Chapter 1: The Renaissance Period
1. The Renaissance:
The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally, it refers to the period between the 14th & 17th centuries. It first started in Italy, with the flowering of painting, sculpture & literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Renaissance, which means "rebirth" or "revival," is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, such as:
1The re-discovery of ancient Roman & Greek culture.
2The new discoveries in geography & astrology, the religious reformation & the economic expansion.
3The Renaissance, therefore, in essence is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers & scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, & to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.
2. Humanism:
Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the ancient authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious, intellectual side, for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things. Through the new learning, humanists not only saw the arts of splendor and enlightenment, but the human values represented in the works. Renaissance humanists found in the classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfections, and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question, explore, and enjoy. Thus, by emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanists.
3. The Renaissance in England:
1The first-- the beginning (1485-1558) --- imitation and assimilation
Poetry: Wyatt & Surrey .
The former introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England, while the latter brought in blank verse.
2The second -- (the peak) the Elizabeth Age (1558-1603) ---The Elizabethan drama
Poetry: Spenser & Marlowe
Spenserian stanza: Spenserian stanza was invented by Edmund Spenser. It is a stanza of nine lines, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter & the last line in iambic hexameter, rhyming ababbcbcc.
Drama: Marlowe & Shakespeare
The Renaissance hero: A Renaissance hero refers to one created by Christopher Marlowe in his drama. Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. He embodies Marlowe’s humanistic ides of human dignity and capacity. Different from the tragic hero in medieval plays, who seeks the way to heaven through salvation and god’s will, he is against conventional morality and contrives to obtain heaven on earth through his own efforts. With the endless aspiration for power, knowledge, and glory, the hero interprets the true Renaissance spirit. Both Tamburlaine and Faustus are typical in possessing such a spirit.
The Elizabethan drama:
It is the real mainstream of English Renaissance.
It could be dated back to the Middle Ages.
English material was put into the regular form of the Latin comedies of Plautus and Terence.
Tragedies were in the style of Seneca The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England are: Marlowe, Shakespeare & Ben Jonson
3The third– further development (1603---1660)
Poetry: John Donne & John Milton
Metaphysical poetry: The term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassic periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech. The imagery is drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poet’s beloved, with God, or with himself.
Drama: Ben Jackson
Essay: Francis Bacon
He is the first important English essayist, is known for his essays which greatly influenced the development of this literary form.
He is also the founder of modern science in England.
His writings paved the way for the use of scientific method.
1. Renaissance ['rɛnəsɑns] n. 文艺复兴(欧洲 14 至 17 世纪) E.g. The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. 文艺复兴标志着中世纪到现代的过渡。
2. poetry ['pəʊɪtrɪ] n. 诗;诗意，诗情;诗歌艺术 E.g. English poetry is one of their great heritages. 英国诗歌是他们的伟大遗产之一。
3. poem ['pəʊɪm] n. 诗 E.g. Milton’s literary achievements can be divided into three groups: the early poetic works, the middle prose pamphlets and the last great poems.弥尔顿的文学作品可分 为三类:早期诗作，中期的散文小册子和后期的伟大诗作。
4. poet ['pəʊɪt] 诗人 E.g. poet laureate 桂冠诗人;优秀的诗人 E.g. William Shakespeare is one of the most remarkable playwrights and poets the world has ever known. 莎士比亚是有史以来最著名的剧作家和诗人之一。
5. poetic [pəʊ'etɪk] adj. 诗的，诗歌的;诗意的;诗人的 n. 诗学，诗论 E.g. Milton’s literary achievements can be divided into three groups: the early poetic works, the middle prose pamphlets and the last great poems.弥尔顿的文学作品可分为 三类:早期诗作，中期的散文小册子和后期的伟大诗作。
6. historical [hɪ'stɒrɪk(ə)l] adj. 历史的;史学的;基于史实的 E.g. The first period of Shakespeare’s his dramatic career, he wrote five historical plays: Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III, Richard III, and Titus Andronicus; and four comedies: The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, and Love’s Labor’s Lost. 在他戏剧创作生涯的第一个阶段，他创作了五部历史 剧:《亨利六世》，《理查三世》，《泰托斯.安东尼》以及四部喜剧:《错误的戏剧》， 《维洛那二绅士》，《驯悍记》和《爱的徒劳》。
7. tragedy ['træ dʒɪdɪ] n. 悲剧;灾难;惨案 E.g. Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies are: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. 莎士比亚的四大悲剧是:《哈姆雷特》《奥赛罗》《李尔王》《麦克白》。
8. comedy ['kɒmɪdɪ] n. 喜剧;喜剧性;有趣的事情。E.g. Shakespeare’s greatest comedies are: The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You like, Twelfth Night. The most important play among the comedies of Shakespeare is The Merchant of Venice. 莎士比亚四大喜剧为:《威尼斯商 人》《仲夏夜之梦》《皆大欢喜》《第十二夜》，其中《威尼斯商人》是最重要的一部 喜剧。
9. theme [θiːm] n. 主题;主旋律;题目 E.g. The theme of most of the sonnets are the flying of the time, and the youth, beauty,belief and the love are also gone. 大部分十四行诗的主题是时光的流逝，青春， 美好的事物， 信仰以及爱的逝去。
10. drama ['drɑːmə] n. 戏剧，戏剧艺术;剧本;戏剧性事件 E.g. The Elizabethan period was the golden age of English drama. 伊丽莎白时期是英 国戏剧的黄金时代。
11. merchant ['mɜːtʃ(ə)nt] n. 商人，批发商;店主 adj. 商业的，商人的 E.g. Antonio, Bassanio and Portia are the characters in The Merchant of Venice. 安东尼奥，巴萨尼奥 ，鲍西亚都是《威尼斯商人》中的人物。
12. paradise ['pæ rədaɪs] n. 天堂 E.g. John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the only generally acknowledged epic in English literature since Beowulf . 约翰弥尔顿伟大的诗作《失乐园》是继《贝奥武甫》以来，英 国文学史上唯一被公认的史诗。
13. romantic [rə(ʊ)'mæ ntɪk] adj. 浪漫的;多情的;空想的 n. 浪漫的人 vt. 使... 浪漫化 E.g. In his romantic comedies, Shakespeare takes a(n) optimistic attitude toward love and youth, and the romantic elements are brought into full play. 在他的浪漫喜 剧中，莎士比亚以乐观的态度对待爱情与青春，并将浪漫色彩渲染到极致。
14. ghost [gəʊst] n. 鬼，幽灵 vt. 作祟于;替...捉刀;为人代笔 vi. 替人代笔 E.g. The ghost appears in the exact image of Hamlet’s father. 鬼出现了，像极了哈姆雷特的父亲。
15. plot [plɒt] n. 情节;图;阴谋 vt. 密谋;绘图;划分;标绘 vi. 密谋;策划;绘 制 E.g. Do you know the main plot of Hamlet? 你知道哈姆雷特的主要情节吗?
16. epic ['epɪk] adj. 史诗的，叙事诗的 n. 史诗;叙事诗;史诗般的作品 E.g. John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the only generally acknowledged epic in English literaturesinceBeowulf. 约翰弥尔顿伟大的诗作《失乐园》是继《贝奥武甫》以来，英 国文学史上唯一被公认的史诗。
17. characteristic [kæ rəktə'rɪstɪk] adj. 典型的;特有的;表示特性的 n. 特征; 特性;特色 E.g. writing characteristics 写作特色E.g. Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies are Hamlet,--the first of greatest tragedies, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth(麦克白.) They have some characteristics in common. 莎士比亚的四大悲剧是:《哈姆雷特》《奥赛罗》《李尔王》《麦克白》。它们有一些共同特点。
