The Renaissance in English Literature

During the 15th century an intellectual movement called the Renaissance swept Western Europe. The word means "rebirth" and refers especially to the revival of ancient Greek learning. For centuries scholars in Italy, Spain, and elsewhere had been translating the ancient works into Latin. Printing from movable type, invented about 1450, provided the means for circulating the books widely. This spread of ancient learning kindled a new spirit of inquiry and hastened the overthrow of feudal institutions. (See also Renaissance.)

Some modern scholars have questioned whether a total rebirth of learning actually took place. There had been, for example, Latin scholars in the earlier medieval period. It is certain, however, that something did happen in the course of the 15th century which changed the history of Western civilization and the set of men's minds.

For England, the year 1485 is a convenient date for marking this change from medievalism. In that year two significant events took place: the Wars of the Roses ended on Bosworth Field and William Caxton printed Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur'.

The printing of 'Le Morte d'Arthur' was a radical departure from the past. Before Caxton established his first press in England, Johann Gutenberg and his partners had printed the Bible, in about 1455, in Germany; and printers were at work in several other European countries before the end of the 15th century. Caxton, however, turned to his native language rather than to Latin for his text. His first printed book was 'The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye' (1475), which he translated.

Before the end of the century he printed several more books in English, including Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' (1478). The number of presses quickly increased in England, and with them, of course, the number of printed books.

In England the Renaissance coincided roughly with the reigns of the Tudor rulers Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Under Elizabeth's brilliant rule England became a world power.

 

English Renaissance Poets

The three great poetic geniuses of Elizabethan times were Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare. All were typical Renaissance men, trained in the classics, fond of fine living, full of restless energy and a zest for ideas.

Writing was a social fashion of this time, a pastime enjoyed by the nobles as well as by men of lower stations. Henry Howard, earl of Surrey (1518?-47), and Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42) are two striking instances of a talent for poetry existing in men of affairs. Though active in England's service, in their short lives the two became familiar with French and Italian verse forms. They adapted the Italian sonnet for English use, and Surrey introduced blank verse in his translation of the 'Aeneid'.

A third nobleman with a talent for writing was Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86). He wrote a beautiful sonnet series, 'Astrophel and Stella' (1591), and produced a tremendously long and somewhat tedious novel called 'Arcadia' (1590). These men wrote only for amusement, but they also gave money and encouragement to poor, struggling writers.

 

Spenser and Marlowe

Edmund Spenser (1552?-99), also active in public service, was much more the professional man of letters than Wyatt or Sidney. His 'Shepheardes Calender' (1579) is made up of 12 poems, one for each month of the year. These poems were more charming than any England had seen for 200 years. Spenser wrote many other poems, including a sonnet series called 'Amoretti' (1595).

'The Faerie Queene' (1589-96), Spenser's masterpiece, was left unfinished; but the 6 books written, out of 12 planned, are of great length. 'The Faerie Queene' is an elaborate allegory built on the story of a 12-day feast honoring the Queen of Fairyland (Elizabeth I). Spenser worked out a poetic stanza well adapted to telling a story, a special form which is now known as the Spenserian stanza. (See also Spenser.)

Christopher Marlowe (1564-93) promised more greatness than he achieved. He died at 29, stabbed in a tavern brawl. A line from his own 'Doctor Faustus' is his best epitaph: "Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight." His plays, such as 'Tamburlaine' (1587?) and 'Doctor Faustus' (1588?), bring passion and tragedy onto the stage in lines of great force.

Thomas Kyd (1558-94) is known for his very successful play 'The Spanish Tragedy' (1587?). To a modern audience it is an overwhelming story of carnage. It is exciting drama, however. Some critics believe that Kyd also wrote a tragedy of Hamlet which became the source for Shakespeare's great play.

 

Shakespeare--Genius of Drama

The great genius of the Elizabethan Age was William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He wrote more than 35 plays as well as 154 sonnets and 2 narrative poems ('Venus and Adonis', 1593; 'The Rape of Lucrece', 1594).

Like Chaucer, Shakespeare had a genius for telling a story. Although he generally took over stories already told by others, his adaptations of these narratives made them into something new and wonderful. Shakespeare surpassed even Chaucer in creating character. Noble and disturbed Hamlet, pathetic Ophelia, wise Portia, ambitious Macbeth, witty Rosalind, villainous Iago, dainty Ariel--these are a few of the characters Shakespeare made immortal.

In addition to his ability to tell a story and to create character, Shakespeare was able to use words brilliantly. Phrases and whole lines from his works have become part of daily speech--for example, "the milk of human kindness" or "the play's the thing." Entire speeches are universally familiar--"To be or not to be," from 'Hamlet'; "All the world's a stage," from 'As You Like It'; "The quality of mercy is not strained," from 'The Merchant of Venice'.

No one in all history has had a greater command of the right word, the unforgettable phrase, or the sentence that strikes straight to the heart of the truth. (See also Shakespeare.)

 

Jonson and His 'Volpone'

Contemporary with Shakespeare was Ben Jonson (1573?-1637). Many people once thought him to be a greater playwright than Shakespeare because his plays ('Every Man in His Humor', 1598; 'The Alchemist', 1610) are more "correct"-- that is, they are more carefully patterned after the drama scheme of the ancient Greek and Roman writers.

Only later did critics begin to prefer the deeper genius of Shakespeare and to realize that mechanical "correctness" is not the highest aim of a play or poem. Jonson's comedy 'Volpone' (1606?) is a comical and sarcastic portrait of a wealthy but selfish old man who keeps his greedy would-be heirs hanging on his wishes, each thinking that he will inherit Volpone's wealth. (See also Jonson.)

After the greatest days of Shakespeare and Jonson, the English drama declined in excellence. A taste for melodrama and sensationalism hurt much of the excellent writing done by such dramatists as John Webster (1580?-1625?), Thomas Middleton (1570?-1627), and John Ford (1586-1640?). These playwrights took such liberties with their subjects and with the language that in 1642 the Puritan reformers controlling London ordered that the theaters be closed. They did not reopen officially until the Restoration of 1660. Then a new sort of drama arose, one much influenced by French dramatic styles and methods.

 

The King James Bible

One of the supreme achievements of the English Renaissance came at its close, in the King James Bible. This translation was ordered by James I and made by 47 scholars working in cooperation. It was published in 1611 and is known as the Authorized Version. It is rightly regarded as the most influential book in the history of English civilization.

There had been translations of the Bible before 1611. William Tyndale (1492?-1536) first translated the New Testament from the Greek into English (1525). Miles Coverdale (1488?-1569) made the first complete translation of the Bible into English using Tyndale's version (1535). There had also been other translations; but the King James Version combined homely, dignified phrases into a style of great richness and loveliness. It has been a model of writing for generations of English-speaking people.