Renaissance Literature
Michael Rohwedder, Chris
Metcalfe, Maggie Clemens, and
Annie Kjelland
Characteristics of Renaissance
Literature
• Run between 1500 and 1620
• Most popular was drama or poetry
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Beowulf
Spenser - Faerie Queen
Bolpone (drama) – Ben Johnson
Surrey
Sir Thomas Wyatt
Five acts in a drama-imitates principles of aristotle
Poetry-Lyric, Narrative, and Sonnet – Middle English was
based on syllables
Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip
Sydney
Poem about love which was one of the topics of
that period.
Written in cycles of sonnets.
Narrative Poem – It tells a story.
There are 108 parts to the cycle.
Is in pexameters not pentameters.