History and Literature of the Elizabethan Age Study Guide

Origins of the Tudor Dynasty

• Beginning of the Line ($1485$): Henry VII, a Tudor, became King of England in $1485$, initiating a new royal lineage.
• End of Civil War: His ascension followed the defeat of Richard III and his marriage to a member of the House of York. These events effectively ended the civil war known as the Wars of the Roses.
• Era of Stability: Henry VII's reign lasted until $1509$, a period characterized by peace and progress.
• Unforeseen Developments: Henry VII could not have predicted the massive shifts that occurred before the Tudor line ended over a century later, specifically:
  • His son, Henry VIII, marrying six wives and breaking with the Roman Catholic Church over issues of divorce and succession.
  • His granddaughter, Elizabeth I ($1558-1603$), whose reign was so illustrious that the historical period and its literature were named after her.

The Growth of English Power

• Economic Transformation: The late $1500s$ marked a golden age for England, driven by several factors:
  • Collapse of Feudalism: A new economy emerged where money joined land as a primary source of power.
  • Banking: Banking became a formalized business.
  • Overseas Commerce: National wealth was bolstered by international trade. Henry VII had been king for only $7$ years when Columbus landed in the New World. Shortly after, explorer John Cabot sailed the North American coast, establishing British claims to Newfoundland and New England.
• The Protestant Reformation: A religious revolution originating in central Europe spread across the continent in the early $1500s$.
  • Definition: The Reformation was a protest against the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which was the only form of Christianity in western Europe prior to this movement.
  • Key Figures: The German monk Martin Luther and the French-born theologian John Calvin criticized the Church's actions, conduct, and beliefs.
  • The English Break ($1530s$): Henry VIII aligned England with the Protestants to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had not produced a male heir. After the Pope refused the annulment, Henry VIII broke with Rome, establishing the Church of England (the Anglican Church) with himself as the head.
  • Consequences: This initiated factional fighting between religious groups that plagued England until the end of the $1600s$ and lasted longer in Scotland and Ireland.

England as a Sea Power

• The Spanish Armada ($1588$): During Elizabeth I's reign, Philip II of Spain, the most powerful ruler on the Continent, sent his renowned Armada to invade England and restore Roman Catholic supremacy.
• The Victory: Despite the naval inequality, England's small navy won a significant victory, aided by the inhospitable climate of the English seas.
• Global Expansion: Following this victory, England transformed into a great sea power.
  • East India Company: Chartered on December $31$, $1599$, signifying the start of global trade and colonization.
  • Energy: The period is described as an explosion of energy, matching or exceeding the American frontier opening or modern space exploration.

Transition to the Stuart Line

• James I ($1603-1625$): Elizabeth I died in $1603$. The throne passed to her cousin James, King of Scotland (James VI of Scotland), who became James I of England.
• Unification: This meant the island of Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) was finally ruled by a single monarch.
• National Scale: Despite its power, Great Britain remained a small country:
  • Area: Smaller than the modern state of Oregon.
  • Population: At that time, probably fewer than $4,000,000$ people.

Life in Elizabethan England

• Rural Conditions: Travelers on country trails would often go miles without seeing anyone. Deep forests were common, making it easy to get lost.
• Dangers: The roads were populated by beggars and numerous, dangerous "highwaymen" (cutthroats and robbers).
• Social Fabric: Other encounters might include farmers, shepherds, prosperous merchants, scholars, clerics, and nobles.
• Urban Life in London: London was a major European capital with a population exceeding $100,000$.
  • Poverty: Records indicate approximately $12,000$ "begging poor."
  • The Thames: The river served as a thoroughfare for commerce and a local playground. Day saw barges and boats; nights featured pageants, music, and fireworks for all social classes.

The Influence of the Renaissance

• Origins: The Renaissance (French for "rebirth") began in early $14th$-century Italy and spread to France, Holland, and England.
• Core Philosophy: It was a revival of interest in the science, art, and learning of ancient Greece and Rome.
• Mindset Shift: People became excited by the unknown in religion, science, and geography rather than fearful of it.
• Achievements:
  • Exploration of America and the Pacific.
  • Advance in painting, sculpture, and music.
  • Testing of outmoded scientific learning and creation of new literary forms.
  • Questioning of long-held religious principles.
• Elizabeth I’s Role: The Queen fostered this creativity, reorganizing and chartering Oxford and Cambridge universities in $1571$. She enjoyed literature and flattery; playwrights frequently dedicated works to her or made her the subject of poetry to gain sponsorship.

Elizabethan Literature and Poetry

• Predominance of Poetry: The era was primarily an age of poetry. Prose was limited to works by Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Nashe, and later the King James translation of the Bible.
• New Literary Forms:
  • Lyric Poem: Short, intricate, intellectual, and rigorous, specifically the sonnet (of Italian origin).
  • Poetic Drama: A departure from simple medieval morality plays, merging verse with dramatic structure.
• Professionalization of Writing: For the first time, writers saw literature as their primary work and expected financial reward. Support came from:
  • Acting Companies: Being an actor/member could support a playwright (e.g., Shakespeare).
  • The Universities: Many writers (Campion, Daniel, Spenser, Marlowe) were associated with or educated at Cambridge or Oxford.
  • The Court: Some were high-ranking courtiers or favorites of the monarch (Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Raleigh).
• Key Literary Figures in Poetic Drama: Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, John Lyly, Ben Jonson, and John Dryden. This fusion was "glorious but relatively brief," becoming rare after these authors.

The Development of Elizabethan Drama

• Classical Influence: Interest in the Renaissance led to the study and imitation of Plautus, Terence (comedies), and Seneca (tragedies).
• Translators: Figures like George Chapman (known for translating Homer) were pivotal.
• Academic and Court Drama:
  • Interludes: Brief comedies/dialogues produced as campus entertainment.
  • Masque: A stylized court drama involving dancing.
• Noteworthy Early Plays:
  • Ralph Roister Doister ($1534$): Written by Nicholas Udall (headmaster of Westminster School). Featured a braggart warrior with purely verbal bravery and an empty pocket.
  • Gammer Gurton's Needle: Produced at Cambridge; a five-act comedy about a woman losing her needle in her husband’s trousers.
  • Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex: A tragedy by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, following Senecan lines.

The Shakespearean Theater

• Workload: By $1600$, Shakespeare likely completed $17$ or $18$ plays. His greatest masterpieces (Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra) were written between $1600$ and $1607$.
• Genres:
  • Comedies: Romantic fantasies for amusement.
  • Histories: Taught moral lessons via the crimes of ambitious leaders.
  • Tragedies: Handled death and the inevitable disaster brought by breaking moral laws.
• The Globe Theatre:
  • Physical Structure: Octagonal building with a thatched roof perimeter.
  • Dimensions: Yard was $65$ feet in diameter; the rectangular stage was $27 \times 43$ feet.
  • Stage Features: Large trap door (for ghosts); inner stage for indoor scenes; two gallery levels above the inner stage (balcony and musicians' level); a hut on the roof for sound effects like thunder.
  • Performance Logistics:
    • Groundlings: Spectators who paid $1$ penny to stand in the open yard.
    • Audience: Approximately $2,000$ people.
    • Time: Midafternoon in daylight.
    • Pacing: No curtains; scenes began as soon as actors entered. Plays of $16,000$ to $20,000$ words were performed in about $2$ hours.
    • Conventions: Boys played all women's roles. Use of soliloquies (internal thought) and asides (meant only for the audience).
    • Scenery/Costumes: Scenery was minimal (one tree = forest); costumes were elaborate versions of Elizabethan "modern dress."

The Tragedy of Macbeth

• Context: Likely written in $1606$; performed at Hampton Court Palace for Christian IV of Denmark. It appealed to King James I’s interest in witchcraft, kingship, and his Scottish heritage.
• Sources: Shakespeare used Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland for the basic story but made significant changes:
  • Banquo: A traitor in history, but honorable in the play because James I claimed him as an ancestor.
  • Duncan: A "faint-hearted milksop" in history; a benevolent older ruler in the play.
  • Invented Scenes: The banquet, Banquo's ghost, the sleepwalking scene, and Lady Macbeth's death.
• The Tragic Hero: Follows the pattern of a high-ranking, brave individual with a "tragic flaw" (fatal weakness) leading to their downfall. Macbeth’s flaw is quenchless ambition.

Questions & Discussion

• Refining Theme: What recent events exemplify one or more of these issues (loyalty, fate, quenchless ambition)?