OVERVIEW OF

LITERARY
PERIODS AND
MOVEMENTS
EARLY PERIOD OF
LITERATURE
Overview of literary
movements and
period:
 Classical
 Medieval
 Renaissance and
Reformation
CLASSICAL PERIOD
 The Ancient/Classical Period
 Occurred between 1200 BCE - 455
CE
 Consists of:
 A.The Homeric or Heroic Period
 B.The Classical Greek Period
 C.The Classical Roman Period
 D.The Patristric Period
HOMERIC OR HEROIC PERIOD
 In the Homeric Period there were vast changes in Greek language,
society, art, architecture, and politics.
 These changes occurred due to the increasing population of Greece and
its increasing amount trade, which in turn led to colonization and a new
age of intellectual ideas, the most important of which (at least to the
modern Western World) was Democracy. This would then fuel, in a
rather circular way, more cultural changes.
 This is called the "Homeric" period mainly because of the works by the
greek poet Homer. They include Iliad and the Odyssey.
 The figure of Homer is shrouded in mystery. Although the works as
they now stand are credited to him, it is certain that their roots reach far
back before his time.
 The Iliad is the famous story about the Trojan War. It centers on the
person of Achilles, who embodied the Greek heroic ideal.
The Iliad
 The Iliad is composed of 15,693
hexameters (lines of verse), and
is divided into 24 books
corresponding to each letter of
the Greek alphabet – alpha to
omega, a system that was
already in place by the time
 The Odyssey

 The Odyssey is composed of

12,109 hexameters and is also
divided into 24 in the same
manner as the Iliad. Whereas
war and anger were the themes
of the Iliad, the Odyssey takes
place after the Trojan War has
been won by the Achaeans, as
the Greeks are referred to by
Homer.
CLASSICAL GREEK PERIOD
 It is divide into district period:  Writers:
 The Archaic
Poetry
Mythology,folkrole, Astrology.
Aesop-Known as The Great
Fabulish in Greek time
 The Classical
 It centered tragedy.
Hesiod- Known as the Greek
poet, The father of didactic
Poetry
Sappho-Known as Lyric poet
 The Hellenistic

Its centered people events.
The three Tragedians
 Aeschylus
 Sophocles
 Euripedes
Aesop (Fables) after his death
first his works fables printed
in a vernacular english.
 The Mischievous Dog, The
Lion and the Mouse, and
The Monkey as King.
 These stories: often ended
not always happilywith a
moral such as honesty is the
best policy, look before you
leap, heaven helps those
who help themselves, and
once bitten, twice shy.
 Theogony, a hymn to Apollo’s Muses. He has
been called the father of didactic poetry.
 The Theogony (from the Greek theogonia,
meaning “generations of the gods”) is an epic
poem of 1,022 hexameter lines which
describes the birth of the gods in the Greek
pantheon. It is thought to have been composed
c. 700 BCE (give or take a generation either
side of that date).
 Sappho wrote in the Aeolic Greek
 dialect which was difficult for
Latin writers, well versed in Attic
and Homeric Greek, to translate. 
 Those works which are extant are
deeply personal reflections on
romantic love, desire, and loss.
Livingstone writes, “In life, human
beings return from a distracting
variety of interests to a few simple
things
 To understood this clearly and
focused her work on the most basic
and most enduring human emotions.
The Three Tragedians:
 Aeschylus- The father of
tragedy.
 Sophocles- The most
Famous writer of tragedy
plays.
 Euripedes-The Greats
Greek Tragedy author.
THE CLASSICAL GREEK
 Notable Philosophers:
Classical roman

 Roman religion, at least concerning the gods, was made up not of written
narratives, but rather of complex interrelations between gods and humans.
 Unlike in Greek mythology, the gods were not personified, but were vaguely
defined sacred spirits called numina.
 Romans also believed that every person, place or thing had its own genius, or
divine soul.
 During the Roman Republic, Roman religion was organized under a strict system
of priestly offices, which were held by men of senatorial rank. The College of
Pontifices was uppermost body in this hierarchy, and its chief priest, the Pontifex
Maximus, was the head of the state religion.
 The Roman gods also assumed the attributes and mythologies of these Greek
gods. Under the Empire, the Romans absorbed the mythologies of their conquered
subjects, often leading to situations in which the temples and priests of traditional
Italian deities existed side by side with those of foreign gods.
 Inventions
 Our calendar, thanks to Julius Caesar (who used "foreign" astronomers from Rom
dominions to get it right). January was after the two faced god Janus. February w
"Februa" the wips used in a popular festivity held in February. March is for the g
(beginning of the war season in fact) and so on. July and August are quite interes
was renamed in honour of Julius Caesar and August renamed in honour of Empe
Augustus. September used to be the seventh month way back before the Julian ca
(Septem) October was the eigth, November the ninth, december the tenth.
 Roman numerals - essentially constructed around fingers on the hand: I, II, III, IV
are 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. the V (5) stands for an open hand of fingers whilst the X (10
open hands back to back.
 Hand mangle for ironing - a flat metal paddle or mallet to hit the roman clothes, r
creases by beating. The "Prelum" was like a wine press with two plates pressed to
turnscrew.
 The first public newspaper was the "Acta Diurna" published every day in the Rom
and stuck on walls so that Roman citizens could know what was going on in the S
Virgil
 He is an Roman Poet
 Aeneid, Latin epic poem written
from about 30 to 19 BCE by the
Roman poet Virgil. Composed in
hexameters, about 60 lines of which
were left unfinished at his death, the
Aeneid incorporates the various
legends of Aeneas and makes him
the founder of Roman greatness.
 Virgil’s development of this
theme, Aeneas and the Etruscans
 can be seen as representing the
gods of sovereignty and war,
and the Latins as representing
the gods of fecundity.
PATRISTIC PERIOD
 The Patristic Period is the period
in the history of the Christian
church from around 100 AD until
the 8th century. The period is
characterized by divisions within
the Church on matters of
theology and doctrine, by the
definition of the great creeds
which are still used in the
church, and by the theological
writings of the Church Fathers
such as Augustine.
 St. Jerome, Latin in full Eusebius Hieronymus,
pseudonym Sophronius, (born c. 347, Stridon,
Dalmatia—died 419/420, Bethlehem, Palestine;
feast day September 30), biblical translator and
monastic leader, traditionally regarded as the
most learned of the Latin Fathers. He lived for a
time as a hermit, became a priest, served as
secretary to Pope
 Didachē, (Greek: “Teaching”, ) also called
Teaching Of The Twelve Apostles, the oldest
surviving Christian church order, probably
written in Egypt or Syria in the 2nd century.
In 16 short chapters it deals with morals and
ethics, church practice, and the
eschatological hope.
 Patristic literature,  The Letter of Barnabas was essentially a
body of literature that  treatise on the use of the Old Testament by
comprises those Christians.their supposed contacts with the
works, excluding the  Apostles or the apostolic community. 
New Testament,
 It about The Letter of Barnabas was
written by Christians
 before the 8th essentially a treatise on the use of the Old
century. Testament by Christians.
 Shepherd of Hermas
 early Christian work
 CLASSICAL LANGUAGES

 Latin—The language of the Romans, Latin, is the basis for 

modern Romance languages. It is a language of poetry and rhetoric, a logical
language still used in medicine and science when the need arises for a new
technical term. What's more, knowing Latin will help with English grammar
and should improve your general reading vocabulary, which, in turn, will
increase your scores on the College Boards.
 Greek—The "other" Classical language, is likewise used in science,
literature, and rhetoric. It is the language in which the first philosophers wrote
their poetry. Subtle semantic distinctions between Greek and Latin led to
controversies in the early Christian Church which still affect organized
Christianity today.
 Why Study the Classics? Eye Opening
Sometimes we wear blinders that prevent
us from seeing what goes on around us.
A parable or fable can gently pry open
our eyes. So can a story from history.

Comparisons
 When we read about the ancient
customs, we can’t help but compare
our responses to those exhibited by our
ancestors. In seeing the ancient
reactions we learn how society has
evolved.
THEMES CLASSICAL PERIOD
 Judgment
 Heroism
 Survival
 Peace and War
 Love
 Good and evil
 Circle of life
 Suffering
 Deception
 Coming of age
THE
MEDIEV
AL
PERIOD
(1066-
1485)
ANGLO-SAXON CULTURE
 Belief in fate (Wyrd)
 Accumulated treasures amount to success
 Fame and fortune zealously sought after
 Loyalty to one’s leader crucial
 Importance of pagan, Germanic, and Christian ideals to people whose lives w
and uncertain
ANGLO-SAXON CULTURE
 Fierce, hardy life of warrior and seamen
 Strength, courage, leadership abilities appreciated
 Boisterous yet elaborately ritualized customs of
the mead-hall
 Expected the hero to boast
ANGLO-SAXON IDEALS
CODES OF CONDUCT
 Good defeats evil
 Wergild--restitution for murder or expect revenge from victim’s relatives
 Boasts must be backed with actions.
 Fate is in control
 Fair fights are the only honorable fights
EPIC POEM
 Long narrative poem that recounts the adventures of a hero.
 Elevated language
 Does not sermonize
 Invokes a muse
 Begins in media res
 Mysterious origin, super powers, vulnerability, rite of passage
THE EPIC HERO
 Actions consist of responses to catastrophic
situations in which the supernatural often
intervenes.
 Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat
to society
 Destiny discovered through a series of episodes
punctuated by violent incidents interspersed with
idyllic descriptions.
ELEMENTS OF ANGLO-
SAXON
 Chant-like effectPOETRY
of the four-beat line
 Alliteration (“Then the grim man in green gathers
his strength”)
 Caesura-pause or break in a line of poetry
(“Oft to the wanderer weary of exile”)
 Kenning-metaphorical phrase used instead of a
name (“battle-blade” and “ring-giver”)
 Epithet-description name to characterize something
(“keen-edge sword”)
 Hyperbole-exaggeration
TITLE OF EPIC POEM
 Anglo-Saxon word Beo
means “bright” or
“noble”
 Anglo-Saxon word wulf
means “wolf”
 Beowulf means bright
or noble wolf
 Other sources say Beo
means “bear”
How we date Beowulf
Some Important Dates:
521 A.D. – death of Hygelac, who is
mentioned in the poem
680 A.D. – appearance of alliterative verse
835 A.D. – the Danish started raiding other
areas; after this, few poets would consider
them heroes
The Poetry in Beowulf
1. Alliterative verse
a. Repetition of initial sounds of words
(occurs in every line)
b. Generally, four feet/beats per line
c. A caesura, or pause, between
beats two and four
d. No rhyme
The Poetry in Beowulf
2. Kennings
a. Compound metaphor (usually two words)
b. Most were probably used over and over

For instance: hronade

literally means “whale-
road,” but can be
translated as “sea”
More Kennings
Other kennings from Beowulf:
“bone-house” = body

“gold-friend of men” = generous prince

“ring-giver” = lord
“flashing light” = sword
Setting: Beowulf’s time and place

Europe today Insert: Time of Beowulf

Term: Wyrd
wyrd
Fate. This idea crops up a
lot in the poem, while at
the same time there are
Christian references to
God’s will.
I. THE REIGN OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

A. Centralized England's
power – He appointed
representatives
to collect taxes, organize
the military, and supervise
legal
matters
I. The Reign of William the
Conqueror
B. Domesday Book (1086) -An
inventory of nearly every piece of
property in England (land, cattle,
buildings, etc.).
First time in European history
that people would be taxed based
upon what they owned.
"Doomsday Book" implies that
all would be judged upon worth
and without bias and suggests a
comparison between the king's
judgment of people's financial
worth and God's final judgment
of people’s moral worth.
II. The Feudal System
A. King owned all the
land in the kingdom

B. Division: One fourth of

the land was given to the
church; One fourth kept
for the king; the
remaining land was
distributed to nobles in
exchange for payment or
military services (knights)
II. The Feudal System (cont’d)
C. Nobles gave bits of land to
lesser nobles, who gave bits to
followers, servants, etc. At the
bottom of the social ladder
were… the conquered
Anglo-Saxons, most of
whom were serfs---peasants
bound to land they could
not own but who worked
for the lord in exchange for
protection and land to grow
food (most of which was
paid to the lord as a tax).
III. Monarchy after William
l. Reformed the
judicial system,
established system
of juries, formed
basis for English
common law.

2. Appointed
Thomas a Becket
Henry I (1100- as archbishop of
1135) – Known for Henry II Canterbury
social reform (1154-1189)
III. Monarchy after William (cont’d)

C. Richard I (1189-1I99) - D. King John (1199-1216) -

"Richard the Lion-Hearted" Forced to sign the Magna Carta
spent most of his ten-year reign (l215), which began the
fighting in Crusades and in limitations of the monarchy and
France; during his absences, his granted more power to the
brother John (villain of many barons (early step toward
Robin Hood legends) plotted democracy)
against him.
III. Monarchy after William (cont’d)
E. Edward I (1272-1307) -
Established the Model
Parliament of 1295
(House of Commons
and House of Lords)
IV. Decline of Feudalism
A. Growth of commoners’
power led to growth of
towns and increase in
trade.

B. Wool… became the

greatest and most
important industry.

C. Mills… established
opportunities for serfs to
escape feudal system.
IV. Decline of Feudalism (cont’d)
D. Guilds - Organizations
(unions) formed to control the
flow and price of goods and to set
up rules for advancing from
apprentice to master craftsman.

E. Towns became artistic and

cultural centers: churches, fairs,
markets, etc.

F. Education… began to lose

church affiliation; universities
became centers of learning
(Oxford, 1248)
IV. Decline of Feudalism (cont’d)

G. Black Death (bubonic

plague) (1348-49) –

Reduced the nation's

population by one third,
causing a labor shortage
and more leverage for the
lower classes against their
overlords.
V. Religious Changes
A. Crusades (1095-1270) - Series of wars waged by European
Christians against the Muslims, with Jerusalem and the Holy
Land as the prize. Contact with the Middle East civilization
brought extensive diversity to England's architecture, crafts,
mathematics, astronomy and various facets of more
sophisticated culture.

B. Medieval Church
fostered a cultural
unity- It offered one
system of belief that
transcended the
national cultures of
Europe
V. Religious Changes (cont’d)
C. Thomas a Becket - Appointed
Archbishop of Canterbury by King
Henry II, a close friend. When
Becket took the pope's side of
issues more often than Henry
hoped, Becket was murdered in
his own cathedral by four of
Henry's knights upon order of
Henry. Public outrage led to
devotion and sainthood.

D. Corruption led to religious

reformers - John Wycliffe
produced first complete translation
of Bible into English
VI. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400)
A. Born in London between 1340
and 1344; son of a successful
wine and leather merchant.

B. As a boy, he worked as a page

for Prince Lionel, son of
Edward III.

C. Spoke French (the language of

the court), Latin (the language
of the church), and Italian (the
language of many artists and
poets) and translated literary
works in all three languages.
VI. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400)
D. He rose quickly from his position as
page to "esquire" (or "squire"),
candidate for knighthood, but he
continued to have a high
understanding of and interest in the
common people.

E. He had a remarkable and vast career

serving as… soldier, diplomat, civil
servant, courtier to three kings,
translator , and poet. His experiences
gave him the opportunity to observe
people and study their
characteristics.
VI. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400)
F. He survived being taken
prisoner by the French.

G. He wrote numerous poems

and tales, but The Canterbury
Tales is known to be his
masterpiece.

H. While French was being

widely spoken amongst the
educated, Chaucer spoke and
wrote in Middle English,
making English more
respectable in the world of
literature.
VI. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400)

I. Observed and
experienced the various
classes of social order,
giving him great insight
as a writer. He was a
storyteller, a satirist, a
reformer, and a
celebrator of life.

J. Known as… "the father of

English literature“
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Characterization – The methods a writer uses to present the
personality of a character; how the author develops the characters
in a work of literature.
Writers use both DIRECT and INDIRECT Characterization
Direct Characterization – When the writer tells the reader exactly
what kind of person the character is (if the person is disgusting and
has despicable habits, if they are especially kind or noble, etc.)
Indirect Characterization – When the writer makes the reader figure
out what kind of person the character is. The reader may see the
character in action, hear the character speak, and hear others talk
about him or her, but the reader must make his/her own
generalizations about the character (whether the character is good or
bad, trustworthy or sneaky, cruel or kind, etc.)
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Three Levels or TYPES of Characterization:
Physical Characterization – The actual physical
description that the author portrays of the
character’s appearance. What the character
looks like, is wearing, the age of the character,
etc.

Social Characterization – The character’s

behavior and attitude toward other characters
(kind, cruel, greedy, generous, etc.)

Psychological Characterization – The

character’s thoughts and feelings (angry,
happy, sad, lonely, etc.)
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Chaucer Examples of Characterization
“High on his horse he sat, / upon his head a
Flemish beaver hat / and on his feet daintily
buckled boots.” PHYSICAL
CHARACTERIZATION

“In all the parish not a

dame dared stir /
Towards the altar steps in SOCIAL
front of her, / And if CHARACTER-
indeed they did, so wrath IZATION
was she / As to be quite
put out of charity”
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Satire – The act of ridiculing human vices and follies; the word
comes from the Greek word satura meaning “medley” or a
mixture of things.

Mockery – Subject of laughter, scorn, or ridicule

Parody – Mocking imitation of a known person, literary work,

movie, or event

Mock-Heroic – Imitation of the literary epic and its style by

exaggeration and distortion and by elevating the trivial to a
level higher than it deserves

Sarcasm – Using praise to personally mock someone; the word

comes from the Greek word sarkazein meaning “to tear flesh”
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Verbal Irony – A double meaning; saying one thing and
meaning another

Understatement – Implying the opposite by saying less than you

mean to say

Overstatement – Exaggeration by saying more than you mean

to say

Bathos – Going quickly from the sublime or serious to the

ridiculous or to over sentimentalize
Literary Devices Used by Chaucer
Framing (Frame Story) – When an author uses a structure of a story
within a story; a frame story leads a reader from one larger or “outer”
story into a smaller story or series of smaller stories.
Examples:
 The Book of One Thousand and One (Arabian) Nights – The main
narrator tells a series of fairy tales to the Sultan over a time period of
several nights.
 The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio – A group of people staying
in the country to wait out the plague tell a series of several stories to
pass the time (this is the piece off of which Chaucer bases his
Canterbury Tales)
 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley—Three narrators within the novel each
provide a different perspective on events of the plot.
 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer – The pilgrims traveling to
Canterbury all take turns telling stories along the way.
LITERATURE
DURING THE
MEDIEVAL
PERIOD
LANGUAGES
 Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated Eur
 The Church was the only source of education
 Thus, Latin was a common language for Medieval writings. [The commoners
anyway – they’d have heard the stories passed down orally.]
WRITINGS
Catholic clerics were
the intellectual center
of society in the
Middle Ages, and it is
their literature that
was produced in the
greatest quantity.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
 Romance
 A narrative in prose or verse that tells of the high adventures and heroic exploits of
chivalric heroes
 Tells of exploits of knights
 often a supernatural element involved

 Christian message
 concern with salvation and the world to come
 no interest in social change, only spiritual change
 This was true until the late 14th century
 Geffrey Chaucer and Dante Alighieri signal new thinking, try up-ending social order
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
 Heroism
 from both Germanic and Christian traditions, sometimes mingled
 Beowulf
 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Song of Roland
 The Nieblungenlied

 Presentations of idealized behavior

 literature as moral lesson
 loyalty to king
 chivalry
 use of kennings
 A figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or noun.
Example, storm of swords is a kenning for battle.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE – USE
OF ALLEGORY
 An allegory is a figurative mode of representation
conveying a meaning other than the literal.
 Much of medieval literature relied on allegory to
convey the morals the author had in mind while
writing--representations of abstract qualities,
events, and institutions are thick in much of the
literature of this time.
 We’ll read Dante’s Inferno this quarter – a classic
example of medieval allegory!
Renaissance and
Reformation
WHAT WAS THE
RENAISSANCE?
 Renaissance is French for “rebirth”.
 It began in Italy in the 14th century and in
England extended past the middle of the 17th
century
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 128).
 The Renaissance ushered in a new age of
“modern” thinking, and separated itself from
the previous era called the Middle Ages (or
Dark Ages) (Farzaneh).
 Society saw a rebirth of the intellectual and
artistic energies that characterized ancient
Greek and Roman civilization.
 It awakened a whole range of new interests in
human beings and the world they lived in
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 128).
 The Basic Beliefs of Humanism:

 Saw the potential of life in the here and now, not just the afterlife.
 Emphasized the capacities of the human mind and the achievements of hum
than the power of God (Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 129).
 Replaced unquestioning faith with an instinct of curiosity, honest doubt, and
 Sought freedom from authority and valued personal independence (Kreis).
 Believed in the dignity and potential of the individual (Abrams 240).
 Valued individual expression (Kreis).
 Cherished beauty and earthly pleasures, as the ancient Greeks and Romans d
 Emphasized the importance of education , reason, and intellectual freedom;
from the traditional study of logic, law, astronomy and philosophy to a study
now refer to as the humanities: liberal arts, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral
(Farzaneh).
 The Basic Beliefs of Humanism:

 Saw the potential of life in the here and now, not just the afterlife.
 Emphasized the capacities of the human mind and the achievements of human
culture rather than the power of God (Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 129).
 Replaced unquestioning faith with an instinct of curiosity, honest doubt, and
skepticism.
 Sought freedom from authority and valued personal independence (Kreis).
 Believed in the dignity and potential of the individual (Abrams 240).
 Valued individual expression (Kreis).
 Cherished beauty and earthly pleasures, as the ancient Greeks and Romans did.
 Emphasized the importance of education , reason, and intellectual freedom; moved
away from the traditional study of logic, law, astronomy and philosophy to a study
of subjects we now refer to as the humanities: liberal arts, grammar, rhetoric, poetry,
moral philosophy (Farzaneh).
 Although humanism broke away from the traditions and supers
Medieval Era, God and Christianity were still important; howev
Christian humanists questioned the practices of the Roman Cath
(Farzaneh).
 Humanism therefore contributed to the thinking behind the Pro
Reformation (Kreis).
 It provided a crucial step towards later periods of scientific adv
(Farzaneh).
 It resulted in a more educated, literate society and prepared peo
literature with more secular (non-religious) ideas (Kreis).
THE RENAISSANCE - AN ERA OF
EXPLORATION

 Exploration and discovery of

new worlds (including the
Americas) supplied Europe with
goods and trade partners. The
English were not pioneers in the
discovery and exploration of the
new world, but they profited
greatly as colonizers and
merchant adventurers, especially
during the reign of Elizabeth I
(Abrams 239).
THE RENAISSANCE - AN ERA OF SCIENCE
 Copernicus (1473-1543) &
Galileo (1564-1642)
(physicists, mathematicians,
astronomers) hypothesized
that the Earth was not the
centre of the universe as the
Catholic Church
traditionally believed.
Instead, they suggested that
the Earth, as well as other
planets, orbited around the
sun.

 Both men were labeled as heretics

by the Catholic Church
GUTENBERG’S PRINTING PRESS
 It was invented in 1440 in Germany by Johannes
Gutenberg and introduced in
England a few decades later
by William Caxton.
 At a time when education was
becoming more important, the
printing press made books cheaper
and more widely available to a
rising middle class.
 In the early 15th century,
about 30% of the people were
literate compared to 60%
by 1530. (Abrams 240)
So the Renaissance meant…
 … a “rebirth” for humanity.
 …that human beings were ready to demonstrate what they could accomplish
in the realms of philosophy, music, literature, art, science, and global
exploration.

 It began in Europe in the 1300’s.

 So why did it take a century or so for the movement to catch on in England?
POLITICAL INSTABILITY STIFLES
THE RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND
 England was slow to participate in the European Renaissance
mainly for political reasons.
 The Yorks and the Lancasters battled each other for the throne
in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485).
 In 1485 Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeated Yorkist King
Richard III and was crowned King Henry VII, reigning until
1509.
 The Tudor dynasty was established and ruled the country for
more than a century (Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 132-
133).
 Henry VII’s reign brought the political stability necessary for
Renaissance ideas to take root in England.
 It was not until the reign of his son, Henry VIII, that
PROTESTANT
REFORMATION
 Selling indulgences - The Church taught that most
Christians after death went to purgatory to suffer a time of
punishment for their sins before going to heaven.
Indulgences were intended to remit a part of that time. They
were granted previous to death by the Church for various
good works that came to include monetary offerings. This
last became very controversial because it appeared that the
Church was selling the right to avoid all or part of an
individual’s time in purgatory.
PROTESTANT
REFORMATION
 Martin Luther – Catholic priest
in Germany who Protested the
corruption in the church and
proposed reform.
 Published 95 Theses.
 Was excommunicated by Leo X
 Began his own church –
Lutheran Church
 Took refuge with Frederick the
Wise
 Translated Bible into German.
THE REIGN OF KING HENRY VIII (1509-
1547)
 Henry saw himself mainly as a political leader but
admired what the Renaissance had achieved in
Europe.
 He wanted to he thought of as “an enlightened
Renaissance prince”.
 In Henry’s court, famous poets such as Sir Thomas
Wyatt and Henry Howard were beginning their
work.
 Sir Thomas More became the center of a brilliant
circle of English Humanists. His Utopia was an
early Renaissance masterpiece.
 But it was during his reign that religious and
historical forces once again disrupted literary and
artistic development (Keach, Richetti, and
Robbins 133).
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
 Was a movement of religious protest against the
authority and “corruption” of the Roman
Catholic Church.
 Was already underway in Europe under the
leadership of people such as Martin Luther and
John Calvin, who protested against the practices
of the Roman Catholic Church for religious
reasons.
 Henry VIII had political and personal motives
for breaking away from the Church:
 Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, had not
produced a male heir for the throne.
 The Pope refused Henry VIII a divorce.
 He defied the Pope, married Anne Boleyn, and
declared himself Supreme Head of the Church
of England (the Anglican Church)
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 133).
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE
REFORMATION ON THE RENAISSANCE

 Sir Thomas More opposed the

king’s divorce and refused to swear
allegiance to him. Henry
imprisoned More and executed him.

 More's death is a reminder of how

the cultural and artistic spirit of the
Renaissance was prevented from
thriving under Henry's lust for
dynastic power and authority.

(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 133)

NEGATIVE EFFECTS CONTINUED
 It led to a lot of political and religious instability
that hindered the advancement of the Renaissance,
even after Henry’s death in 1547.
 Catholic was pitted against Protestant.
 Edward VI (reigned 1547-1553) –
 son of Henry and Jane Seymour
 continued Protestant reforms
 Queen Mary (reigned1553-1558) – (Known as
“Bloody Mary”)
 Daughter of Catherine of Aragon
 Was a devout Catholic and married Phillip II
of Spain.
 Instituted a reign of terror against English
Protestants in an attempt to return England to
Catholic authority.
 Her time on the throne threatened England's
growing national identity and allowed Spain
to emerge as the dominant, most imperialistic
power in sixteenth-century Europe.
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 134)
ELIZABETH I AND THE RENAISSANCE
RENEWED
 Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603)

 She ascended to the throne at age 25.

 She was very intelligent and had an excellent
Renaissance education. Her tutor was Roger
Ascham, a famous English Humanist.
 She was an accomplished linguist and poet .
 She encouraged literary and artistic
developments which allowed the Renaissance
in England to grow.
 She was a clever diplomat and ruthless politician.
 She used her unmarried status as a way to
manipulate her traditional enemies, France and
Spain, who sought alliances with England through marriage to its Queen.
 She promoted peace by navigating a reasonable religious track between the
 In 1588, England’s navy defeated the
Spanish Armada (the strongest naval
force of the age) when Spain attempted
to invade.

 The victory marked Elizabeth's

authority in a country that had become
one of the most powerful in the world in
less than a century.

 With swelling national pride and new

economic prosperity due to commercial
trade in the Americas, England was
ready for a period of great artistic and
cultural achievements.

 Many individuals of talent came to

Elizabeth’s court to distinguish (Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 135)
themselves artistically.
ARTISTIC TASTES OF ELIZABETHANS
 Elizabethan attitudes toward art, literature,

and life in general was a strange combination

of old and new; attachment to the medieval
past and a modern outlook.
 Artistic tastes veered toward elaborate pattern

and complicated ornament controlled through

order and symmetry.
 Elizabethans admired artifice, and considered

that which was artificial" to be an extension

of the art itself. They believed that
which was made by human skill added
to and improved on the order found
in the natural world.
 These tastes appeared in all
 In literature, they enjoyed a verbal pattern for the eyes and the ears much like a
repeated tune or rhythmic beat found in music.

 Intricate verbal patterning and arrangement were seen as an essential means of

expressing the true order of the mental and material universe.
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 139)
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 ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 
THE ELIZABETHAN WORLD
PICTURE
 Elizabethans saw the world
as a vast, unified,
hierarchical order, or "Great
Chain of Being," created by
God.
 Every existing being, or
thing, was ranked within a
category on the chain.
 Categories were ranked by
the attributes of their
members, from the lowest
group – all matter and no
spirit – the highest group –
all spirit and no matter.
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 139)
 Inanimate things were at the
bottom.
 Above were plants and animal
kingdoms.
 Human beings were at the
midpoint of the chain. Having
souls and free will, they could
choose to strive for the holiness
of the spirit world or fall into
depravity (animallike).
 The realm of God and the angels
was the dwelling of purely
spiritual beings.

(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 139)

 Each group had its own place in the chain and each member a
place in that group.
 The lion was the highest ranking member of the animal
kingdom, the oyster was the lowest.
 Metals ranged from gold to lead.
 The plant kingdom was headed by the rose.
 Each member of a group corresponded with the same-ranking
members of other groups: gold (most valuable mineral) was
equal to an oak (first among trees) which was like the sun (first
among stars). The lion (first among animals) could represent a
king or queen (head of a nation) who could embody a rose (first
among flowers) and that rose could symbolize God.
 Elizabethan writers chose from a wealth of symbolic
relationships, references, and allusions.
 The Elizabethan World Picture provided a language full of
images, metaphors, and analogies.

(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 139)

THE JACOBEAN ERA (1603-1625)
 When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the Tudor dynasty
came to an end.
 James Stuart, already King of Scotland, ruled England
and Scotland together until 1625.
 His reign is known as the Jacobean Era (the Latin
form of the name James).
 His reign was one of deep religious and political
unrest in England.
 In the early part of the seventeenth century,
philosophical and intellectual changes were starting to
undermine faith in the older Elizabethan world view.
 Copernicus (1473-1543) and Galileo (1564-1642) had
argued that the sun, and not the earth, was at the
centre of the universe and that there may be many
more worlds than earth.
 This and other scientific investigations called into
question the basis of the hierarchical universe. Most
people rejected the new discoveries but a new age of
scientific thought was dawning (Keach, Richetti, and
Robbins 141-142).
CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND

 James I's son, Charles, ascended the throne in 1625 when the
Puritan movement was growing.
 Puritans were strict Protestants who wished to “purify” the
Church of England.
 Soon Charles, the head of the Church of England, found
himself in conflict with a House of Commons that was
strongly Puritan.
 Charles I tried to put a stop to organized religious protest but
was opposed.
 In Parliament, the House of Commons with-held
funds needed for the functions of government.
 Parliament grew too strong and voted on reforms of church
and state.
 Charles I left London to establish his own army and regain
power.
 In August of 1642, civil war broke out.
THE PROTECTORATE AND THE RESTORATION
 Oliver Cromwell took over power of
the government in was he called the
Protectorate (1653-1658) which was a
military dictatorship and did not last
long.
 Cromwell died in 1658 and by 1660
the English people had had enough of
harsh Puritan rule, so they set up
contacts with Charles II who had set up
a government while in exile in Paris
(1660-1685).
 Charles II returned in what is called
the "Restoration" of the monarchy. A
new Parliament was elected and
England returned to its former style of
government.
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins
144)
Literature in a Century of Change and Uncertainty
 Seventeenth century writers built on and extended
the developments of Elizabethan literature but
were confronted with conflicting values and
expressions.
 The poetry of the 17th century had two main styles:
 "Metaphysical Poets" was a term used to refer to
writers who used extended, intellectualized
images drawn from philosophy or metaphysics.
 Metaphysical poetry extended the Elizabethan
love of intricate verbal artifice and feeling for
dramatic voice and situation.
 It is more argumentative in tone; its language is
more colloquial; its meter is varied, irregular, and
harsh.
 Overall, its content and form reflects the strain
and disruption of the 17th century.
 A famous metaphysical poet is John Donne.
(Keach, Richetti, and Robbins 145-146)
 The second main style of poetry in the
17th century is known as
“Classical and Conservative” Poetry.

 This poetry was based on discipline and

restraint of reason, on classical form, and
on fine craftsmanship. Ben Jonson wrote
in the style.

 A group of poets known as the “Cavalier”

poets composed light, witty, and elegant
verse that still retained an emphasis on
fineness and precision of form. Among
these poets are Robert Herrick, John
Suckling, and Richard Lovelace.
POETIC CONVENTIONS, MODES, AND
GENRES
OF THE RENAISSANCE
 Literary conventions are patterns of writing that have become habitual. Renaissance poets used well-
known patterns or modes of writing to convey their ideas and to arouse certain expectations in the reader.

 The Pastoral Mode

 The conventions of the pastoral mode present a simple and idealized world of shepherds and shepherdesses who
are interested in tending their flocks, falling in love, and poetry. The values of this mode are leisure and
contentment with the simple country life.

 The Satirical Mode

 This mode of writing ridicules the flaws of society such as greed and corruption.

 The Lyric Mode

 Concerned with praise, love, celebration of nature and the good life. Specific genres within this mode include
hymns, odes, ballads, and sonnets.
 Sonnets were among the most popular lyric poems and often explored love’s beauty and cruelty, the eternity of the
written word, and religious devotion.
 The Tragic Mode
 Often written in a genre known as a “complaint”. The chief convention of
the complaint is that of a ghost of someone who has fallen from a high place,
bemoans his fate, and warns others; the warning carries a moral lesson.

 The Erotic Mode

 Includes lush and elaborate descriptions of physical beauty, delight in the
pleasures of the senses, and frank eroticism.

 The Heroic Mode

 Values honour, courage in battle, loyalty, leadership, and endurance. Often
involves the glorification of a nation or people. The chief genre was the
epic, a long exalted poem written in a high style based on a heroic story from
a nation’s distant history.
THANK YOU 😊