v  The Elizabethan Period (1485-1603)

ü  Special features.

·         1485: Henry Tudor became king as Henry VII, ending the war of roses.

·         1558: Elizabeth I ascended the throne and maintained social stability.

·         1603: Death of Elizabeth I, ascension of James I, the first stuart king.

·         Literature:

+        The Renaissance was led by humanists, scholars and poets. The invention of printing contributed to the spread of ideas.

+        Humanism is the term most often used to describe the culture and literary movement that spread through Western Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was the greatest achievement of the period.

+        Drama: the invention of short plays call " Interludes"

                                                                                The fussion of classical form with English content: more mature                                                                                                and artistic.

+        Poetry: Generally less important than drama.

3 chief forms of poetry which flourish in the E.Age were:

o   Lyric: a short poem that expresses a poet's personal emotions in a songlike style.

o   Sonnet: a 14 lines poem with a certain pattern of rhyme  and rhythm.

o   narrative poetry: a narrative poem that tells a story.

+        Prose: the beginning of English novels.

ü  Major authors:

·         Chirstopher Morlowe (1564-1593)

·         William shakespeare (1564-1616)

·         Sir Phillip Sidney (1554-1586)

·         Thomas More (1478-1535)

·         Jonh Lyly (c.1554-1606)

ü  Important works:

·         Edward II (1594)

·         The tragical History of Doctor Fautus

·         The Jew of Malta

·         Virgil's Aeneid II and IV

·         Certayne Psalmes