1. The Renaissance was indeed a period that marked the rebirth of art (fine art, music, theater, etc.), exploration, and science. In fact, it’s often considered to be the zenith of artistic achievement in Europe, especially on the heels of the dark/middle ages and a religiously repressed period of Puritanism. Martin Luther’s revolt and subsequent Reformation was major turning point in opening the door for this “rebirth.” The height of the Renaissance, which featured the likes of Columbus, Davinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and others is considered to be the 16 th and early 17 th centuries, although the beginnings of the movement began as early as the 14 th Century. It also marked a notable shift in focus from somewhat oppressive religious rule to a new “humanism.” Unfortunately, a new religious Puritan movement resulted in a radical shift that ultimately brought the era to an end in the mid 17 th Century

2. Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon (UK); Died April 23, 1616 Nicknames include: “The Bard” and England’s National Poet He’s considered to be the greatest playwright or dramatist of all time In all he wrote 37 or 38 plays (comedies, tragedies and histories) plus 154 sonnets This year (2016) marks the 400 th anniversary of his death How timeless is he? Ben Johnson and Christopher Marlowe are generally considered to be his most notable contemporaries or rivals His troupe performed at the Globe in the summer and the Blackfriars Theater in the winter Theaters closed in 1592-1593 and again in 1608 due to the plague The Globe burned down in 1613 but was rebuilt before being burned down again by Puritans in 1644

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

4. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT IS THE THEME? What is the structure & rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet?