ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE
Main Focus:
•Imagery and Themes
•Structure
Structure of the Presentation
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2.
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Imagery and Themes of literature common to the
time of the Elizabethan period.
Structure of Literature such as
The Elizabethan 5 act Structure
Sonnets
Prose
Introduction
The Elizabethan period saw a great flourishing of
literature, especially in the field of drama. Plays
became more socially acceptable and respectable as
Queen Elizabeth herself enjoyed them and was
against the shutting down of theatres. It was often
called the "young" age. It was full of boundless vigor,
re-awakened intellectual earnestness, and unfettered,
soaring imagination. The best fruits of the age are
enshrined in poetry in which all these elements can be
befittingly contained.
Complexity and depth of Elizabethan
plays
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Playwrights had to work with a unique audience with which
to contend- they wrote for people with a continuous
spectrum of backgrounds- 2 groups separated by a huge
gulf, the lower class commons and the aristocracy.
The plots were able to be appreciated by relatively
unschooled ‘groundlings’ but are also filled with allusions
and literary references to delight the well educated
aristocracy of the Elizabethan court.
The complexity of the audience is reflected in the depth and
complexity of the Elizabethan plays.
Characteristics of Elizabethan
Literature
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Elizabethan works uphold a great variety in almost
unlimited creative focus; They include works of many
kinds in both verse and prose, and ranges in spiritfrom the loftiest platonic idealism or the most
delightful romance to the level of very repulsive
realism.
Elizabethan drama broke away from the religious
domination, which was the major focus of the
medieval mystery and morality plays.
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Elizabethan literature Is mainly dominated by the
Spirit of Romance.
Spirit of Dramatic Action- as befitted an age
whose restless enterprise was eagerly extending
itself to every quarter of the globe.
It was the Period of Experimentation, when the
proper material limits if literary forms were being
determined, often by means of false starts and
grandiose failures.
Influenced greatly by Italian Literature
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Latin was the medium of expression all throughout
the fifteenth century, and all the important prose
was written in Latin. However, came about the
English language particularly in the later half of the
16th century, English prose was indulged upon.
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The age," says G. H. Mair, "was intoxicated with
language. It went mad of a mere delight in words.
Its writers were using a new tongue, for English was
enriched beyond all recognition with borrowings
from the ancient authors, and like all artists who
become possessed of a new medium, they used it to
excess. The early Elizabethans' use of the new prose
was very like the use some educated Indians make
of English. It was rich, gaudy and overflowing,
though, in the main, correct."
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I am not able to scrutinize all of the literature in the
Elizabethan period and give analysis their use of
imagery, but from the extract before, I am able to
conclude that imagery must have been rich and
romantic along with the use of language. Late 16th
century poetry was characterized by elaboration of
language of extensive allusion to classical myths.
Shakespeare especially used countless language
techniques ( such as metaphor, simile, personification)
to re-inforce strong visual images of Romance and
drama the main themes in his plays.
The Significance of the Queen
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Works of Literature from the Elizabethan era often
included references to the Queen, for example
Playwrights like Christopher Marlowe and Edmund
Spencer. She was THE symbol of those days.
Elizabeth’s specific actions, her image and the court
atmosphere she nurtured significantly influencedeven inspired great works of literature.
Examples of rich imagery in texts
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Light imagery in Romeo and Juliet : "Juliet is the sun
[and he calls her to] Arise . . . and kill the envious
moon." The clever use of metaphor here is just a
teaspoon if the imagery Shakespeare has used in
Romeo and Juliet to illustrate the ying-yang / lightdark attraction between Romeo and Juliet. The 2
lovers are born to families that are enemies to each
other, Romeo thus think of Juliet as the ‘sun’ and
‘light’ while he is the moon.
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Shakespeare, through imagery, also illustrated
darkness as a safe haven for the lovers. "More light
and light it grows, more dark and dark our woes!"
(3.5.35-36) He is saying here, that In the light of
day the conflicting families could discover the
secrets of the lovers much more easily than they
could at night. So the lovers, these brilliant sparks of
light, find life for their love in the darkness and
semi-darkness which is all the better for their
illumination.
Sonnets
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Shakespeare popularized the English Sonnet, which was
introduced into English by Thomas Wyatt in the early
16th Century
Structure
* 14 lines
* Iambic Pentameter
* static rhyme scheme
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Three quatrains and a couplet.
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He wrote his plays largely in blank verse that is, in lines
of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is when there
is 10 beats in each line. In such a pattern, each line is
divided into five units called feet, with the accent falling
on every second syllable. Of all English patterns, blank
verse particularly when occasionally varied comes
closest to the rhythms of everyday speech. In his earliest
plays, much of Shakespeare's blank verse was stiff and
fake. But it soon developed into a completely flexible
dramatic instrument. Through his verse, Shakespeare
could create a feeling of speed and excitement or a
sense of calm dignity.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
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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 man can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
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The scenes of the plays are carefully woven together in
order to create tension and humor, also to foreshadow
what is going to happen. Fragments of important
information is woven in throughout the play so that when
the complex plot unfolds the plot is able to be
understood it by piecing together all the information
given in previous scenes. The structure in which many
subplots run through the play can be described as 'River
Action'; actions not closely linked are moving in parallel
to be intertwined at the end of the play for a tense or
humorous effect.
Structure of Plays
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Shakespeare used the Elizabethan five-act structure,
which evolved from the Greek form and remains an
often used starting point for contemporary films and
plays.
Act I: Inciting Action
Act II: Turning Point(s)
Act III: Climax
Act IV: Falling Action
Act V: Resolution
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Act I: Inciting Action
This is where the plot begins. The rest of the story
unfolds from this incident. The first act also contains
exposition that explains the setting, characters and
background of the drama.
Act II: Turning Point(s)
A Shakespearean play may have several turning
points. Act II generally has at least one turning point
for the protagonist.
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Act III: Climax
The climax is encountered within this act and a action
must be taken relating to the climax.
Act IV: Falling Action
The falling action in a Shakespearean drama contains
further turning points. As the consequences of the action
in Act III begins to unfold, tension builds, and often
further character development occurs. In a tragedy the
reader or viewer is led to believe that there is still hope
for the protagonist. In a comedy, things go from bad to
worse for the hero or heroine.
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Act V: Resolution
In the final act, the conflict is resolved, either through
ruination or triumph. The resolution in a tragedy is the
catastrophe resulting from the climactic actions, usually
focusing on the downfall of the protagonist. In a comedy,
the resolution usually involves the marriage of all
principal characters in a happy ending.
Within acts there are multiple scenes which all have a
different idea or sub plot