1、 The Early Modern Period （15th-mid17th century）English Renaissance（1）(16thmid 17th century)Historical background Socially 1.“”The Hundred Years”War (1337-1453)between France and England;the mysterious Joan of ArcHistorical background Socially 2.The Wars of the Roses(1455-1485)between the houses of Y
2、ork(white rose emblem)and Lancaster(red rose)for possession of the throne;Historical background Socially 3.The parliament the urban craftsmen and small businessmen a strong source of economic aid to the kings;the House of Commons as representatives from the counties and boroughs while the nobilities
3、 retained their position in the House of Lords Historical background Socially 4.Agriculturalmanufacturing+trade Land Enclosure 圈地运动;Historical background Socially 5.Discovery and expansionVirginia coast,East Indies company,sea piracy,new markets foreign trade;new riches,new adventures gave people bo
4、undless hope and confidence,esp.under the reign of Elizabeth I(1558-1603)Historical background Socially 6.Great social mobility as a result of the moneyed economyHistorical background Socially 7.Royalty the Tudors:Henry VII unified England （not Scotland and Ireland）Henry VIII(1509-1547)Mary (1553-15
5、58)Elizabeth (1558-1603)Historical background Socially 7.Royaltythe Stuarts:James I (1603-1685)James II (1685-1688)William and Mary (1688-1702)Historical background Ideologically1.Copernicus(1473-1543,Polish astronomer)and German Johannes Keplers discovery of the center of the universe(heliocentric,
6、not Earth,E circles around the Sun)Italian Galileos(1564-1642)gravitational force,discovery of Jupiters satellites,Moons mountainous nature,etc.Historical background Ideologically 2.Renaissance:A revival or rebirth of the artistic and scientific revival which originated in Italy in the 14th century
7、and which influenced the rest of Europe in a great variety of ways in the next two centuries.Broadly,it is typified Historical background by the spread of humanism which was found in the classic works of Greek and Roman culture.Against the medieval feudal value and blind faith in after-life,the huma
8、nists believed in mans capability of self perfection and emphasized the importance of personal worth and the joy of the present life.Historical background Ideologically Religious reformationMartin Luther,new interpretations and questioning of the Roman Catholic beliefs and authority;at home,a nation
9、al detestation for the greedy,corrupted Church,and a dissatisfied King,Henry VIII.(in love with Anne Boleyn,his plea for divorce from Catherine of Aragon(princess ofHistorical background Spain,wife of his late elder brother),twice rejected by the Pope,made himself the supreme Head of Church of Engla
10、nd in 1534;removed the abbots from the House of Lords and confiscated the churchs land and divided it among his nobles;with a few years exception(Mary1553-1558),Protestantism（新教)was firmly established in England,with only Ireland keeping to Roman CatholicismLiterature 1.translationa).classic and Ita
11、lian and French works:Plato and Aristotle Plutarchs Lives of the Noble Grecians and RomansOvids MetamorphosesHomers Iliad and Odyssey Virgils AeneidHorace,Seneca,Plautus,Dante Literature Sonnets and Blank verse was introduced into England,comedy and tragedy flourished.Literature 1.translation b).the
12、 Bible into English the King James Bible,or the“Authorized Version,”47 translators,over 10 years,published in 1611Literature 2.English literature (imitation,assimilation&creation)“Everything is there,but nothing remains the same.”(for Shakespeare)Literature 2.English literaturePoetry:Edmund Spenser,
13、William Shakespeare,Ben Jonson,John Donne,John Miltonepics:Homer,Vigil,Dante/Spenser,Miltonsonnets:Petrarch,Dante/Shakespeare,Sidney“Arcadia”,Jonson,Donne and Andrew MarvellLiterature 2.English literatureDrama:Christopher Marlowe,W.Shakespeare and Ben Jonson comedy,tragedy,tragic-comedy,history,sati
14、reProse:Francis Bacon and Thomas More(Utopia)III.Origin of English Drama OriginReligious festival celebrations in Middle Agesreligious liturgy 礼拜仪式III.Origin of English Drama Origin 1.Mystery playsamateur plays based on biblical stories;in the 14th century,during festivals like Easter;acted first by
15、 church clergy in or in front of the church,and then by common folk outside in the street,(city trade guilds);III.Origin of English Drama Origin 1.Mystery playscycles of mystery,such as creation and judgment;first in Latin and then in vernacular,;authors anonymous.III.Origin of English Drama Origin
16、2.Miracle plays of the lives and deeds of the saints or important figures like Virgin Mary;a further development of Mystery plays.III.Origin of English Drama Origin 3.Morality plays:religious allegory in dramatic form;personifying abstract qualities(Everyman,Good Deeds,Death,Knowledge);III.Origin of
17、 English Dramaindividual struggle for salvation;didactic illustrations;Everyman(c.1495)and Bunyans Pilgrims Progress.Today mainly found in pageants and masque.Elizabethan Drama (the 16-early 17th cen.)the golden age of English drama Elizabethan Drama 1.Main features:A.from a handful of scholars to a
18、 large audience,high or low;from court to public;from private houses to public theatres on the outskirts of London,e.g.Global Theatre(groundlings,balcony seaters);Elizabethan Drama 1.Main features:B.from epic to tragedy and comedy;from the grander aspirations to worldly life;from perfect heroes to i
19、mperfect ones(with flaws,foibles and limitations)-so as to be closer to audience;evils are also shown to teach people lessons Elizabethan Drama 1.Main features:C.professional playwrights(University Wits)and theatrical troupes backed up by some noble patronage;D.no women players;very simple prop-ups;
20、E.entertaining as well as educationalElizabethan Drama But from the mid-17th the Puritan Parliament banned all stage plays and the theatres remained closed until the Restoration in 1660.Elizabethan Drama 2.Major playwrights:Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)Elizabethan Drama Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)1.
21、a tragedy playwright,contemporary of Shakespeare 2.expressed the humanist ideals about the infinite capabilities of Man,in the desire for power,knowledge and moneyElizabethan Drama Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)3.works known for their eloquent speeches in blank verse 4.Machiavellianism*and money worsh
22、ip as well as pride of the age of rising capitalism Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527),Florentine statesman,political theorist and writer,advocated establishment and maintenance of authority by any effective means.“The end justifies the means.”Elizabethan Drama Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)Representative
23、 works:Tamburlaine the Great(1587-88),desire for powerThe Tragical History of Doctor Faustus(1589),desire for knowledge and happiness The Jew of Malta(1590)desire for moneyElizabethan Drama 2.Major playwrights:Ben Jonson(1572-1637)a comedy playwright in the early 17th century;the 1st poet laureate(1
24、616);Everyman in His HumourVolpone,the FoxElizabethan Drama 2.Major playwrights:William Shakespeare(1564-1616)“He was not of an age,but for all time.”Jonsona great humanist,a most popular playwright of his time,a great poet,a dramatic genius,a master of languageStratford-upon-Avon;humanist;blank ver
25、seElizabethan DramaWilliam Shakespeare(1564-1616)Major works:37 plays,2 long poems,and 154 sonnets2.Major playwrights:Elizabethan DramaWilliam Shakespeare(1564-1616)Plays:History:Henry IV(1-2)Comedy:Mid-summer Nights Dream (The Merchant of Venice)Much Ado about Nothing As You Like It Twelfth NightEl
26、izabethan Drama William Shakespeare(1564-1616)Plays:Tragedy:Hamlet Othello King Lear MacbethElizabethan DramaWilliam Shakespeare(1564-1616)Famous plays:Romeo and Juliet Julius CaesarAntony and CleopatraThe TempestQuestions for Hamlet text study(soliloquy”To be or not to be”)1.What is blank verse?2.What is soliloquy?3.What is the main idea of Hamlets soliloquy?Summarize in one or two sentences the main idea of the soliloquy?4.How do you analyze Hamlets argument in terms of structure?
