HistoryofEnglishLiterature--Renaissance.ppt

,history of english literature,english renaissance,humanism,hamlet (shakespeares hamlet): what a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! （宇宙的精华！ 万物的灵长！）,dante (1265-1321) divine comedy,boccaccio (1313-1357) decameron,cervantes (1547-1616) don quixote,leonardo da vinci (1452-1519) mona lisa,michelangelo (1475-1564) scientist artist,raphael (1483-1520) painter architect,galileo (1564-1562) physicist astronomer,copernicus (1473-1543) astronomer,a. the renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation throughout european countries. it marked the transition between the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age. the renaissance is usually considered to have begun in the 14th century in italy and is characterized by a renewed interest in classical art, literature, and learning.,the renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. generally, it refers to the period between the 14th and 17th centuries. it first started in italy, with the flowering of painting, sculpture and 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 the re-discovery of ancient roman and greek culture, the new discoveries in geography and astrology, the religious reformation and the economic expansion.,the renaissance, therefore, in essence is a historical period in which the european humanist thinkers and 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, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the roman catholic church.,b. chief characteristics p86 c. representatives dante, petrarch, boccaccio, tasso (italy) rabelais, montaigne (france) von hutten , martin luther (germany) erasmus (holland) cervantes (spain): don quixote thomas more, marlowe, shakespeare (england) - rising bourgeoisie (p87),d. features 1.a thirsting curiosity for classical literature 2. the great interest in life on earth as against life after death and in materialistic philosophy as against religious superstition humanism is the key-note.,humanism: a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood and a new feeling of admiration for human beauty and human achievement. people ceased to look upon themselves as living only for god and future world. the humanists voiced the human aspiration for freedom and equality & against the tyranny of feudal rule and ecclesiastical domination,english renaissance historical background renaissance literature,english renaissance 1. historical background the wars of roses weaken the feudalism and pave the way for development of bourgeois society henry s reformation: broke with rome, confiscated the property of church, established anglican church (protestant) -political movement in a religious guise, struggle of bourgeois class for power,enclosure movement: manufacturer of cloth, arable land to pasture, peasants became hired laborersfathers of proletariat class commercial expansion: exploration and travel abroad, colonies. the war with spain: “armada” the bourgeoisie came to fore in the stage of history,2. three stages late 15th century to the early 16th century: more, skelton, wyatt, surrey second half of the 16th century-elizabethan age (1558-1603) sidney, spenser, shakespeare, marlowe the first quarter of the 17th century shakespeare, ben jonson, bacon, king james bible (authorized version),3. two literary trends court literature: represent the monarch and the old and new aristocracy bourgeois literature: reflect the thoughts and feelings of the bourgeoisie,,company logo,renaissance literature,drama: marlowe, shakespeare, jonson poetry: skelton, wyatt, surrey, sidney, spenser prose: more, bacon prose-fiction: lyly, nashe, deloney,general introduction of drama,tragedy: a literary work in which the protagonist meets an unhappy or disastrous end. through a series of events, he is brought to final downfall. in traditional drama, the causes of a tragic heros downfall can be fate, a flaw in character, or an error in judgment. in modern drama, the causes range from moral or psychological weakness to the evil of the society.,comedy: a literary work that ends happily with a healthy and peaceful armistice between the protagonist and society. comedy is an imitation of characters of lower people, who have some defects or ugliness which are not painful or destructive. it is usually full of wit, humors and laughter.,the interlude: a short performance to enliven the audience after a solemn scene, “the play of the weather”: jupiter, weather, boy: catching birds and throwing snowballs the classical play: greek and latin drama, structures and style and conceptions and divisions. comedy and tragedy on classical models appeared in the middle of the 16th century,three “unities“: unity of place, unity of time and unity of action.,english drama in renaissance period,english dramatists in renaissance,“the university wits” marlowe shakespeare ben jonson beaumont & fletcher john dryden,the beginning period the miracle play: bible stories, the creation of the world, noah and the flood, the birth of christ the morality play: conflict of good and evil, allegorical personages-mercy, peace, hate, vice (clown) “everyman”,the developing period: university wits mostly from oxford and cambridge university robert greene: friar bacon and friar bungay george peele: the old wives tale thomas lodge: rosalynde john lyly: endimion christopher marlowe: doctor faustus thomas kyd: the spanish tragedy thomas nashe: summers last will and testament,christopher marlowe,the most gifted of the “university wits”, the greatest english dramatist, the most individual and the most suggestive elizabethan playwright before shakespeare,marlowe”s works: 7 plays: “tamburlaine the great”, “the tragical history of doctor faustus”, “the jew of malta”, “edward the second” a long narrative poem: “hero and leander”,some short lyrics: “the passionate shepherd to his love”,hero and leander,1. the hero: brave, ambitious and unconquerable, extremely cruel and brutal 2. theme: the insatiable desire of renaissance man for infinite power and authority. 3. style: written in blank verse, one-man tragedy: rise-zenith-death,the passionate shepherd to his love,the monument of english drama,william shakespeare 1564-1616,his life his literary career his works comments, dramatist, poet and actor. he is considered by many to be the greatest playwright of all time. stratford-upon-avon, attended grammar school but didnt finish, married anne hathaway in 1582, (older, yeomans daughter) went to london, became an actor after working as a prompters attendant ,began writing plays in 1588-1590, many plays were published during his lifetime in “quartos”, after his death: “first folio”, became a shareholder in playhouses in later years, partly retired in1611, back to hometown, died in stratford in 1616.,his literary career: 2 ways of divisions 1590-1600 period of apprenticeship 1601-1608 period of tragedies 1609-1612 period of romance b. 1592-1594 period of apprenticeship 1595-1600 period of growth and development 1601-1608 period of gloom and depression 1608-1612 period of restored serenity,,company logo,his works: 2 narrative poems 154 sonnets plays: historical plays comedies tragedies comment,shakespeares earlier non-dramatic poems: 1.“ venus and adonis”: venus the goddess of love falls in love with the handsome boy adonis who later is killed by a boar in hunting. some vivid pictures of the amorous venus and the wayward (changeable) adonis a frank eulogy of earthly love,2. “the rape of lucrece”: tragic story of chaste roman dame lucrece raped by the terrible tarquin and killed herself, later avenged. condemns lust and tyranny & praises healthful love.,elizabethan stage:,historical plays,“henry ” (three parts): earliest and the first play to bring fame to shakespeare, showing his patriotism in some plot in it; striking scenes of the struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed. 2. “richard ” first important historical play, under the influence of marlowes “one-man tragedy” (the heros rise to success and then his downfall),3. “henry v” claim the bourgeois theory of democracy and social equality (ideal king) 4. “henry iv” sir john falstaff one of the most brilliant creations in shakespeares plays: a feudal knight, old and fat, indulged in wine, women and song, robbing and taking bribes to make more money,comedies, “the merchant of venice” 1. introduction: based on italian story, most outstanding comedy, the italian setting and marriage plot are typical of shakespeares earlier comedies: the characters of portia, shakespeares first great heroine, and the unforgettable villain shylock elevate this play to a new level.,2. major characters portiawealthy heiress from belmont, beautiful and intelligent. shylocka jewish moneylender in venice, one of shakespeares most memorable characters. antoniothe merchant of venice whose love for his friend bassanio drives him to sign shylocks contract and almost lose his life, dislike of jews.,bassanioa gentleman of venice and and a dear friend to antonio. bassanios love for the wealthy portia leads him to borrow money from shylock with antonio as his guarantor. jessicashylocks daughter, hates life in her fathers house, and elopes with the young christian gentleman, lorenzo (a friend of bassanio and antonio ) 3. content:(p146),5. theme: 1) victory of love and friendship over greed and brutality, 2) hatred for the oppressors and sympathy for the oppressed, “as you like it” 1. introduction: a pastoral play, one of the most charming comedies of shakespeare set in a duchy in france, but most of the action takes place in a location called the “forest of arden”, which is a toponym for a forest close to shakespeares home town of stratford-upon-avon. (p149),2. major characters: duke senior the rightful ruler of the dukedom, banished by his usurping brother, frederick rosalindthe daughter of duke senior, disguised as a young man ganymede orlandothe youngest son of sir rowland de bois,celiathe daughter of duke frederick and rosalinds dearest friend oliverthe oldest son of sir rowland de bois and sole inheritor of the de bois estate touchstone the jester, accompany rosalind to the “forest of arden” 3. content: (p149),4. analysis of major characters rosalind: one of shakespeares most delightful heroines, independent-minded, strong-willed, good-hearted, and terribly clever, able to destroy limitations that society imposes on her as a woman orlando: handsome, strong, and passionate, unschooled yet somehow learned, and loved by people of all ranksnoble gentleman.,5. theme: the delight of love, love is a source of incomparable delight, “twelfth night or what you will” 1. introduction: the only one of shakespeares plays to have an alternative title, one of shakespeares most popular and funniest comedies the setting is in illyria, along the coast of italy, “much ado about nothing” 1. introduction: set in italy, written largely in prose: combines elements of great joy with more serious meditations on honor, shame, and court politics,2.major characters don pedro an important nobleman, a longtime friend of leonato, and also close to the soldiers who have been fighting under himbenedick and claudio. leonatoa respected, well-to-do, elderly noble, father of hero and uncle of beatrice. as governor of messina, he is second in social power only to don pedro.,beatriceleonatos niece and heros cousin, a pleasant-spirited lady with a very sharp tongue, generous and lovely, mocks other people, content never to marry. benedickan aristocratic soldier and a friend of don pedro and claudio, very witty, always making jokes. at the beginning of the play he swears he will never fall in love or marry.,claudioa young soldier under don pedro, falls in love with hero, his suspicious nature makes him quick to believe evil rumors and hasty to despair and take revenge herothe beautiful young daughter of leonato and the cousin of beatrice. hero is lovely, gentle, and kind. she falls in love with claudio, but when don john slanders her and claudio rashly takes revenge, she suffers terribly.,don john the villain of the play: the illegitimate brother of don pedro; melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to destroy the happiness of hero and claudio. his evil actions are motivated by his envy of his brothers social authority.,dogberrychief policeman of messina, middle-class character, very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning, though he desires to speak formally like the noblemen (clown).,3.content: leonato lives with his lovely young daughter hero, his clever niece, beatrice, in italian town of messina. as the play begins, leonato prepares to welcome some friends home from a war. the friends include don pedro, a prince who is a close friend of leonato, and two fellow soldiers: claudio and benedick, don pedros illegitimate brother don john.,when the soldiers arrive at leonatos home, claudio quickly falls in love with hero and decide to be married. to pass the time in the week before the wedding, the lovers and their friends decide to play a game. they want to get beatrice and benedick stop arguing and fall in love. their tricks prove successful, and beatrice and benedick soon fall secretly in love with each other. but don john has decided to disrupt everyones happiness.,he has his companion borachio make love to margaret, heros serving woman, at heros window in the darkness of the night, and he brings don pedro and claudio to watch. believing that he has seen hero being unfaithful to him, the enraged claudio hurts hero by suddenly accusing her of lechery on the day of their wedding and abandoning her. heros stricken family members decide to pretend that she died suddenly of shock and grief and to hide her away while they wait for the truth about her innocence to come to light.,benedick and beatrice finally confess their love to one another. fortunately, the night watchmen overhear borachio bragging about his crime. dogberry, the heads of the local police, ultimately arrest borachio. everyone learns that hero is really innocent, and claudio, who believes she is dead, laments her. leonato tells claudio that, as punishment, he wants claudio to tell everybody in the city how innocent hero was.,he also wants claudio to marry his “niece”a girl who, he says, looks much like the dead hero. claudio goes to church with the others, preparing to marry the mysterious, masked woman he thinks is heros cousin. when hero reveals herself as the masked woman, claudio is overwhelmed with joy. benedick then asks beatrice if she will marry him, and after some arguing they agree. the joyful lovers all have a merry dance before they celebrate their double wedding.,4. analysis of major characters beatrice: a typical example of ss strong female characters: witty and sharp, dare to fight against unequal status of women in renaissance society: she refuses to marry because she has not discovered the perfect, equal partner and because she is unwilling to give up her liberty and submit to the will of a controlling husband.,a mid-summer nights dream, “a mid-summer nights dream” 1. introduction: one of his strangest creations, reflect the expansiveness of shakespeares learning and imagination, shakespeare draws sources from greek mythology, english country fairy tales and other literary works. (athens) 2. content (fantasy),on comedies: written in the first period, optimism is the general spirit, 2 groups of the characters: young men and women free from the feudal fetters, sing of their youth, love, ideals and happiness. fight against destiny and mould their own fates according to their own free wills, not trust god, or king but themselves the simple and shrewd “clowns” and other common people., the heroines: portia: in “the merchant of venice” julia : in “the two gentlemen of verona” rosalind: in “as you like it” beatrice: in “ much ado about nothing” viola : in “twelfth night”,new women of renaissance, no longer the ones under the control or protect of a father or a husband or unable to defend themselves. witty, bold, optimistic and faithful, active, clever, vivacious, capable. they are happy and make others happy. they are equal even superior to men. they are independent, dignified, determined, resourceful., the clowns: they are shrewd and kind- hearted, speak some words that seem silly but really tell the truth. they also make a lot of laughters.,tragedy after 1600. he began to observe life with penetration; exposed mercilessly the contradictions of the elizabethan society. the cooperation between the crown and the bourgeoisie was now over. the economic and social crises became more and more serious until came the english revolution. the crown wanted more power while the bourgeoisie struggled for rights., 4 tragedies based on ancient roman history 1. “titus andronicus”: earliest tragedy, revenge 2. “julius caesar” (p144) 3. “antony and cleopatra”: antonys passionate love for cleopatra which eventu