The Barren Age & The English Renaissance

The Barren Age 1400-1485

• Consequences of the 100 years war;
• Dynastic war of the 2 roses (Lancastrians vs. Yorkists).

HENRY VII

First Tudor monarch, he puts an end to the dynastic war and he claimed the throne.

HENRY VIII

He is known for his six marriages, his role in the English Reformation, and, after his split from the Catholic Church, his establishment had profound religious and political consequences in England.

MARY TUDOR

She was the Queen of England, the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and is infamous for her attempt to restore Roman Catholicism to England, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary" due to the persecution of Protestants during her reign.

The only forms of literature that survived were directly inspired by church rituals and they are:

Morality plays

Interludes

Mystery plays

Funny dialogues made to enliven the atmosphere of the mystery plays, then became autonomus and replaced the morality plays. The aim was to amuse.

Related to Christian saga "Life of Saints Gospel events". They were performed outdoors and were initially written in Latin.

Funny dialogues, they are the ancensor of modern commedy. They were performed outdoors and were initially written in Latin.

The English Renaissance

We have:

• Interest in classics, mainly taken from Italy as the model of the Renaissance;
• Man in the center of the universe;
• Prospective of the outer world was based on Aristotelian-Ptolemaic views.

POETRY

Earl of Surrey

Thomas Wyatt

He modified the Wyatt' sonnet into the form which will be used by William Shakespeare (3 quartres, which contain a problem, final couplet, which contain the solution of the problem).

He introduced the Petrarchan sonnet in England. It had 2 sections: the octave present the situation, the main theme is introduced in the first 2 quatrains and resolved in the final tercets.

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

• Brief biography
• He was England's most important playwright;
• His nickname was Kit;
• He was a secret agent for the Queen.
• Main themes
• The 3 forms of power: knowledge (Doctor Faustus), wealth (The Jew of Malta), political greatness (Tamburlaine);
• Aspiration to overcome every human limit = superman;
• Dreams and impulses of the Renaissance man with the spirit of freedom, adventure and new horizons open to knowledge.

Doctor Faustus

"Doctor Faustus" is a tragic play depicting the story of Dr. Faustus, a scholar who makes a deal with the devil to have unlimited knowledge for 24 years in exchange for eternal damnation.

It was published in 1589 and is the play that best mirrors the philosophical dimension of geographical discoveries.

Doctor Faustus' last hour

• In the final hour of Doctor Faustus, his pact with the devil is nearing its end, he has only one hour before the devil takes his soul away.
• He becomes consumed by fear and regret, he goes from a MAN to a SUPERMAN down to a SUBHUMAN. Mephistopheles and Lucifer arrive to claim his soul, and Faustus desperately seeks salvation.
• However, he will ultimately be condemned to Hell, and his tragic fall serves as a warning about the dangers of uncontrolled ambition and the consequences of making a pact with the forces of evil.