Renaissance Literature: Humanism and Elizabethan Poetry
Key Features of Renaissance Literature
The Revival of Classical Learning: Classical authors and writings became popular, giving English people access to literature from classical times. These classical models inspired writers seeking to create new literature.
Humanism – A New Conception of Man and the Universe: Man became the center of the universe during the Renaissance, playing a central role in history. Man was seen as the maker of history.
Secularism: This did not represent a rejection of the spiritual and divine, but rather a focus on secular values. People discovered the importance of material values, which had been less emphasized in medieval times.
New Literary Consciousness: Writing became a profession, influencing literary production.
Pleasure and Delight in the Art of Writing.
New Learning
It was more than a revival of classical learning. Students learned about classical times in literature and culture. The Renaissance was more than simply a return to the classics; classical works were not used solely for literary reasons. A new culture emerged in England.
It was an eclectic and pragmatic learning: An educational ideal to produce a well-educated and polished gentleman suited for public life, politics, or life at court. People learned what they needed to succeed according to their personal expectations. Grammar and rhetoric became important subjects because people wanted to speak clearly in public life. The idea of the well-educated man was to be successful through this new learning.
Self-fashioning and the Malleability of the Self: The self became fashionable and changed according to social contact. The self became important as people tried to live according to new social rules and expectations. The self refers to outside relations, while individualism is personal.
Humanists as an Educated Elite – Thomas More: Humanists were an educated elite who brought this new learning into practice. Thomas More, Chancellor of Henry VIII, was a politician, writer, and philosopher. He applied his knowledge to public life.
Elizabethan Poetry
New Poetic Trends and Metrical Patterns: The English Sonnet
Poetry, particularly with metrical patterns like the sonnet, emerged during the Elizabethan period.
Pre-Elizabethan Poetry
In the 16th century, a major development in Renaissance English literature was the evolution of the lyric poem, shaped by English translations and adaptations of Italian verse, notably Petrarch. This involved both originality and innovation, and borrowed material from Italian sources. These adaptations introduced sonnets into English literature.
New Metrical Forms
- The Sonnet: Popularized by Petrarch in Italy, it was introduced to England by Wyatt and Surrey’s translations and adaptations. The English sonnet structure consists of three quatrains and a final couplet with the rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. This is the basic form, but variations exist.
- Blank Verse: Introduced by Surrey in his translation of the Aeneid, it is an iambic pentameter without rhyme. An unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one (e.g., It little profits that an idle King). Blank verse focused on rhythm, not rhyme. Shakespeare’s company often wrote in blank verse.
Petrarch’s Influence: Common themes included unattainable love, inner passionate love, pleasure and pain, and nature. The subordination of the Petrarchan lover to his mistress modeled the kind of loyal submission Elizabeth expected from her courtiers. Poetry circulated as miscellanies, with poems and sonnets passed from reader to reader.
Features of Elizabethan Poetry
- Classical Influence (Virgil, Ovid, Homer) – Mimesis: Classical authors served as models, but English poets created distinct works.
- Musicality: Musicality was very important in 16th-century England.
- Protestantism: Writers felt they were contributing to the Protestant cause and showed their Protestant sympathies. They aimed to teach readers how to be good Protestants, believing that man was corrupt and needed education through Protestant religion.
- The Poet as Maker and the Social and Cultural Value of Poetry: The writer is a maker, constructing the poem through Divine inspiration.
- Poetry to Teach and Delight.
- Court Poetry: Poetry was written and delivered at court.