Renaissance and Reformation
Renaissance means “rebirth”
Characterized by art, science, and exploration
Began in Italy and spread north.
(Humanism) Uniquely human- Creating inventions
Printing press - spread of ideas and information
The bible wasn’t easily accessible to many people
Started being translated in local languages ( new ideas)
Medieval vs Renaissance
Medieval
Beatific vision
All about what you do is all about getting yourself to Heaven
Sacrificed enjoyment of life
Renaissance
Started being acceptable to live for living’s sake
Enjoy this life
Music changed
Gregorian chants - new instruments
Deep love/attraction
No longer courtly love
Writers started writing about real love/relationships/people
Connection to the Catholic idea of what love is
Famous
Changed rhyme scheme to stand out
Edmund Spenser (pg.252-253)
Devout protestant (Served Queen Elizabeth)
First long term completely protestant queen.
Merchant Taylors’ School and Cambridge University
Published first poems here
He depended on payment he received for his poetry.
His greatest work was The Faerie Queene
It was an allegory of good and evil
Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I
Created new type of nine line stanza
Created Spenserian Sonnet
Amoretti
Sonnet 1 / 35 / 75
Jist = He loves her alone, and her love for him holds him captive to her shims? She is his muse, and he loves her so much it hurts.
Rhyme Scheme = ABAB BCBC,CDCD, EE
Rhyming Couplet + Geoffery Chauccer
Allusions =The home of the muses, Greek Mythology, Narcissus
Vulta - turn in poetry or a wrap up
Sonnet
Italian - little song
First part- love part
Middle- more nuance
Turn (petracrchcalls it a volta?)
Changes is the rhyme schemes
To stand out
Might to it to themselves to just stand out
Petrarchan Sonnet
Eight line octave
ABBA - ABBA rhyme scheme
Six line sestet
CDE - CDE rhyme scheme
Often goes problem - answer
Petrarcha was the first one to generate hundreds of sonnets without getting bored
Shakespeare inspired by him
Spenserian sonnet
ABAB
BCBC
CDCD
EE
Sonnet Sequence
Sonnets linked by theme/person addressed
Spenser and Sidney used these
Helped authors write 100+ sonnets without getting dull
Sir Phillip Sydney
(Sir implies nobility)
Courtier, scholar, poet, soldier
“Renaissance Man”
Being a poet was highly coveted
Could get sponsored ( maybe even by the queen )
Wanted Fame and notoriety
Went to Oxford and Cambridge
Favourite of Queen Elizabeth 1
Nephew of Earl Leicester
Son of Sir Henry Sydney
Well connected but modest
Fell out of favor with the queen in 1580 when he sent her a letter urging her not to marry the Duke of Anjou. Regained status though, and was knighted in 1583.
Severely wounded in 1586 during a fight against Spanish Catholics in Holland.
Wrote the first great sonnet sequence in English
Astrophel and Stella
First sonnets linked by subject matter and theme
Sir Phillip Sydney’s Sonnets (31 and 39)
Sonnet 39
Jist: Despair like the plague, clear idea of how valuable sleep is
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD DEE
Classical References: Cupid
Shakespeare
Fourteen lines
ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
Three quadrants (four line stanzas)
Rhyming couplet that dramatically restates or redefines a theme
Sentences often continue past lines and sometimes past quatrains
No rules about the number or types of sentences
Freedom of syntax, which creates dazzling effects
154 sonnets
Bio
Born in the town of Stratford-on-Avon
When he was 18 he married 26yr Anne Hathaway
Scansion & Prosody
Iambic Pentameter - the basic structure that Shakespeare writes in
Iambic - the type of feet involved (Unstressed/stressed syllable)
“Collect” “debate” “reward”
Emphasis is placed on the second part/syllable of the word
debATE, not DEbate
Pentameter - The ‘feet’ involved
All unstressed/stressed syllables
Mimics the sound of a heartbeat
(Six foot line - comfy with french - Called and Alexandrie)
*A metrical foot is a unit of rhythm in poetry that is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Metric Feet Variations
Iamb = unstressed - stressed (“re-WARD”)
Trochet = stressed - unstressed (“EX-it”)
Dactyl = stressed - unstressed - unstressed (“BE-owulf”)
Anapest = unstressed - unstressed - stressed (“se-ren-ADE”)
Phyrric = Unstressed - unstressed (“to a”)
Spondee = stressed - stressed (“BLACK- BEAR”)
Make sure Phyrric and Spondee don’t connect to anything else
Meter - A verse in poetry that has x number of feet
Monometer - one metric foot
Dimeter - two metric feet
Trimeter - three metric feet
Tetrameter - four metric feet
Pentameter- five metric feet
Hexameter - six metric feet
In plays, the meter and feet always add up to “five”
Shakespeare was 100% intentional
He added 30K words to the English language
The ‘feminine’ ending (source. Mrs. O'Sullivan)
Symbols : British pound sign £
Meaning: It has an extra half a foot
At the time, the audience would listen very carefully/ they understood the meaning based on the audio.
It is a ‘jarring’ switch in pattern that catches the listener’s attention
Shakespear saying “go a little off hinge” “be experimental”
6 foot = £ and power
With shifting change as is false women’s fash-ION = extra foot on the end
Macbeth
Time Period
Time of the Anglo-Saxon
Days of the Thanes
Setting - Scotland
Its freezing there 🥶
Rainy
Overcast
Religion
Calvinist
Presbyterian
King James
King of both Scotland and England
Sponsored KJV8
Wrote a lot about divine right and demonology/witchcraft
Many people were obsessed with witchcraft/demonology atp even if they did not support it
Many people were obsessed with figuring out who was and was not a witch. (Salem Witch Trials)
Great relationship with Queen Elizabeth (Shakespeare)
Attempt on his life
November 5: Guy Fawkes Day (celebration/awareness day)
An issue on religious divide
Catholics were the ‘minority’ underground, discriminated against
Outlawed because in the reign of Queen Elizabeth the 1st Catholics tried to overthrow her.
Anglicans were in power
The Parliament was starting to become Puritan
Tried to blow up Parliament to reestablish Catholicism
Guy Falkes
Father died at 8
Turned to catholicism
Wanted to reestablish the rights of Catholics in England
Unsuccessful, they decided to take drastic measures by blowing up Parliament.
An anonymous note ratted them out
The guards, on Nov. 5th, found 36 barrels of gunpowder
Fawkes was captured and taken to the king
Didn’t back down but instead said that he wanted to blow the Scottish king back to Scotland
Shakespeare v. King James
Shakespeare was very close to Queen Lizzy
When she died King James took over
Shakespeare didn’t know much about King James but wanted to secure his spot in court
Only knew that the king was obsessed with witchcraft
Rumored that he used a book of spells in the play
Spells in the book are believed to be real spells
Curse of Macbeth
Cannot say “Macbeth” during a production (something will go horribly wrong)
There was an actual King Macbeth that the story was based on
He was a great guy tho - not historically accurate
Monologue
When a character is in a scene talking for a long time to someone else
Soliloquy
“Solo”
Big chunk of of text delivered to the audience, not another character
Aside
One character, sometimes two, stepping out of the scene and talking directly to the audience or eachother; scene is suspended
Chorus
Group talking at same time
Background
Order is crucial, so when things are disordered, they are incredibly significant
Elizabethan mindset
Everything was linked from high to low (God - plants)
A disturbance in one area will cause a disturbance in the other
Hero
Weather
The Kingdom
Elements of Drama:
Stage directions
Assistance for the cast and production to bing the text to life
Dialogue
Any lines spoken by actors
Monologue
When a character is in a scene talking for a long time to someone else
Soliloquy
“Solo”
Big chunk of of text delivered to the audience, not another character
Aside
One character, sometimes two, stepping out of the scene and talking directly to the audience or eachother; scene is suspended
Chorus
A single character or group of characters whos words connect scenes + convey collective thoughts and feelings of the community
When people talk abt how they feel abt macbeth
Kinds of Drama:
Descended from the Ancient Greeks:
Tragedy = Stories that end with the downfall or death of the protagonist (Macbeth)
Emphasizes human greatness to show pity, fear, or awe
Elements:
Tragic Hero - High ranked main character, who has a downfall because of their own flawed behavior.
Tragic Flaw part of the hero’s character that leads him astray
Macbeth’s “vaulting” ambition and determination.
Comedic Relief - humorous scenes or characters that make jokes
The servants or lower class in Macbeth.
Comedy = Ordinary people in conflict with society, are always resolved happily.
Emphasizes human mistakes and weaknesses of society to show sympathy and excitement.
Types:
Romantic comedy - Problems with lovers
Comedy of manners - satire of social customs/society
Literary History:
Elizabethan Theater:
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I drama and plays became very popular, and started being performed in theatres.
Before, they were performed in courtyards or in inns, wherever playwrights and actors could find an audience.
England’s First Theater
James Burbage built London’s first theater called “The Theater”
Shut down in 1597
Richard Burbgage built the Globe theater in 1598
No sets, no lighting
Burned down in 1613 because of a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII
Rebuilt, but permanently closed in 1642 by puritans
Sam Wanamaker built modern Globe Theater in 1997
Shakespeare v. King James
Shakespeare was very close to Queen Lizzy
When she died King James took over
Shakespeare didn’t know much about King James but wanted to secure his spot in court
Only knew that the king was obsessed with witchcraft
Rumored that he used a book of spells in the play
Spells in the book are believed to be real spells
Curse of Macbeth
Cannot say “Macbeth” during a production (something will go horribly wrong)
There was an actual King Macbeth that the story was based on
He was a great guy tho - not historically accurate
Author In Depth- Pg 316
Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, northwest London
Father (John Shakespeare) was a glove maker and businessman,
Mother (Mary Arden) was a daughter of a landlord
Attended Stratford grammar school from 7-16
Learned Latin
Married Anne Hathway in 1582
Had 3 daughters, Susana (1583), Judith, and Hamnet (twins - 1585)
1594 part owner-principal playwright of Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Lord Chamberlain’s Men = one of the most successful theater companies in London
When James I became king, renamed to the King's Men
Most plays performed in Globe Theater in Thames River, Southwark
Retired in 1610 and died April 23, 1616
Wrote only for plays, first published work (the First Folio) published 1623 after his death by two members of theater company (John Heminges and Henry Condell)
Macbeth Shakespeare’s Sources- Pg 320
Shakespeare mixed fact and fiction
Macbeth from Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Macbeth and witches meeting
Macbeth and friends kill Duncan
Banquo is Macbeth’s accomplice
Lady Macbeth not a significant role
Shakespeare’s Macbeth main changes
Made King Duncan innocent
Macbeth has no claim to the throne
Used another story to make character of Lady Macbeth
Banquo innocent (Ancestor of King James I)
Background- Pg 322
Elizabethans viewed universe as orderly and interconnected
Great chain linked everything
Parallels between different realms, disturbances everywhere created a sense of imbalance that could influence human behavior and societal events.
Adage- truthful statement
Anon- soon, shortly
Battlements- openings at the top of a wall/castle
Beguile- charm, enchant
Chid- scold, rebuke
Entreat- ask someone to do something
Feat- achievement requiring courage
Frieze- heavy cloth / painted decoration
Gall- bold behavior
Jocund- cheerful, lighthearted
Knell- bell rung solemnly, for death
Liege- relating to a superior
Mettle- ability to cope with difficulties
Minion- follower of a powerful person
Pernicious- having a harmful effect
Prate- talk foolishly about something
Recompense- make amends for a loss
Quell- put an end to by force
Surfeited- cause to desire no more of something
Trammel- restriction to freedom
Vanquish- defeat thoroughly