1. The English Renaissance 1485-1660

2. 14 th Century, Italy European Renaissance Period Begins Renaissance = “Rebirth”

3. Medieval World View Religion and the Afterlife Rural self-sustaining system based in farms and villages

4. Renaissance World View International Trading Economy Stress Human Life here on Earth

5. New emphasis on individual and development of human potential Cultivating innate talents to the fullest Arts and Literature flourishes

6. Questioning Time worn truths and challenging authority

7. English After 1485 when the War of the Roses ended and Henry VII came to power

8. Henry VII Built up the nation’s merchant fleet Financed expeditions that established English claims in the New World

9. Henry VIII Succeeds throne in 1509 Skilled athlete, poet, musician Well educated in French, Italian, and Latin

10. …marries Princess Catherine of Spain After 18 years of marriage, only 1 daughter: Mary WANTS A MALE HEIR!!

11. Requests to have marriage annulled to marry Catherine’s court attendant, Anne Boleyn

12. …marries Anne Boleyn Breaks from Roman Catholic Church because Pope refuses 1534 – declares himself head of the Church of England

13. Those opposed – paid with their lives Dissolved English monasteries and distributed their landholdings

14. Continued … Anne Boleyn produces ONLY 1 Daughter, Elizabeth She’s charged and executed for adultery and incest

15. …marries Jane Seymour She produces one son Edward VI

16. King Henry VIII’s “other wives” Wife #4: Anne of Cleves – annulled and she became the “King’s Sister” Wife #5: Kathryn Howard – Anne Boleyn’s first cousin – executed for adultery Wife #6: Kathryn Parr – took care of the King in his old age and outlived the King (who died in 1547)

17. King Henry VIII dies and Prince Edward Succeeds the throne. Unfortunately, Edward dies at age of 9 in 1547 (within a year of his father’s death)

18. Mary takes the throne Tries to reintroduce Roman Catholicism Marries cousin Philip of Spain and persecutes Protestants =Bloody Mary Dies in 1558

19. Elizabeth I takes throne English Renaissance reaches its full potential Unprecedented prosperity and international prestige

20. Elizabeth loved pomp and ceremony but was frugal and balanced the national budget. Absolute authority but sensitive to public opinion and respectful of parliament

21. Continued … Reestablished Church of England Elizabeth kept England out of wars and ended Spanish alliance Never married

22. Renaissance drama flourishes during this time: drama concerned with the complexities of human life here on earth 1603 Elizabeth dies

23. King James I and King Charles (1625) Belief in the divine right of kings: God’s representatives in civil and religious matters

24. Restoration period Civil Unrest Fictional Literature (fun) Essays and Elegy Impassioned with themes of death and finding God.

25. The Sonnet Poetry at work …

26. What is it? Fourteen – Line Lyric Poem Originated in Italy in the 13 th Century Italian: “Little Song” Iambic pentameter = 5 metric units (Unstressed syllable  Stressed syllable)

27. Iambic Pentameter Nor friend nor foe, to me welcome you are Thing past redress are now with me past care

29. Petrarch (1304 – 1374) Perfected the Italian Sonnet (Also known as the Petrarchan Sonnet) He believed that the sonnet was perfect for the expression of emotions: especially LOVE.

30. He wrote over 300 sonnets about his devotion to a beautiful but unobtainable lady, whom he called “Laura” He and Giacomo da Lentini are thought to be the fathers of the Sonnet

31. Petrarchan Sonnet Octave and a closing Sestet. Octave = two quatrains following the form abba Sestet = two tercets following the form cde

32. Volta (a turn) between the Octave and Sestet Subject or viewpoint of the sonnet will change between the octave and sestet.

33. Octave = tells a situation, introduces a conflict, or raises a question Sestet = poet resolves or comments on above

34. Introduction to English Sir Thomas Wyatt Copied some of Petrarch’s love sonnets and wrote his own, making small changes.

35. Henry Howard Changed the rhyme scheme of the sonnet to adapt it to the rhyme- poor English Language

37. Spenserian Sonnet Edmund Spenser Many of his sonnets were written during his courtship of his second wife, Elizabeth Boyle … autobiographical?

38. Amoretti – “intimate little tokens of love” A collection of sonnets, or sonnet sequence arranged in a narrative progression that simulates the ritual and emotions of courtship

39. Three Quatrains and a Couplet with an interlocking rhyme scheme: Abab bcbc cdcd ee

40. TWO Voltas??? An “obvious” Volta (a turn) at line 9 with words like “Yet” or “But” A more subtle Volta at last couplet (2 lines) where Spenser develops the Tone of the poem.

42. Shakespearean Sonnet Also known as the English Sonnet Not always about the “love” idealized woman for the perfect sonnet

43. Instead, many of the women had human defects. Instead of limiting himself to love, he also introduced deep philosophical issues and perplexing ironies

44. Like Spenser, three Quatrains, then a Couplet Not as rhyming as the other Sonnets: abab cdcd efef gg

45. Each Quatrain elaborates on a particular image The final Couplet is a concise statement that pulls the sonnet together by shedding new light on the situation developed in the three quatrains “The Punch Line”