizabethan age connected with each other and how Queen Elizabeth made progress under watch of her. Petrarch was the biggest reason for the Renaissance and its progress. If the Elizabethan Era and Renaissance are attached with each other, at the same time they are different from each other and also have Influence on each other. Elizabethan Literature has so deeply stamped its authority on all future literate endeavors in developments, that we, almost half a millennium later, still study it and admire its exceptional beauty and greatness. 

KEYWORDS:-

Revival, Beauty, Voyage, Traveling, Sonnet, Printing, Nationalism, Religion, Rebirth. 

INTRODUCTION:-

The Elizabethan age is remembered as the time of a great wave of English nationalism. As well as the early modern period in which the arts flourished. The time of Shakespeare was also the time of Elizabeth first I, who is one of the more memorable monarchs. Several gists can be said to the whole European Renaissance together over the three centuries which spanned. The longest greatest innovation of the Renaissance era was the printing press, put into service around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. Rudimentary presses had lived for a long time, but Gutenberg's design maximized publishing effectiveness in a way that altered the world of creative pursuits, notes, and concepts forever. If one can look at the Renaissance period one can automatically have a glimpse of the Elizabethan Era along with it. 

RENAISSANCE:-

The word 'Renaissance' means 'Rebirth', 'Revival', or 'Reawakening'. It refers to a period in European civilization that was marked by a revival of Classical learning and wisdom. It is a period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages. The Renaissance saw many contributions to different fields, including new scientific laws, new forms of art and architecture, and new religious and political ideas. (Britannica)

The Renaissance was the revival of ancient classic mythology, literature and culture. It can also be considered the reawakening of the human mind after the long slumber of the dark middle ages. It was the age of wonder, the glory and the beauty of the human mind. It appeared as if mankind was awakened from the long sleep and looked at the glory of nature with astonishment. It was the revival of the cult of beauty - the beauty of women, nature, art and literature. 

The Renaissance period started in Italy in the 14th century with the works of Petrarch (in the side picture) and certain others. In 1453 it was simulated by the fall of Constantinople in the invention of the printing press in Germany. The great discoveries of scientists and navigators also boosted the arrival of the Renaissance.

Petrarch 

ELIZABETHAN ERA:-

The timeline of the Elizabethan Era is 1558 - 1603. And the Queen of this Era was Queen Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan age saw the flowering of poetry (the sonnet, the Spenserian stanza, dramatic blank verse), was a golden age of drama (especially for the plays of Shakespeare), and inspired a wide variety of splendid prose (from historical chronicles, versions of the Holy Scriptures, pamphlets, and literary criticism to the first English novels). (Britannica)

This era is considered to be the literary height of the English Renaissance. The period revolutionized many aspects of English life, most significantly literature. The age was very rich in Literature and art as it was the age of revival of classical learning. The period was also the period of peace and prosperity in England. The Victorian era and the early 20th century idealized the Elizabethan Era. The ages is most famous for theater, as William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England's past style of theater. The Elizabethan age contrasts sharply with the previous and following reigns. 

Economically, the country began to benefit greatly from the new era of trans - Atlantic trade and persistent theft of Spanish treasure. Elizabethan England was not particularly successful in a military sense during the period, but it avoided major defeats and built up a powerful navy. The Elizabethan age was also an age of plots and conspiracies, frequently political in nature and often involving the highest levels of Elizabethan Society. 

COMBINATION AND INFLUENCE OF RENAISSANCE AND/ON ELIZABETHAN ERA:- 

The Elizabethan age is the epoch in the Tudor Period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Influence of Renaissance reached England during the last phase of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. 

'While Italy was a fire with the new sunrise, it was still for England 

merely a streak of light upon The horizon.'

Comption Rickett

The beginning of Renaissance what's the fall of Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Greek scholars went away to Italy with the valuable manuscripts. Thus the revival of classical studies began in Italy. Latin writers who were almost forgotten were rediscovered. Historians often depict Elizabethan age as the Golden age in English history. The Golden age represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of poetry, music and literature. 

RELIGION IN ELIZABETHAN ERA:- 

Elizabeth managed to moderate the intense religious passions of the time. This was in significant contrast to previous and succeeding eras of marked religious violence. Elizabeth desired to moderate the religious persecutions of previous Tudor reigns - the persecution of catholics under Edward VI and of protestants under Mary I. 

HIGH CULTURE AND POPULAR CULTURE IN ELIZABETHAN ERA:- 

The high culture of the Elizabethan Renaissance was best expressed in its theater. Historical topics were especially popular, not to mention the usual comedies and tragedies. Traveling musicians were in great demand at court, in churches, at country houses, and at local festivals. Important composers included William Byrd, John Dowland, Thomas Campion and Robert Johnson. It became the fashion in the late 19th century to collect and sing the old songs. 

The annual summer fair and other seasonal fairs such as May Day were often bawdy affairs. Watching plays became popular during the Tudor period (1485 - 1603). Miracle plays were local re - enactments of stories from the Bible. There were many different types of Elizabethan sports and entertainment. Animal sports included Bear and Bull baiting, dog fighting and cock fighting. The rich enjoyed Tennis, fencing and jousting. Hunting was strictly limited to the upper class. Dice was your popular activity in all social classes. Cards appeared in Spain and Italy about 1370, but they probably came from Egypt. By the time of Elizabethan reign, gambling was a common sport. Upper and lower both classes are played cards. Popular card games included Maw, Once and Thirty and Bone -ace. Every month had its own holiday. 

SONNET IN ELIZABETHAN ERA:-

Sonnet, the dominant form of poetry of the Elizabethan age. Brought to England in the early 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; They adapted the form to the English language. Sonnet is a lyric in 14 lines of Iambic pentameter. The birthplace of the Sonnet has not been definitely determined. Most of the critics believe that Sicily and Provence must have been the two possible sources. The two most commonly occurring types of sonnets are as following:-

PETRARCHAN SONNET - divided into two stanzas, Eight Lines and Six Lines. Petrarchan Sonnet is characterized by the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA CDECDE.  

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET - divided into three - four line Stanzas and follows the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 

Other less frequently used forms of the Sonnet exist. At the time, the writing of poetry was a part of the education of a gentleman. Sonnets were very popular among the upper classes in the collection of sonnets and lyrics were often published. William Shakespeare was one of these Poets, since his collection of Sonnets. One of the best lyrical Poets of the Elizabethan age was Edmund Spenser. Other famous Poets of the age include Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe. The main practitioners of the Elizabethan sonnet sequence were William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney. 

MAJOR THEMES OF ELIZABETHAN SONNET:- 

Some of the most significant themes in the Elizabethan Sonnet sequences include love, time, the value of writing, and the perpetuation of beauty. Surrey gave it a rhyming meter and structural division. Their works were first published in Richard Tottel's Songs and Sonnets in 1557. One of the first English Sonnet sequences came from George Gascoigne, Poet and dramatist. However, the Sonnet sequences started from 1591 with Philip Sidney who wrote Astrophel and Stella. It contains more than 100 Sonnets. Many Sonnets of the Elizabethan Era wrote about the frustration of unreciprocated love. Some however, like Spenser, celebrate the feeling of successful love. Another major theme of the Elizabethan Sonnet sequence is Time. Shakespeare, in particular, focused on how time could destroy nature and other beautiful things. William Shakespeare wrote 154 Sonnets which were published late in 1609. The Elizabethan Era ended in the year 1603. In the later 17th century, Sonnets were hardly written. However, William Wordsworth brought it back to Literature, writing himself hundreds of Sonnets. Keats also wrote many Sonnets using formal and rhetorical patterns. Shelley created a unique rhyme scheme. Sonnets were continued to be written in and after the 19th century, modified and alerted. 

REASONS WHICH BROUGHT THE RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND:- 

PRINTING PRESS:- The most significant event which marks the dawn of the Renaissance in England is the invention of printing. It was first started in Germany and then Caxton established the printing press in England. The books were soon published and It helped the development of education and spread of knowledge. 

VOYAGES:- The English were the great explorers. They went to the west Indies and down the coast of South America and returned with their ships loaded with silver, gold, pearls, emeralds, silk and spices. The people listened to the traveller's tales with awe and astonishment. Their imagination became flamed and everywhere this was a strange breath of wonder. We find the expression of this wonder even in Shakespeare who said, "What a piece of work is man!" and "O' brave new world." 

NATIONALISM:- After the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English, the national spirit in England rose to a great height. There was a great upsurge of patriotic feelings among the people of the time. We can feel the feeling in Chaucer and its blossoming in Elizabethan Literature. 

INDIVIDUALISM AND WORLDLINESS:- The Renaissance gave birth to individualism and worldliness. Greek Literature focuses more on the present world than the future World. Under the influence of Greek Literature, individualism and a sense of democracy developed. The writers began to voice their feelings and ideas freely. They criticized the government or the kings in their works. 

ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES:- There were discoveries in the field of astronomy also. Copernicus also made discoveries in astronomy. The world was no longer a big place. New knowledge began to pour from all sides. All such discoveries made a great impact on the literature of the time. 

THE AGE OF SOCIAL CONTENTMENT:- During the age of Elizabeth, commerce made considerable progress. Thousands of people could get employment because of rapid increase in trade and commerce. Increasing trade brought enormous wealth to England. For the first time systematic care for the needy and the poor was attempted. There was improvement in the standard of life which brought about a new social content. 

ENTHUSIASM:- The Renaissance for the age of Elizabeth is an age of dreams, of adventure, of unbounded enthusiasm. The horizons were widened in all directions. Bacon said confidently, "I have taken all knowledge for my province." This enthusiasm is visible in Elizabeth and literature. 

With the combination of all these aspects one can clearly see that everything that happened means the Renaissance period came or age is revived all because every person of the age has liberty, freedom, chance, money and most important support of Kings and Queens. Elizabeth I too had some interest in Literature. He supports all the writers and poets. 

WORKS CITED:-

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Elizabethan literature". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/Elizabethan-literature. 
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Renaissance". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Aug. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance.