W. Shakespeare. The historical chronicles. The romantic dramas. The sonnets

W. Shakespeare. The historical chronicles. The romantic dramas. The sonnets

W. Shakespeare (1564 -1616)- English poet and playwright. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English l-ge & as the world's preeminent dramatist. He was born in the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the son of a tradesman. When a boy he went to Stratford Grammar School, where Latin and Greek were almost the only subjects. Life itself, contact with people & his acquaintance with E. folklore gave him more than the scholastic methods used at school. In those days Stratford-upon-Avon was often visited by travelling groups of actors. Sh. saw some plays performed by such actors & was impressed by them. Sh. lived in Str-upon-Avon until he was 21. By that time he was married and had 3 children. Then he left Str-upon-Avon for Lon­don where he worked as an actor & a playwright. In the late 90s a new theatre called The Globe was built. Sh. became one of its owners. The people of London liked it better than any other theatre. In The Globe most of Sh's plays were staged at that time. In 1613 Sh. left London and returned to his native town. Three years later, he died & was buried there. Sh is the author of 2 poems, 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Hist. chronicles are plays written on subjects from national history. Sh's chronicles cover a period of more than 300years of E. history (from the rule of King John in 12c. up to 16c). The main subjects- not the lives & fates of kings but history itself & the development of the country. Like all humanists of his time Sh. believed a centralized monarchy to be an ideal form of state power. He thought it would put an end to the struggle of feudals & would create conditions for the pro­gress of the country. One of his great achievements was that in the chronicles he showed not only the kings, feudals, and churchmen, but the lower classes too. “King Henry VI”, “King John”, “King Richard II”. His plays – rather pessimistic. He saw history as drama. In “King Henry VI” he uses humour & satire which make play more interesting. Central characters- a knight & sir John Falstaff. King’s sons spend a lot of time with Falstaff, but when Henry VI became king of England he rejected F. The author shows that for monarchs political interests are above moral principles. Rom. dramas differ from tragedies & comedies. They are not realistic,they are romantic, Sh. touches the problem of interrelationship b/n art & reality.He compares life with stage. In his last plays there are no violence. Playwright tries to find escape in dreams. Sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines. Sh. sonnet has the following rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, gg.The sonnet was brought to E at the beg.of the 16th c. Sh wrote a cycle of 154 sonnets. His sonnets – dramas in miniature as they are in thought & feeling. They are all built on contrast which reflects the struggle of conflicting emotions in the poet's soul. All his sonnets are full of feeling, of philosophical meditations on life. Many s. are devoted to the Dark Lady. Sh. speaks of her as of a real, earthy woman who is dear to him. Sh's sonnets are valued because of their wealth of thought, variety of themes and beauty of l-ge. The style of sonnets is rich in metaphors, similes and other devices. He uses everyday words. Also Sh’s sonnets devoted to his patron- earl of South Hampton. 1^st edition of sonnets-1623 “Portfolio collect.”

6. Lit-re of the 17c.John Donne. The E.Bourgeois revol.John Milton ”Paradise Lost”&other works.J.Bunyan.Restoratiopn age. J.Dryden

17c is divided into 3 periods accord. to the reigh of monarchs:1)King James(1603-1625) 2)Charles1(1625-1641) 3)Cromwell (1641-1660). Period of mixture of old forms & new attitudes in lit-re. Age of poetry. New genres:diaries, biographies, novels. A time of self-analysis. John Donne (1572-1631)-the most talented poet of this time. He wrote songs, sonnets, satirical works. His poetry is called metaphysical written in baroque style(presence of fantastic elements). He used stylistic device called paradox(stylistic device which combines elements which are contradictory). “Break of the day”- about 2 lovers, the man wants to get out because of break of the day. Bourgeoisie was deprived of official right to rule the country. In 17c B. fought against feudals & official church. Political & religious struggle. B.- protestants. 1642-Civil war. Charles I was beheaded. Cromwell was a dictator. JohnMilton (1608-1674)- 2^nd poet after Sh. Born in London, got education in Cambridge. Wanted to write a great poem like Homer’s poem. Was one of the Cromwell's consultants. During Civil War published many pamphlets. 1652 -went blind, but his spirit wasn’t defeated. "Areopagitica” -best prose work. Charles 2 said to burn all his works. 1667 -"Paradise lost". It’s an epic poem which possesses dramatic elements. It’s very long. Originally consists of 12 books. Biblical plot- the story of Adam & Eva. Devil rebelled against God, fallen angels tried to temp 1^st people. Based on deep knowledge of the Bible, theology, philosophy. Satan succeeded in seducing. He was in the body of serpent & made Eva eat a fruit from the tree. This is a poem without a hero. “ Paradise: regained ”-play, but there was no conflict→not so talented. John Bunyan - famous for “Pilgrims progress”, in prose. Main character-young man Christian. He realizes that he lives in an evil environment where there injustice & crime→desided to go in celestial city. He passes many cities, he sees a fair which is called “vanity fair” where everything bought & sold. When Cromwell was defeated-new period began-hedonism. Aristocracy wanted pleasure. Genre of lit-re – comedy. Plays centured round family life & marriages. People were interested in cases of adultery. Plays-satirical, entertaining. John Dryden wrote comedies & tragedies, texts for operas. More than 20 works. The founder of literary criticism.

W. Shakespeare. The historical chronicles. The romantic dramas. The sonnets

W. Shakespeare (1564 -1616)- English poet and playwright. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English l-ge & as the world's preeminent dramatist. He was born in the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the son of a tradesman. When a boy he went to Stratford Grammar School, where Latin and Greek were almost the only subjects. Life itself, contact with people & his acquaintance with E. folklore gave him more than the scholastic methods used at school. In those days Stratford-upon-Avon was often visited by travelling groups of actors. Sh. saw some plays performed by such actors & was impressed by them. Sh. lived in Str-upon-Avon until he was 21. By that time he was married and had 3 children. Then he left Str-upon-Avon for Lon­don where he worked as an actor & a playwright. In the late 90s a new theatre called The Globe was built. Sh. became one of its owners. The people of London liked it better than any other theatre. In The Globe most of Sh's plays were staged at that time. In 1613 Sh. left London and returned to his native town. Three years later, he died & was buried there. Sh is the author of 2 poems, 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Hist. chronicles are plays written on subjects from national history. Sh's chronicles cover a period of more than 300years of E. history (from the rule of King John in 12c. up to 16c). The main subjects- not the lives & fates of kings but history itself & the development of the country. Like all humanists of his time Sh. believed a centralized monarchy to be an ideal form of state power. He thought it would put an end to the struggle of feudals & would create conditions for the pro­gress of the country. One of his great achievements was that in the chronicles he showed not only the kings, feudals, and churchmen, but the lower classes too. “King Henry VI”, “King John”, “King Richard II”. His plays – rather pessimistic. He saw history as drama. In “King Henry VI” he uses humour & satire which make play more interesting. Central characters- a knight & sir John Falstaff. King’s sons spend a lot of time with Falstaff, but when Henry VI became king of England he rejected F. The author shows that for monarchs political interests are above moral principles. Rom. dramas differ from tragedies & comedies. They are not realistic,they are romantic, Sh. touches the problem of interrelationship b/n art & reality.He compares life with stage. In his last plays there are no violence. Playwright tries to find escape in dreams. Sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines. Sh. sonnet has the following rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, gg.The sonnet was brought to E at the beg.of the 16th c. Sh wrote a cycle of 154 sonnets. His sonnets – dramas in miniature as they are in thought & feeling. They are all built on contrast which reflects the struggle of conflicting emotions in the poet's soul. All his sonnets are full of feeling, of philosophical meditations on life. Many s. are devoted to the Dark Lady. Sh. speaks of her as of a real, earthy woman who is dear to him. Sh's sonnets are valued because of their wealth of thought, variety of themes and beauty of l-ge. The style of sonnets is rich in metaphors, similes and other devices. He uses everyday words. Also Sh’s sonnets devoted to his patron- earl of South Hampton. 1^st edition of sonnets-1623 “Portfolio collect.”

6. Lit-re of the 17c.John Donne. The E.Bourgeois revol.John Milton ”Paradise Lost”&other works.J.Bunyan.Restoratiopn age. J.Dryden

17c is divided into 3 periods accord. to the reigh of monarchs:1)King James(1603-1625) 2)Charles1(1625-1641) 3)Cromwell (1641-1660). Period of mixture of old forms & new attitudes in lit-re. Age of poetry. New genres:diaries, biographies, novels. A time of self-analysis. John Donne (1572-1631)-the most talented poet of this time. He wrote songs, sonnets, satirical works. His poetry is called metaphysical written in baroque style(presence of fantastic elements). He used stylistic device called paradox(stylistic device which combines elements which are contradictory). “Break of the day”- about 2 lovers, the man wants to get out because of break of the day. Bourgeoisie was deprived of official right to rule the country. In 17c B. fought against feudals & official church. Political & religious struggle. B.- protestants. 1642-Civil war. Charles I was beheaded. Cromwell was a dictator. JohnMilton (1608-1674)- 2^nd poet after Sh. Born in London, got education in Cambridge. Wanted to write a great poem like Homer’s poem. Was one of the Cromwell's consultants. During Civil War published many pamphlets. 1652 -went blind, but his spirit wasn’t defeated. "Areopagitica” -best prose work. Charles 2 said to burn all his works. 1667 -"Paradise lost". It’s an epic poem which possesses dramatic elements. It’s very long. Originally consists of 12 books. Biblical plot- the story of Adam & Eva. Devil rebelled against God, fallen angels tried to temp 1^st people. Based on deep knowledge of the Bible, theology, philosophy. Satan succeeded in seducing. He was in the body of serpent & made Eva eat a fruit from the tree. This is a poem without a hero. “ Paradise: regained ”-play, but there was no conflict→not so talented. John Bunyan - famous for “Pilgrims progress”, in prose. Main character-young man Christian. He realizes that he lives in an evil environment where there injustice & crime→desided to go in celestial city. He passes many cities, he sees a fair which is called “vanity fair” where everything bought & sold. When Cromwell was defeated-new period began-hedonism. Aristocracy wanted pleasure. Genre of lit-re – comedy. Plays centured round family life & marriages. People were interested in cases of adultery. Plays-satirical, entertaining. John Dryden wrote comedies & tragedies, texts for operas. More than 20 works. The founder of literary criticism.