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The Renaissance
This is a greatest and most advanced
revolution in the human history. This is the age
the giants are needed and produced.
------F. Engles
<1> Brief
introduction
?
Renaissance
in
European
history,
refers
to
the
period
between
14th
century
to
17th
century.
It
started
in
Italy
and
ended in England and
Spain.
?
“Renaissance”
means
“revival”,
the
revival
of
interest
in
Ancient
Greek
and
Roman
culture
and
getting
rid
of
conservatism in feudalist Europe and
introducing new ideas that express the interests
of the rising bourgeoisie.
?
Renaissance sprang first in
Italy (Florence and Venice) with the flowering of
paintings, sculpture and architecture, and
gradually spread all over Europe;
?
Renaissance originally
indicated a revival of classical arts and science
(ancient Greek and Roman culture) after the
dark ages of medieval obscurantism.
During the period of
Renaissance:
1. the Roman Catholic
Church was shaken,
2. old
sciences revived and new sciences emerged,
3. national languages and
cultures took shape,
4. art
and literature flourished
Brief
introduction
?
There arose an interest in
the manuscripts surviving from ancient Greece and
Rome. Classical learning and philosophy
were enthusiastically studied.
?
The
intellectual wisdom of ancient Greece and Rome
encouraged a rebirth of human
spirit
，
a realization of
human
potential for development and
creation
．
?
Never before in human
history were men and women so eager to create and
discover something new
．
In
Italy a group
of
artists
，
scientists
，
politicians
，
and
writers
created
the
most
brilliant
page
of
culture
and
science
in
Renaissance
Europe
．
Examples:
①
Copernicus (
哥白尼
)
asserted that the earth was not the center of the
universe
；
②
The passionate Petrarch produced
sonnets that influenced Shakespeare and many
others
；
③
Boccaccio(
卜伽邱
)
wrote tales of eternal charm:
The
Decameron
；
④
Marco Polo (
马可波罗
)
made journeys into the remote kingdom of
China
；
⑤
Michelangelo
（米开朗琪罗）
，
Leonardo
da
Vinci
(
达芬奇
)
，
Raphael
(
拉斐尔
)
，
and
Titian
(
提香
)
created
paintings and
sculptures that are invaluable treasures of the
world
．
<2>Essence
and features
?
Essence
: It is
the reflection of the rise of bourgeoisie in the
sphere of cultural life.
（另版本）
：
Renaissance, in essence, is a
historical period in which the European humanist
thinkers and scholars made
attempts to:
to
get rid of conservatism in Feudalist
Europe;
to introduce new ideas
that
expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie,
to
lift the
restrictions
in all areas placed by the
Roman church authorities.
Briefly it is
the reflection of the rise of bourgeoisie in
the sphere of cultural
life.
?
Features
:
there are two striking features
①
A
thirsting curiosity for the classical literature.
—
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②
The keen interest in the activities of
humanity.
<3>Renaissance and Humanism
?
Renaissance:
the
term originally indicated
a revival of
classical arts and science
after the
dark ages of medieval
obscurantism.
Indeed, a great number of the
works of
classical authors
were translated into
English during the 16
th
century.
?
Humanism
：
The progressive thinkers of the
humanists held their chief interest not in
ecclesiastical knowledge, but
in man,
his environment and doings and bravely fought for
the emancipation of man from the tyranny of the
church and
religious dogmas.
Humanism is the key-note of the
Renaissance. It reflected the new outlook of the
rising bourgeois class;
<4>Humanism
Humanism is the essence of the
Renaissance
. It sprang from the
endeavor to restore a reverence for the Greek and
Roman civilization based on the
conception that
man is the measure of
all things
.
Contrary to the subordination of
individuals to the feudal rules and the sacrifice
of earthly life for a future life in the
medieval society, Renaissance humanists
found in the classics a justification to exalt
human nature and came to see that
human
beings were glorious creatures capable of
individual development for perfection.
By emphasizing the dignity of human
beings and the importance of the present life,
they voiced their beliefs that man
did
not only have the right to enjoy life, but had the
ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders.
<5>Features of humanism in
Renaissance
Emphasizing the
power, value and dignity of the human being and
holding that human beings are glorious creatures
The
core
of
Renaissance
thought
is
the
greatness
of
man/giants
.
This
is
best
summarized
in
the
lines
of
Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
What a piece of
work is man; how noble in reason; how infinite in
faculty, in form and moving how
express
and admirable; in action how like and angel; in
apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the
world, the paragon of animals.
人是一件多
么
了不起的杰作！多
么
高
贵
的理性！多
么伟
大的力量！多
么优
美的
仪
表！多
么
文雅的
举动
！在行
为
上多
么
像一
个
天使！
在智慧上多
么
想一
个
天神！宇宙的精
华
！万物的
灵长
！
?
1. Emphasizing
secular happiness and individualism against the
medieval ideas of asceticism;
?
ng man’s interest from
Christianity to humanity, from religion to
philoso
phy, from beauty and greatness
of God
to the beauty of human body in
all its joys and pains.
?
3.
Applying
Aristotle’s
theory,
Humanist
literature
mainly
use
realistic
style
and
take
literature
as
the
mirror
or
miniature of the society.
<6>Influence and English Renaissance
Influences:
Italians, and
many others, helped to make Italy the center of
the Renaissance movement in Europe.
movement changed the medieval Western Europe into
a modern one
．
intellectual
wisdom of ancient Greece and Rome encouraged a
rebirth of human spirit
，
a
realization of human
potential for
development and creation
English Renaissance:
—
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Oxford Reformers: the Oxford reformers,
scholars and humanists introduced classical
literature to England. Education
was
revitalized and literature became more popular.
This
was
England’s
Golden
Age
in
literature.
There
appeared
many
English
literary
giants
such
as
Shakespeare,
Spenser,
Johnson, Sidney, Marlowe, Bacon and Donne.
English Renaissance
Contents
?
teenthCentury England
?
II. Renaissance in England
I. The Sixteenth Century
England
1. Enclosure Movement
4. International situation
2. The establishment of absolute
monarchy
5. Cultural preparati
3. Religious reformation
?
The background
of the humanism in Europe
?
The introduction of printing led to an
enlarged reading public and a commercial market
for literature;
?
The great economic and political
changes led to the rise of democracy;
?
The spirit of
nationalism;
?
The growing of
Characteristics of the Elizabethan
Age
?
1. An age of
comparative religious tolerance;
?
2. An age of comparative
social contentment;
?
3. An age of dreams, of
adventures, of unbounded enthusiasm;
?
4. An age of intellectual
liberty, of growing intelligence and comfort among
all classes and of unbounded patriotism.
II.
Renaissance in England
?
III.
The main artistic styles
?
IV
. William
Shakespeare
?
V
.
Francis Bacon
?
The
time:
mainly from the reign of Henry
VIII, Edward, Mary and then to Queen Elizabeth and
Jacobean Era
a. Beginning: the last
years of the 15-th century---first half of the
16-th century
b. Flourishing: the
Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)
c. Declining: the period of James I
(1603-1625) early 17-th century
The flowering of English
literature
The second half of the 16th
century, “a nest of singing birds”
The early period:
imitation and assimilation, translated
works, poetry and poetic drama were the most
outstanding literary forms.
?
Sonnet: an exact form of
poetry in 14 lines of iambic pentameter
intricately rhymed.
?
Blank
verse: iambic pentameter unrhymed
The
latter period:
?
Drama
—
the real
mainstream of the English Renaissance
—
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?
“university
wits”:
Lyly,
Peele,
Marlowe,
Greene,
Lodge
and
Nash
who
entered
the
dramatic
circle
between
the
years 1587-93. they were
all of humble birth and struggled for a livelihood
by writing. Through hard work, they revised
old plays and wrote new
ones. They made rapid progress in dramatic
techniques because they has close contact with the
actors and audiences. They were looked
down upon by the gentlemen and suspected by the
government. It was their
industrious
works that furnished the Elizabethan stage.
?
Christopher
Marlowe
?
William
Shakespeare
III. The main artistic
styles
The
artistic
styles
as
lyric
poetry,
narrative
poetry,
drama
are
maturized;
new
styles
which
characterized
the
modern literature such as sonnets,
short stories and novels were produced.
?
translation:
Ovid’s
Metamorphoses
, Homer’s
Iliad
, Montaigne’s
Essays
?
travel
books:
More’
s
Utopia
?
poetry:
Edmund Spenser
?
drama
:
“University Wits”, Marlowe, Shakespeare
?
essay:
Francis
Bacon
Thomas More and his Utopia
?
Forerunner of utopian
socialism
?
An imaginative
travel narrative written in the form of
conversation between More and Hythloday, a
returned voyager
describing an ideal
state governed by reason.
?
The
subject
is
the
search
for
the
best
possible
form
of
government:
Utopia---a
community
of
property---a
pure,
pre-Marx form of communism.
Poetry: Edmund Spenser and his works
?
The Sheph
erd’s
Calendar
《
牧人日历》
:
12 pastoral poems and eclogues, one for
each month, put into the mouths of
speakers distinguishing themselves as
shepherds, really representing Spenser and his
friends.
?
Amoretti
《爱情小诗》
:
a series
of
88
sonnets
in
honor
of
his
lover
Elizabeth.
All
except
one
was
written
in
the
Spenserian sonnet.
?
Epithlamion
《婚后曲》
:
marriage
hymns to celebrate his marriage with Elizabeth.
?
The Faerie
Queene
《仙后》
:
?
The blending of religious
and historical allegory with chivalric romance: a
long poem planned 12 books. 12 knights
for the qualities of the chivalric
virtues--- the six completed books are holiness,
temperance, chastity, friendship, justice
and courtesy.
Fairy Queen
—
Queen
Elizabeth, the knights as a whole --- England, the
evil figures
—
enemies.
Themes of the poem :
?
nationalism(
celebration of Queen Elizabeth)
?
humanism
(strong opposition to Roman Catholicism),
?
Puritanism
(moral teaching)
Spenserian
stanza:
it is a
nine-line stanza with the first 8 lines iambic
pentameter and the ninth, iambic hexameter
六步格的诗
rhyming
abab,bcbc,c which is the typical verse
in The Faerie Queene.
—
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For its rare
beauty, this verse form was much used by many
later poets, esp. imitated by the romantic poets
of the
19th century.
Spenser’s position in English
Literature
:
?
the
publica
tion
of
“The
Shepherd’s
Calendar”
marks
the
budding
of
Renaissance
flower
in
the
northern
island
of
England.
?
The language he used was
modern English which has distinguished itself from
the Middle English of Chaucer's day.
?
Spenserian stanza: a model
of poetic art among the Renaissance English poets.
?
“the poet’s poet”, the
first master to make the Modern English the
natural music of his poetic effusion and held his
position as a model of poetic art. His
influence can be traced in the works of Milton,
Shelley and Keats.
Christopher Marlowe
Life: short but riotous
?
Major works:
?
Tamburlaine the
Great:
《帖木耳》
?
A drama in a blank verse
?
About the rise and fall of
Tamburlaine the Mongol conqueror on the 14th
century central Asia.
?
A
tragedy about a man
who
thinks he can but actually can not control his own
fate.
?
By depicting a great
hero with high ambition and sheer brutal force,
the author voiced the supreme desire of the man
of the Renaissance for infinite power
and authority.
?
?
The Jew of
Malta:
《马耳他的犹太人》
?
A study of the lust for
wealth, which centers around Barabas the Jew, an
old money lender, whose only philosophy is
the art of gaining advantage.
?
Suggestive of
Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
?
A tragic
result: typically greedy of riches and gold, which
is another feature shared by those in Renaissance
England.
?
?
The History of Doctor
Faustus
《浮士德博士》
?
Refer to compare with
Goethe’s
Faust
?
The Faust myth in 16th
century Germany: the myth of men seeking great
earthly power from demons at the cost of
their immortal soul.
?
The conventional view: Dr.
Faustus is a morality play that vindicates
humility, faith and obedience to the law of God.
?
The new view:
Dr. Faustus
celebrates the human
passion for knowledge, power and happiness, and
also reveals man’s
frustration in
realizing the high aspiration in a hostile moral
order.
?
Social significance and literary
achievement
?
g the spirit of
the rising bourgeoisie. Its eager curiosity for
knowledge, power and gold.
?
The
praise
of
individuality
freed
from
the
restraints
of
medieval
dogmas
and
the
conviction
of
the
boundless
possibility of
human efforts in conquering the universe.
?
The heroes are mainly
individualists. Their individualistic ambition
often brings ruin to the world and to themselves.
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Shakespeare
?
…soul of the
Age!
?
The
applause! Delight! The wonder of our stage!
?
Triumph, my Britain, thou
hast one to show
William Shakespeare
?
To whom all scenes of
Europe homage owe.
?
He was
not of an age, but for all time!
?
3. the artistic features of
his plays
?
4. Shakespeare’s
place and contribution
?
5. Shakespeare’s
sonnets
?
1.
Brief Introduction
?
2. Shakespeare’s
drama
?
Four periods of his
literary career
?
Categories of his drama
What to be at least known
about Shakespeare
?
Life:
birthplace, birth date, death date, important time
in his life and career
?
His
major works: 37 plays(10histories, 10 comedies, 10
tragedies), 2 long narrative poems, 154 sonnets.
Plays to be read: great comedies & 4
great tragedies
?
Writing
features in each of four periods
I.
Brief
Introduction
?
A dramatist
“not of an age, but of all time” by Ben Jonhson,
not of Engla
nd, but of the world.
?
Not only a master of
English language but also a genius of character
portrayal and plot construction
?
A “poet of reality” for his
idea that literature should reflect nature and
reality.
?
37
plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long poems.
II. Shak
espeare’s
drama
?
Four
Periods of
Shakespeare’s Literary career
Four major phrases represent
respectively his early, mature, flourishing and
late periods.
1. Period of early
experiment and apprenticeship (1590-1594)
Background:
?
A.
it was in the middle of the highly thriving
Elizabethan Age.
?
B. The
thoughts of humanism and the ideas of man’s
emancipation, freedom of love was rapidly
spread.
?
C.
Shakespeare
was
a
young
man
full
of
astonishing
versatility
and
wonderful
talent
and
the
great
interest
in
the
political questions of his time.
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