William Shakespeare 1564 — 1616

Renaissance Literature Renaissance: the humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature, and learning that originated in Italy in the 14th C. and later spread throughout Europe until the 17th C. Politically, the feudal nobility lost their power, and great monarchies were established for the development of bourgeoisie. In religion, Catholic Church was either substituted by Protestantism or weakened in its control of men ’ s minds. Geographical discoveries opened up colonial expansion and trade routes to distant parts of world and brought back wealth and also broadened men ’ s mental horizons.

Renaissance Literature Merchants and master artisans grew in power and wealth. Culturally, interest in God and life after death was transformed into the exaltation of man and earthly life. flat ←→ round characters. Style: simple style 平实 (Bible) ←→ grand and ornate style 宏伟, 华丽 (rhetoric) William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, John Milton

William Shakespeare ( ), Stratford-on-Avon, Warwichshire, on the 23rd of April. Father: John Shakespeare, merchant and held various municipal offices. At 7, went to grammar school, Latin and Greek; at 14, left school. At 18 (1582), married Anne Hathaway (26). In1589, left for London, odd jobs, actor, playwright, well- known at the end of 16th C. Back home in 1611, died on his birthday in 1616.

W. Shakespeare: Stratford-on-Avon

W. Shakespeare ( ) 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 narrative poems. Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet Comedies: The Merchant of Venice; Much Ado about Nothing ( 无事生非 ); The Winter ’ s Tale ( 冬天的故事 ). Histories: King John, Henry IV-VI, VIII. Received general acclamation only until 19th C. Ben Johnson, “ not of an age, but for all time ”.

Hamlet The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet (Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father) and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude (the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet). The play vividly portrays real and feigned madness – from overwhelming grief to seething rage – and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Questions Is Hamlet’s question a question for the Catholic church in the Middle Ages? Which is nobler do you think, to suffer or to fight ? And is your choice nobler for the church ? Why does Hamlet hesitate? What is the difference between Hamlet and the prince you often meet in tales ?

To be or not to be Hamlet ’ s thoughts on life, death, esp. the life after death. Blank verse: unrhymed poetry in iambic pentameter

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, c And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; d And every fair from fair sometime declines, c By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d. d But thy eternal summer shall not fade, e Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, f Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, e When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. f So long as man can breathe or eyes can see, g So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. g Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? a Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may, a And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. b Sonnet 18

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, c And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; d And every fair from fair sometime declines, c By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d. d But thy eternal summer shall not fade, e Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, f Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, e When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. f So long as man can breathe or eyes can see, g So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. g Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? a Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may, a And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. b Sonnet 18 Introduction ( 起 ) Elucidation ( 承 ) Transition ( 转 ) Conclusion ( 合 )

Sonnet ( 十四行诗, 商籁体 ) three four-line stanzas (called quatrains 四行 诗节 ) and a final couplet ( 双行 ) composed in iambic pentameter ( 五音步抑扬格 ) with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg (known as the Shakespearean sonnet). Often, the beginning of the third quatrain marks the "turn", or the line in which the mood of the poem shifts, and the poet expresses a revelation. Love, beauty, politics, death