Renaissance in England and Elisabeth I

Renaissance: Rebirth, something born again.

XV-XVI century: England is experiencing profound changes:

1. End of the “War of the Roses” (1485) and with it the period later called Late Middle Ages

2. Improvements of the science knowledge (Copernicus denied Earth’s central position in

the Universe)

3. Discovery of new places such as America by Columbus in 1492.

4. William Caxton printed his fist English text and Modern English born as a language

5. Rediscovery of the classical world of Greece and Rome which caused the birth of new

beliefs that inspired all the branches of art, philosophy and learning.

Renaissance in EnglandConsolidation of the Tudor dinasty with the reign of Elisabeth I.

Elisabeth I

She had to face:

1.Economics Problems caused both by the increase of

population and price inflaction.

2.Religious issues caused by the religion riformation of

Henry VIII and the “Bloody Mary”’s battle. She has been

able to manage the situation and made sure that the

Church of England remained Protestant.

Being a woman didn’t help her situation, as a matter of

fact woman in the past had limited power.

Culture in the English Renaissance

Literature, music and all the branches of culture were insipired by the Italian Renaissance.

Favoured the figure of human being.Literature

People needed to be revaluated as human beings not only as souls.

This kind of literature has been later called Elisabethan Literature.

During the Renaissance started the golden period of drama with a group of playwrights called the “university wits” who were: Cristopher Marlowe (1564-1593), Robert Greene (1558-1592) and Thomas Nashe (1567-1601).

 The theatre was the most public literary form of the period.

Shakespeare was the best playwright in all the English history.He wrote about all kinds of sources and showed a deep knowledge of the human heart.

John Donne and George Herbert were the most significant among the Metaphysical poets.

They were very innovative because they spoke about love using a violent and direct and intellectually complex language. Their poetry reflected the wish of their period to expand human horizons.

This was the period of questions caused by the profound changes. Change brought uncertainty but also vitality and creative tension.