Shakespearean & English
Renaissance History
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English Renaissance History
• Dates: approximately 1500-1650
• Renaissance literally means
“rebirth.” This term was chosen
because the Renaissance was a
time when classic literature, art,
music, and philosophy were being
“reborn.”
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PoliticalHistory
History
Political
• The Tudor dynasty
ended only a
generation before
Shakespeare’s birth
• Elizabeth I, or “The
Virgin Queen” reigned
from 1558-1603
• James I, or James VI of
Scotland, reigned from
1603-1625
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History of the Printing Press
• During the 15th century, books were
relatively scarce and had to be copied
by hand
• Between 1440-1450, Johannes
Gutenberg developed the printing press
• Within 20 years, the printing press had
revolutionized information
dissemination, fueling the start of the
English Renaissance
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Religion
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• As a result of growing intellectual
curiosity, humans began to question
the rules and tenets of the Catholic
Church
• On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther
nailed his 95 Theses to the door of
the Castle Church, sparking the
Protestant Reformation
• Soon after, the Catholic Church
launched a Counter-Reformation,
filled with heavy propaganda
• Elizabeth I promoted tolerance to all
religions, although the Anglican
Church was the official Church of
England
Humanism
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• The central tenet of humanism was that
learning would make humans more just
• Humanism emphasized the power of the
individual to influence both himself and those
around him
• Famous humanists: Sir Thomas More,
Erasmus
Music, Art, and Literature
• Music during this time period
consisted mostly of religious
masses (William Byrd) and folk
music (street cries, ballads, and
love songs)
• Painters were experimenting with
new techniques, particularly
perspective (da Vinci, Michelangelo)
• Poetry, drama, and religious,
political, and philosophical treatises
dominated the literary scene
(Bacon, Sidney, Donne)
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Renaissance Drama
• Based on Greek and Roman drama
• Incorporated the tragic and comedic elements
of both cultures
• Focused on Aristotle, an ancient Greek’s,
unities of time and space
• Included a Chorus
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Theaters
• Public theaters were
wildly popular during
the Renaissance and
catered to a wide
variety of audiences
• Most theaters were
“open-air”
amphitheaters
• Famous theaters: the
Swan, the Globe
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The Globe
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Productions
• New production almost every
night
• Very few props were used
• Costumes were elaborate
and historically accurate
• All parts were played by men
• Plays could be shut down
because of political/religious
dissidence
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Shakespeare’s
Contemporaries
• Christopher Marlowe: Dr. Faustus, Edward II
• Ben Jonson: Every Man in His Humour
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Shakespeare’s Biography
• Birth: 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon
• April 26, 1564: baptismal records reflect the
baptism of “William, third child of John and Mary
Shakespeare”
• January 25, 1616: Shakespeare’s will is drawn up
• Death: April 23, 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon
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Family Life
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• Shakespeare’s father, John, was
a wealthy business owner and
civil servant. His mother, Mary,
was the daughter of a lesser
aristocratic father.
• Shakespeare had 7 brothers and
sisters
• November 27, 1582:
Shakespeare marries Anne
Hathaway, the daughter of a
farmer
• The two had three children:
Susanna, and twins Hamnet and
Judith
Education
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• Shakespeare most
likely began schooling
at a “petty school” when
he was 4 or 5, where
he would have learned
to read, write, and
complete basic
arithmetic problems
• At about 7,
Shakespeare would
have advanced to a
grammar school, where
he would have learned
Latin grammar. He
probably quit at 13.
• There are no records of
Shakespeare attending
university
Career Beginnings
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• News of Shakespeare’s career first appears
in London in 1592, but it almost certainly
began before this
• Shakespeare began as an actor, a role he
continued to play for the duration of his life
• Although it is hard to date his plays, the
earliest were probably Titus Andronicus, A
Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Henry VI, The
Taming of the Shrew, and Two Gentlemen of
Verona
Shakespeare’s Works
• At least 37 plays - comedies, tragedies, and
dramas - although some plays are not so
easily classified (Measure for Measure, All’s
Well That Ends Well)
• 154 sonnets
• At least 6 longer poems: “The Rape of
Lucrece,” “Venus and Adonis,” “The Phoenix
and the Turtle,” “The Passionate Pilgrim”
“Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,” and “A
Lover’s Complaint”
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Shakespeare’s Sonnets
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• 154, labeled Sonnets 1-154
• First 17 are written to a young
man, urging him to marry
(procreation sonnets)
• Sonnets 18-126 are written to a
young man, expressing the poet’s
love for him
• Sonnets 127-152 are written to the
poet’s mistress, expressing his
love
• Last 2 sonnets are allegories of
other issues
Sonnets 7 and 130
SONNET 7
Lo! in the orient when the gracious light
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight,
Serving with looks his sacred majesty;
And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill,
Resembling strong youth in his middle age,
Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,
Attending on his golden pilgrimage;
But when from highmost pitch, with weary car,
Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day,
The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are
From his low tract and look another way:
So thou, thyself out-going in thy noon,
Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.
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SONNET 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the
ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
• 17 comedies
• Main plot points/themes: struggle
of young lovers to overcome
difficulty, separation and
reunification, mistaken identities,
frequent punning
• Famous comedies: A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Twelfth Night, Much Ado About
Nothing, The Merchant of Venice
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Ha! Ha!
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• 10 tragedies
• Main plot/themes:
protagonist is
admirable but flawed,
he undergoes a
reversal of fortune,
plot hinges on chance,
elements of the
supernatural are often
introduced
• Famous tragedies:
Hamlet, Macbeth,
Othello
• 10 histories
• Main plot points/themes: tied very closely to
what actually happened in history, end with
the death of a king and a the ascent of
another, combine the elements of both
tragedy and comedy
• Famous histories: Henry VIII, Richard III
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Shakespearean Vocabulary
Here are some common words used
during Shakespeare’s time that have
fallen out of use:
Alack, Anon, Cuckold, Ere, Fain, Fie,
Forsooth, Gramercy, Methinks, Morrow,
Nonce, Prithee, Sooth, Verily, Whence,
Zounds
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Much Ado About Nothing
• Much Ado About Nothing tabloid
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Bibliography
• http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT
/life/fastfacts.html
• http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/renhumanism/
• http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/i
ncunab/inchome.htm
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/60s
econdshakespeare/themes_muchado.shtml
• http://www.shakespeare-online.com/
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