1485 – 1616 – the Renaissance
The Renaissance poetry before Shakespeare
The first influence In English literature comes from Italy (Francesco Petrarka)
Sir Thomas Wyatt - was a pioneer in bringing to English poetry the new forms of the Italian Renaissance, especially the Petrarca’s sonnet. – he translated Petrarca directly into English
Edmund Spenser – he was famous for his poem “The Faerie Queene” an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. , which is poem of praise (pochwała) and criticism. The poem celebrates the Tudor dynasty - the court of Elizabeth I. The poem includes myths, legends, superstitions (przesądy), magic. It explores history and contemporary (ówczesny) politics. The Faerie Queene is probably Elizabeth I
Drama before Shakespeare
There was a group of playwrights called “University Wits” – Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Nashe. The University Wits were a group of very well educated people from universities Oxford and Cambridge. They don’t like Shakespeare who wasn’t educated. He was a simple man.
Christopher Marlowe – was the most famous. He was famous for imitating classical plays. He wrote heroic verses.
Hero and Leander - The most famous quotation: “Whoever loved who loved not at first sight?” – Czy ten, kto nie zakochała się od pierwszego wejrzenia kochał naprawdę? The heroes of Marlowe were exaggerated (wyolbrzymione). There are 2 bad and 2 good. They want to possess all knowledge, richest and they want to conquer thewhole world.
Edward II - It is one of the earliest English history plays. It rises the subject homosexual sensibility. It presents the problem of combination of homosexual preferences with power and authority of the king. This is a kind of interludes.
Interludes - the morality plays are a type of allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a godly life over one of evil. The plays were most popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Drama before Shakespeare – plays were performed for a very small amount of people – for the elite at courts. Together with the development of theatre was the development of professional actors. The plays were usually performed by amateurs. By the end of 16 century there appeared companies of actors which had the patronage of the wealthy individual. They employed boys who played female roles.
The Renaissance prose
Sir Francis Bacon –“ Essays” – He perfected (udoskonalił) essay form in English literature. He was influence by French sources. He wrote about politics, science, history, government, religion, colonialism and health.
John Donne – famous for his sermons (kazania)
Thomas More – “Utopia” – this is an example of travel writing, and the word – utopia – means: no place (comes from an Ancient Greek). This work influenced greatly on such novels as: Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver’s Travels, Brave New World, 1984, The Lord of the Flies.
Sir Walter Raleigh – “The History of the World” – Raleigh was a traveller , poet, novelist, explorer. In “The History of Guiana” he describe Eldorado – a kind of a new world. And he wrote “The History of the World” as a political prisoner.
Robert Greene – “A Groat’s Worth of Wit” – He was one of The University Wits. In his work: “A Groat’s Worth of Wit” on the first time he mentions about William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was mention by another writer and this mention has features of jealousy (zazdrość)
Robert Burton – “The Anatomy of Melancholy” – this work is the analysis of human state of mind. According to Burton “Melancholy” is a part of human condition. He distinguishes 2 kinds of melancholy:
love melancholy
religious melancholy
The King James version of the Bible - The last example of Renaissance prose. Published in 1611. This was very influential work distributed in churches. It influenced the importance of cultural identity. Language of this Bible is quite understandable.
William Shakespeare
He wrote 37 plays within 24 years. He changed Ancient drama. He introduced comic elements into tragedies. He also limited the role of chores. He also wrote historical chronicles and tragicomedies. He was interested in power of the king. He wanted to show, that the king was a simple man.
Historical chronicles was history plays which exploited (wykorzystywać) history and showed different features of characters. This process was called humanizing the hero.
Richard III – his portrayed as a complete villain (czarny character)
Henry VI – was shown as weak and indecisive
The main subjects of Shakespeare’s plays:
love (Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream)
madness (obłęd) ( Macbeth, King Lear)
jealousy (Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello)
sexual collapsing (Measure for Measure)
power & authority (Henry VI, Hamlet)
Shakespeare’s characters:
Shakespeare presents psychological portrait of the hero using super natural elements
They became so well known as the function of symbols:
Romeo & Juliet – symbol of tragic love
Lady Macbeth – symbol of strong woman
Othello & Desdemona – symbol of perfect union between the warrior and the virgin
Falstaff – symbol of good buddies (kompan)
Macbeth
Super natural forces (3 witches) are the symbols of his ambitions. He want to gain power. 3 witches are subconscious (podświadomy) thinking.
Banquo’s ghost – symbol of remorse (wyrzut sumienia)
The main idea of this tragedy is to show pride and ambitious which is destructive
Hamlet
Super natural forces: Hamlet’s father’s ghost who tells him to take revenge
Hamlet commits error of judgments because he kills Polonius
Hamlet is too proud because he thinks that revenge is the most important action for him
There are no moral boundaries for him. Maybe the ghost of his father is a symbol of subconscious suggestion
The Tempest
It’s tragicomedy.
Characters: Prospero, Ariel, Miranda, Antonio, Sycorax, Caliban