Renaissance Age (1500 – 1660)

 



Renaissance Age (1500 – 1660)

 The Renaissance Age is divided into four dominant periods which are:

  • 1558 – 1603: Elizabethan Age
  • 1603 – 1625: Jacobean Age
  • 1625 – 1649: Caroline's Age
  • 1649 – 1660: Common Wealth Period or Puritan Interregnum

An era that was marked by a supplementary terms such as rebirth and revival was replaced by a description called early modernism.

Elizabethan Age  

Queen Elizabethan ruled England from 1558 to 1603 and she steadily loved England and inspired all her people with her unbounded patriotism which exults Shakespeare and Spencer. Queen Elizabethan was the source of inspiration for all writers of the age. During the Elizabethan age, the drama made a wonderful leap into maturity. The drama reached splendid perfection in the hand of Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Ben Johnson. Therefore, we call it The Golden Age of Drama. English prose in the hands of Francis Bacon started a polished and effective essay. He is also called the father of English essays.

Major writers of this age      

1.  Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593)

Marlowe is a revolutionary figure in English drama. He was born into a shoe maker’s family. He obtained his degree in 1593. His works are “The Tamburlaine”, “Dr. Faustus”, “Jew of Malta”, and “Edward II”. Marlowe has some defects such as a lack of unity in plot construction, use of over-luxuriance of imagination, difficult words, and violent language. He ignored minor characters in his tragedies.

2. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist and poet in English literature. He wrote 37 long dramas and 154 immortal sonnets. His remarkable dramas are The Comedies of Error, Love’s Labour's Lost, King John, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, etc.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford -upon- Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children.

Plays were written by William Shakespeare.

Comedies.

  • All well that ends well.
  • The comedy of errors.
  • Love’s Labour's Lost.
  • The Tempest.
  • The Marchant of Venice.
  • The Winter’s Tale.

Histories.

  • King John.
  • Richard II
  • Richard III
  • Henry part I – iv

Tragedies.

  • Romeo and Juliet.
  • Macbeth
  • Hamlet
  • Othello
  • King Lear
  • Julius Caesar.

 

  1. Ben Johnson (1573 – 1637)

His father had died before he was born. His mother married a tradesman who cared of his stepson. After he finished his studies, he joined in the army. His main works are Every man in his humor, The Alchemist, The silent woman, etc. His plot construction is weak and comedies of humor lack true humor. He did over-correction in his dramas.

Age has the following characteristics.

  • Great interest in travel, exploration, and commerce.
  • A new form of the sonnet was introduced.
  • Nationalistic and pathetic feeling.
  • Great poetic output and the golden age of drama.
  • Poetry of freshness, youthfulness, and romantic feeling.
  • New classical influence.
  • Essay writing was remarkable and it was established as a genre by Bacon.

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