The English Renaissance
The English experienced an awakening and rebirth, known as the English Renaissance. During this period came intellectual change, it allowed for communication, and religious change which challenged beliefs. This was a time of a bold and questioning outlook. The three big ideas that came with the English Renaissance was the humanists and courtiers, bards for the ages, and the sacred and the secular.
The humanists and courtiers were based on this new vision of human potential that was the result of a cultural change beginning in Italy and went through Europe. This became known as humanism. Role-models such as Leonardo Divincci and Queen Elizabeth I were known as the renaissance man and woman. Leonardo was known for his works of art that gave life to humanism. Queen Elizabeth was both scholarly and witty, her court focused on culture and wealth, which produced and displayed the life that everyone in that society aspired for. Her court allowed courtier Sir Walter Raleigh to use flattering poetry that honored Queen Elizabeth.
Humanism allowed for cultural bolt, a bard for the ages. This became the golden age for Elizabethan drama, devising what it means to be human. During this period Shakespeare had a huge effect on the western hemisphere, exposing to the Elizabethan public the complexity and commonality of human struggle.
The sacred and secular was of religious change. Individuals would disagree on fundamentals and questioned whether the bible should be translated. This conflict allowed for William Tyndale to gather scholars and create the King James Bible, making it possible for Christians to determine the aspects of the bible on their own. The controversy led to the split of the church, now being either Catholic or Protestant. Some people celebrated the sensual such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell who wrote of the relationship between the soul and God. Even in modern time society is benefiting from the changes created during the English Renaissance, which continues to motivate and inspire us as individuals.
Information Source
Literature Launchers. Glencoe, Dvd. 2010.
The humanists and courtiers were based on this new vision of human potential that was the result of a cultural change beginning in Italy and went through Europe. This became known as humanism. Role-models such as Leonardo Divincci and Queen Elizabeth I were known as the renaissance man and woman. Leonardo was known for his works of art that gave life to humanism. Queen Elizabeth was both scholarly and witty, her court focused on culture and wealth, which produced and displayed the life that everyone in that society aspired for. Her court allowed courtier Sir Walter Raleigh to use flattering poetry that honored Queen Elizabeth.
Humanism allowed for cultural bolt, a bard for the ages. This became the golden age for Elizabethan drama, devising what it means to be human. During this period Shakespeare had a huge effect on the western hemisphere, exposing to the Elizabethan public the complexity and commonality of human struggle.
The sacred and secular was of religious change. Individuals would disagree on fundamentals and questioned whether the bible should be translated. This conflict allowed for William Tyndale to gather scholars and create the King James Bible, making it possible for Christians to determine the aspects of the bible on their own. The controversy led to the split of the church, now being either Catholic or Protestant. Some people celebrated the sensual such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell who wrote of the relationship between the soul and God. Even in modern time society is benefiting from the changes created during the English Renaissance, which continues to motivate and inspire us as individuals.
Information Source
Literature Launchers. Glencoe, Dvd. 2010.
Crash Course: Did the Renaissance Really Happen?According to John Green the Renaissance didn’t really occur. The Renaissance only occurred amongst the rich and artistic people; nearly 95% of the people during the Renaissance were not affected by it and still lived on farmland. Green states that it didn’t necessarily happen since it happened to such a small amount of people, but the Renaissance art maintained a focus on the human mind and body. Scholars during the Renaissance rediscovered Greek and Roman writings, they translated the writings and were known as humanists.
The Renaissance period was during the 15th and 16th century. The main place that was focused on during the Renaissance was Italy. Italy was rich enough to support scholars because it contained mini industrian power houses. Venice was able to prosper because of trade with the Islamic empires. Venice’s clothes, paint, painters, and food were paid for by trade with the Ottomans. The period of the Renaissance was not of battle or of an era of glory. Most people were unaware of the Renaissance because it did not affect them. The Renaissance was not a thing that occurred, but a mutually interdependent thing that occurred over centuries where ideas introduced began to grow important over centuries |
How Greek and Latin became part of the English Language:
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin and Greek were used for both education and knowledge. Works in Latin writing were used as late as the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Greek word-forming patterns and symbols were adapted into Latin over 1,500 years. The flow of Greek came during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Many medical terms used in present time derived from the classical languages of Greek and Latin. The Greek language came to be more than 3,000 years ago and was the dominate language during the 4th century BCE. Greek was the language of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It was of the first to develop an alphabet. By the 2nd century AD the Roman Empire extended from North Africa to Britain. This led to Rome to become the center of learning. The official language of Rome was Latin. By the time the 4th century AD came the Roman Empire’s disintegrating language which spread into dialects that became Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portugese. During the Renaissance Latin became the international language for scholars. Many words now-a-days that contain Greek and Latin roots pertain to describe body parts or body functions in medicine.
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Tragedy is a work of dramatic art, it can be described as sad or depressing, even uplifting. Artists focused on the causes and reasons of the tragic character. Tragic figures are noble figures who are better than we are, they suffer a reversal of fortune. Tragedy is the imaginative depiction of the tragic figure, it moves the audience to pity and fear. An element of the tragic figure is "terrible" which is the character's extreme suffering, the "beauty" is the knowledge gained. Terrible beauty maintains dignity, and retains the dignity of a true man.
Dramatic tragedy before Shakespeare such as Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is well known, He maintains his dignity to maintain the true measures of a man and faces his faults by blinding himself, If the following questions are yes then it is most likely that you have a tragic figure. Is he a mighty figure, better than us. yes Does he suffer a reversal of fortune. yes Does he endure uncommon suffering? yes Does he recognize the consequences of his actions? yes Does his plight enable and enlarge us? yes Economical tragedy is when nothing extra is going on in the play, the focus is on the tragic figure and everything in the play is crucial. Both shatters yet inspires the readers. discover truths about the deaths of the human soul, dealing with the limits of human potential,. Tragic tales taught stories rather than dramatic plays. Source:Video Source: Shakespeare Module 2: What Is Tragedy? Standard Deviants School, 2005. DVD. |
Shakespeare's Macbeth: The Lost SceneAristotle's rule for tragedy calls for a reversal of fortune for the tragic figure, uncommon suffering, the tragic figures own understanding the consequences, and a plight that enlarges readers. Though Macbeth is a wonderful piece of literature it lacks the rules needed to comply with Aristotle's ideas on tragedy. In Macbeth there is no signs of remorse from Macbeth as he murder's innocent lives. Because of this readers are not able to have sympathize for Macbeth or understand some of his actions. The scene we are adding to Macbeth displays Macbeth's sorrows and regrets in killing people in order to obtain power. This sense of regret will reveals that Macbeth has remorse, meaning our tragic figure(Macbeth) will come to understanding the consequences of his actions. All his sufferings in our added scene will contribute to improving Macbeth into a tragic piece of literature.
Link to script: Macbeth Act 5 Scene 8 1/2 Link to audio: Macbeth Act 5 Scene 8 1/2 Audio |
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