The English Renaissance
(1485-1625)
Adapted from: Prentice Hall Literature
The English Tradition
The Renaissance was a flowering of
literary, artistic, and intellectual
development that began in Italy in the 14th
century.
 The movement was inspired by the arts
and scholarship of ancient Greece and
Rome, which were rediscovered during
the Crusades.
 Classical learning lived again as new
generations of scholars and artists
explored and extended the achievements
of the ancients.

A great burst of exploration (the
development of the compass, advances in
astronomy)
 Commercial expansion
 A growing sense of nationalism (Erasmus
1466-1536, though, a Roman Catholic,
and the Protestant Reformation; Martin
Luther (1483-1546))
 Protestantism (Lutherans in Germany,
Calvinists in Switzerland (John Calvin of
Geneva))

Some key characteristics of the
Renaissance:
The religious devotion of the Middle Ages,
with its emphasis on the afterlife, gave
way to a new interest in the human
being’s place here on earth.
 Universities introduced a new curriculum
called the humanities, which included
history, geography, poetry, and modern
languages.

The invention of printing from movable
type made books available to more
people than ever before. A German
printer, Johann Guttenberg, published a
Bible in the 1450’s that is believed to be
the first book printed in the new manner.
 While scholars used Greek and Latin to
study the ancients and students learned
those languages at school, more an more
writers began working in the vernacular.

England under the Tudors
(1485-1603)
Time of stability and economic expansion
 New markets abroad for wool growers
 Investments in far away places such as
India
 London had grown into a metropolis
 Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors, was a
great patron of the arts
 James I (the Stuarts) (1603-25) was a
great supporter of the arts as well.

Sonnet 31 by Philip Sidney
1.
2.
3.
What 4 lover’s complaints are expressed
in the sestet?
What is the connection between the
appearance of the moon and the
thoughts the speaker utters?
Judging by what is said in the sonnet,
what do you infer about the speaker’s
relationship with his lady?
Sonnet 31- Answers
1.
2.
3.
Constancy is treated as a form of idiocy;
beauties are too proud; they scorn
those who love them; and they consider
their own ingratitude as virtue.
The moon looks to him the way he feels,
prompting his questions.
He hardly suggests a joyous romance.
Sonnet 130
by William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
1. What is less than perfect about the
mistress’s lips? cheeks? breath? voice?
2. “Sonnet 130” is often called an antiPetrarchan sonnet. What do you think is
meant by “anti-Petrarchan”?
3. There are indications even before the
final couplet that the speaker loves his
mistress despite her supposed
imperfections. What is one such
indication?
Sonnet 130 - Answers
1.
2.
3.
Her lips are not as red as coral. Her cheeks
are not like damasked roses. Perfumes offer
more delight than her breath. Her voice is
less pleasing than music.
In this context, anti-Petrarchan means
repudiating the Petrarchan ideal of feminine
beauty.
He says that he loves to hear her speak.
Further, the tone throughout is goodhumored and kind, not sarcastic and cruel.
Fear No More
William Shakespeare
1.
2.
3.
What are the 5 aspects of life that the
deceased no longer has to worry about?
In the last stanza, what do the 3
concerns mentioned have in common?
Judging by the things the deceased no
longer has to fear, what status in life do
you think she held?
Fear No More - Answers
1.
2.
3.
Five aspects of the life the deceased need
not contend with are the heat of the sun,
winter’s rages, the frowns of the great, the
lightning’s flash, and the thunder’s clap.
All are part of the supernatural and refer
to harm.
In the play, Imogen is the daughter of the
king, a fact that may not be conveyed by
the words of the song, as it suggests that
being clothed and eating are part of life’s
chores along with frowns of the great.
References

Prentice Hall Literature The English Tradition.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989. Print