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British Literature

British Literature. Unit III The Renaissance 1500-1650. Renaissance Fueled by Books. Remember: Printing press came to England in 1476 By 1640, 26,000 different books had been printed Huge increase in literacy By 1530, more than 50% of England was literate .

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British Literature

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  1. British Literature Unit III The Renaissance 1500-1650

  2. Renaissance Fueled by Books • Remember: Printing press came to England in 1476 • By 1640, 26,000 different books had been printed • Huge increase in literacy • By 1530, more than 50% of England was literate

  3. At this time period, in Italy, there was increased interest in manuscripts from ancient Greece and Rome • Spread throughout Europe • Renaissance= rebirth of the scholarship based on classical learning and philosophy • Rebirth of belief in human spirit, and in human potential for development • Belief that life itself was valuable, not only a preparation for the next world • Led to many discoveries (geographic, scientific, artistic, philosophical)

  4. Ptolemaic World View

  5. Copernicus • Published in 1543 • Theorized the Earth was not the center of the universe

  6. Galileo • The Father of Modern Science • 1632 Created a telescope, that proved Copernican theory • Galileo was eventually forced to recant his heliocentrism and spent the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the Inquisition.

  7. Lessening Role of the Church • Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on a church door in Germany in 1517; this heralded the Reformation • Henry VIII wanted a male heir, and wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. When the Catholic church refused, Henry divorced her, married Ann Boelyn, and became head of English Protestantism.

  8. Queen Elizabeth • 1558-1603 • Assumed the throne at 25; ruled for 45 years • Protestant • Loved music and dancing • Educated in classical and modern languages • Lyric poetry and song flourished

  9. Golden Age • Elizabethan period was the golden age of drama • William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Johnson • Something for everyone low comedy for groundlings elevated philosophy for educated strong story lines for all!

  10. Public Theaters • Attracted large audiences • Pickpockets, criminals • Plague • Puritan complaints

  11. King James • King James I (of Scotland) took the throne • (His reign inspired Macbeth) • Poetry became less exuberant, more cynical, and introspective • Growth of metaphysical poets (like John Donne) • More intellectual than romantic • Commissioned new translation of the Bible, King James Bible

  12. Literature • Drama continued to flourish • Shakespeare’s great tragedies written during reign of King James • His actors known as The King’s Men • John Milton’s Paradise Lost written during this time, too! • Great images from art: http://www.guhsd.net/mcdowell/guide/renaissance/renaissance.htm

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