PERIOD OF

RENINSSANCE
1500-1600
PRESENTATION BY

SYEDA AIMAN ,NOOR US SEHAR

SAKINA KAZMI
FAMOUS POETS
Philips Sidney (1554-1586)
The greatest of these early Elizabethan was Sir Philip Sidney. He was a person , soldier, courtier and a poet.
Queen Elizabeth called him one of the jewels of her crown. He was considered one of the ripest statesmen of the
age.- As a literary figure, he made his mark in prose as well as in poetry.- His prose works are Arcadia and the apologie
for the poetrie.
- - His great works in poetry was the sequence of sonnets called astrophel and stella.- His Defence of poetry was also
very famous.
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599):
- [ ] The greatest name in Elizabethan poetry was Spenser, who maybe called the poet of chivalry and medieval allegory.
- [ ] The Faerie Queene written in the order of an allegory deals with petty intrigues, corrupt dealings and clever
manipulations of politicians in the court of Queen Elizabeth.
- [ ] Shepherd’s calendar is pastoral peom written in an artificial classical style. Consisting of 12 parts and each devoted
to the month of the year.
- [ ] Astrophel, an elegy which he wrote on the death of Sir Sidney.
- [ ] Hymns which are characterized by melodious verse were written in honor of love and beauty.
- [ ] His Amerotti consisting of 88 sonnets.
- [ ] His poetry is surcharged with noble ideas and lofty ideas.
- [ ] There is no harsh notes in all his poetry. He was poet of imagination. His great contribution to English poetry is the
Spenserian stenza. It is used by manu poets.
- [ ] Charles Lamb called him ‘Spenser is the poets’
AGE OF RENINSSANCE
INTRODUCTION:

1: Renaissance means Rebirth.

2: The period of renaissance is also called the Elizabethan period or age of Shakespeare.
3: it’s began in Italy in 14th century, especially in acts and architecture.
4: The essence of this movement was “man discovered himself and tha universe.
5: The Renaissance was essentially a European movement that originated in Italy and
then spread gradually to other countries of western and northern Europe like Germany,
France, and England. It was a glorious age in which men of genius like Shakespeare,
Spenser, Bacon, Marlowe contributed a lot in English literature.
6: European societies experienced great changes in the 15 th century, and so did art. In the
14th century, Italian artists began to revive the legacy of Greek and Roman antiquity.
Hence this period is called “Renaissance”.
 CHARACTERISTICS

1: The main characteristics of Renaissance was it’s emphasis on Humanism.

2: The Renaissance began in Italy and became popular in England during the Elizabethan era. This movement
focuses on the proper study of humanity. The first Englishman to write under Greek influence was Sir Thomas who
wrote Utopia in Latin.

3: Another character is that the men were responsible for their actions.

4: The most important feature of renaissance is intellectual renaissance. Thought has recognized this for centuries.
Europe was intellectually dead and then somehow resurrected. The Renaissance came first in Italy and then in other
European countries.

5: Freedom of thought and action is another important characteristic of the Renaissance. The awakening of the
minds of the people, freedom of thought and action was the main passion of the Renaissance.

6: The thirst for knowledge is another important characteristic of the Renaissance. It was a time of great curiosity
and thirst for knowledge. Man wants to know the unknown and see the invisible.
7: The Renaissance was a time of great curiosity and love of adventure. In the 15th century, Columbus reached the
Americas and Vasco da Gama reached India. This kind of love of adventure greatly influenced the Renaissance.
ELIZABETHAN DRAMA

1: The most memorable achievement in literature in this period was in the field of drama.

2: A great development was made in the study of latin drama and growth practice of acting
plays in English and latin.

3: These plays brought educated classes in to touch with a drama.

4: A mid of 16th century writers attempt to write plays in English on latin model.g John still
wrote Grummar Gurton’s Needle.

5: The three forms of Renaissance drama are

contemporary poetic dramas based on ancient texts; Latinized versions of Greek dramas; and
the works of Seneca, Terence, and Plautus in the original.

6.: The Renaissance influenced drama by allowing artists to develop new narratives.

7: The major themes of Elizabethan drama are

Individualism.Rationalism.Secularism.Humanism.8: Shakespeare was greatest of all

Elizabethan dramastic.
 FAMOUS DRAMATIST OF RENAISSANCE

1.William Shakespeare’s (1564-1616)

William Shakespeare contributed to the renaissance by creating a new style of writing playscomedy and tragedy which back then was
a big deal. Another contribution Shakespeare made to the renaissance was the Globe Theatre. It was built by his playing company in
1599 but burned down in June of 1613.

2.Ben Jonson(1572–1637)
Ben Jonson was a noted playwright and critic of the English Renaissance. The best known comedian of the English Renaissance was
Ben Jonson,

3.Thomas Dekker(1572–1632)
English dramatist and writer of prose pamphlets who is particularly known for his lively depicti of London life. Thomas Dekker, was
an English Elizabethan dramatist and pamphleteer, a versatile and prolific writer.

4.Christopher Marlowe(1564–1593)
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. He was considered as the foremost
Elizabethan tragedist,
FAMOUS DRAMATIST
CONTINUE

5.Thomas Heywood(1574-1641)
He wrote maximum plays at his age. He worked in a variety of dramatic genres-historical, romantic,
comedy of manners etc. But in the case of domestic drama, he is unique. He wrote about 228 plays.

6.John Webster
Transgressive and darkly brilliant, the drama of John Webster has long been recognised as one of the
crowning glories of the English Renaissance.

7.George Chapman(1559–1634)
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work
shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shakespeare’s
sonnets by William Minto
RENAISSANCE POETRY IS

• Renaissance poetry is characterized by a heavily classical style that is derived from

ancient Roman and Greek writing. It also reflected the views, beliefs, and ideas of the
European people during this time period. Education, human development, and emotion in
present timewere popular topics that poets used on, as well as love and passion.
 CONTINUE

• Renaissance poetry was often set to music and was first written in Italy. Court poets were
increasingly popular in this era because kings and queens hired poets to recite their family
history as entertainment in the form of songs and poems. This also led to an increase in poems
that pertain to the subject of politics
• The most common form of poetry at this time was the “sonnet”, a 14-line poem with a strict
rhyming pattern. The most famous Renaissance poet, William Shakespeare wrote an array of
poetry in this style. Paradise Lost also incorporates another specialty of the Renaissance:
humanism.
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE
POETRY
“hero narratives” Stories that focused around a hero and his impressive feats; renaissance writers used these as a means
of social/political commentary

greek/roman ideals: writers used these ideals of classicism and antiquity to translate into modern times, and to create a
new kind of culture that mixed past and present

promoting humanity: the writers of the renaissance glorified humanity by humanizing morally grey or evil characters;
this was radically different from the black-and-white moralism that was present in previous artistic movements

focus on irony or satire: commonly found in Shakespeare’s poetry, these literary devices played on audience’s
expectations to subvert the meaning of their poetry
• restraint: while the prose and nonfiction of the period was effusive, the poetry of this time period emphasized order