I.

The Renaissance Period (End of 15th – beginning of the 17th)

The Renaissance Period in the history of English literature is also known as the
Elizabethan Period or the Age of Shakespeare. It is, in fact, the ‘golden age’ in the
history of English literature. After the Middle Ages in Europe came the Renaissance,
meaning revival or rebirth. As a result, the darkness of the Middle Ages was replaced by
the enlightenment of the human mind with the ‘Revival of Learning’, which the
Renaissance prompted.

The major characteristic of the Renaissance was its focus on Humanism i.e. man’s
concern with himself as an object of observation. The Renaissance actually started Italy
by Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch. However, it became popular in Europe during the
Elizabethan Period. Beside focusing on the ‘study of mankind’, Renaissance had
numerous subordinate trends which were actually the significant aspects of Humanism.
These include:

 The rediscovery of classical antiquity, particularly of ancient Greece.

 The rediscovery of the external universe, and its importance for man.
 The problems of human personality.
 The enhanced sensitivity to formal beauty, and the cultivation of the aesthetic
sense.
 The belief that men are responsible for their own actions.

During the Renaissance Period the most important achievement in English literature was
in the field of drama. The dramatists of this golden period include William Shakespeare,
Christopher Marlowe (“the Father of English Dramatic Poetry.” or the ‘Child of
Renaissance), Ben Johnson, Lyly, George Peele, Thomas Kyd, Robert Greene, Thomas
More with Utopia and others. All these writers produced prolific works. However, the
greatest among all Elizabethan dramatists was Shakespeare in whose hands the
Elizabethan drama reached its climax. He took English drama to the level which could
not be surpassed till today.

II. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

It was Shakespeare, the greatest of all Elizabethan dramatists, who took English drama to
the highest peak of fame. He was, indeed, a gifted man. His brilliant imagination, keen
insight, and a creative mind gave new life to the old familiar stories and made them glow
with tenderest feelings and deepest thoughts. His style and versification were extremely
remarkable. He was not only the greatest dramatist of his time, but also a famous poet as
well. His sonnets, replete with passion and aesthetic sense, also possess a significant
place in the history of English literature. Although Shakespeare belonged to the
Elizabethan Age, due to his universality he belongs to all times.
Shakespeare’s works include non-dramatic poetry consisting of two narrative
poems, Venice and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, 154 sonnets, and 37 plays. His work
as a dramatist extends over some 24 years (1588-1612), and is divided
into four periods. Let’s briefly overview this period:
1577-1593: First Period
This period includes Shakespeare’s early experimental work. The famous works of this
period are: the revision of old plays as the three parts of Henry VI and Titus Andronicus;
his first comedies—The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love’s Labor’s Lost, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, and The Comedy of Errors ; his first chronicle play—Richard III; and his
most famous youthful tragedy—Romeo and Juliet.
1594-1600: Second Period
This period reveals Shakespeare’s development as a great thinker and artist. The works of
this period includes Shakespeare’s great comedies and chronicle plays such as: The
Merchant of Venice, Richard II, Henry IV, King John, Henry V, Part I and II, Much Ado
About
Nothing, The Training of the Shrew, As You Like It, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and
Twelfth Night.
1601-1608: Third Period
This period includes Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies and somber comedies. His main
concern there is to reveal the darker side of human personality and its destructive
passions. The major works of this period are: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Julius Caesar,
King Lear, All’s Well that Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Coriolanus, Anthony and
Cleopatra, Troilus and Cressida, and Timon of Athens.
1608-1612: Fourth Period
This period includes Shakespeare’s later dramatic romances and comedies. Here we see a
decline in his power of thought and expression. Still his plays are tender and gracious.
The famous works of this period are: The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, and Cymbeline. He
wrote all these plays in collaboration with other dramatists.

III: The Romantic Period

Romanticism is the term applied to the literary and artistic movement that took place
between 1785 and 1832 in Western Europe. Occurring in the context of the Industrial
Revolution, the French Revolution, and the social, political, and economic changes that
occurred following the Augustan Age, Romanticism moved away from an emphasis on
the importance of an empirical, material worldview and looked to the imagination and
nature as sources of insight. Writers expressed a great reverence for nature and believed
that intuition, emotion, and imagination were more instructive than empiricism and
reason. The Romantic Period overthrew the values instilled during the Augustan Age and
strove to sever itself from the rigid writing styles of the ancient, classical examples of
Virgil, Horace, and Homer. Instead, poets and authors were inspired to write in their own
individual and creative voices.
Dark Romanticism:
Morse Pekcham. In his article “Toward the Theory of Romanticism”, defines Dark
Romanticism ‘negative romanticism’ as “the expression of the attitudes, feelings, and
ideas of a man who has left static mechanism but has not yet arrived at a reintegration of
his thought and art in terms of dynamic organicism”( 1951, 15). Experiencing “a period
of doubt, of despair, of religious and social isolation, of the separation of reason and the
creative power, the negative romantic is able to see ‘neither beauty nor goodness in the
universe, nor any significance, nor any rationality, nor indeed any order at all, not even
evil order”. These negative feelings are reflected in the characters created in the authors’
works. As Peckham states: The typical symbols of (Dark)negative romanticism are
individuals who are filled with guilt, despair, and cosmic and social alienation. They are
often presented, for instance, as having committed some horrible and unmentionable
crime in the past. They are outcasts from men and from God; they are almost always
wanderers on the face of the earth.

Light Romanticism
The Light Romantics present individuals as good without evil whereas dark Romantics
reflect them as inclined to sin and self-destruction. For the dark Romantics, individuals
fail attempting to make changes for the better in their lives, while the Light ones believe
the opposite. They emphasize that people cannot stop the changes but they should not
forget the past. The dark Romantics stress what is wrong with humanity, the negative
components of human life, not the positives unlike the Light Romantics. Their stories
contain dark, creepy, gloomy and dreary tones mostly with unhappy ending. They deal
with the personal weaknesses in one’s character which is eventually led to tragedy. They
focus on analyzing human life and psychology.

Here's a summary of William Wordsworth's life, work and contributions based on the
given material:

Life:

 Born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, England

 Lost his mother at age 8 and father at age 13
 Attended Hawkshead Grammar School and later St. John's College, Cambridge
 Visited France in 1791-92 during the French Revolution, which greatly influenced
him
 Settled in the Lake District in 1799 with his sister Dorothy
 Married Mary Hutchinson in 1802
 Appointed Poet Laureate in 1843
 Died on April 23, 1850
  Born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, England
 Second of five children; lost his mother at age 8 and father at age 13
 Being sneered by his short outlook  Spent much of his childhood in the Lake
District, developing a deep love of nature
 Attended Hawkshead Grammar School, where he excelled in poetry
 Studied at St. John's College, Cambridge from 1787-1791

Traveled to France in 1791-1792, where he was influenced by the French Revolution.

*The French Revolution affected to William Wordsworth

The French Revolution had a significant influence on William Wordsworth's poetry.

During the period of the revolution, Wordsworth's sonnets reflected his heightened
political commitments and his vestigial radicalism. He sought to challenge the
systematizing impulses of the government by imagining a way to relate to the vagrant and
criminal poor, who were targeted due to the fear of the revolution's influence.
Wordsworth's poetry was seen as a reflection of the revolutionary movement of the time,
striving to reduce all things to the same standard and rid poetry of its literary heritage and
generic hierarchies. The French Revolution also influenced Wordsworth's choice of
publisher, Joseph Johnson, who was known for supporting authors who advocated for
religious dissent, parliamentary reform, and the French Revolution. Overall, the French
Revolution played a significant role in shaping Wordsworth's poetry, leading him to
focus on the lives of common people and challenging the existing social and political
order.

Major Works:

 Lyrical Ballads (1798) - joint publication with Coleridge that launched the
Romantic Age in English literature
 Poems in Two Volumes (1807) - contains many of his most famous poems
 The Excursion (1814)
 The Prelude (published posthumously in 1850) - his autobiographical magnum
opus

Major Influences:

 The natural landscape of the Lake District

 The French Revolution and its ideals
 His sister Dorothy, who was a major inspiration
 His friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 The loss of his parents at a young age

Key Contributions:
 1. Helped launch the Romantic movement in English poetry with Lyrical Ballads
2. Championed the use of everyday language in poetry, challenging prevailing views
on poetic diction
3. Wrote extensively about nature and its ability to uplift the human spirit
4. Explored themes of memory, childhood, and the human relationship with nature
5. Developed the concept of the "egotistical sublime" in his autobiographical poetry
6. Permanently enlarged the range of English poetry in both subject matter and
treatment
7. Influenced later poets and thinkers with his ideas about nature and the imagination
8. Along with other Romantic poets, provided a counterpoint to Enlightenment
rationalism by emphasizing emotion and the natural world

Wordsworth is considered one of the most important and influential English Romantic
poets, known for his lyrical style and philosophical explorations of the connection
between nature and the human mind. His work marked a significant shift in English
poetry and literature.

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, written in 1595. The
story itself was not anything new or different, but the way Shakespeare wrote the story
made it popular. The language that he used to communicate their love for each other was
written so poetically.

Romeo and Juliet is a play about love and passion between two young people. It is also
about the fate of the two "star-crossed lovers." who eventually take their own lives
because of misunderstandings. You could say that Romeo and Juliet had just too much
bad luck and the play leaves you thinking "if only..." If only the messenger had delivered
the letter, if only Juliet had woken up sooner there are so many unfortunate chances in the
play.

Romeo and Juliet summary: In the city of Verona, Italy, there were two feuding noble
families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo, the son of the Montagues, fell in love
with Juliet, the daughter of the Capulets. The two were a perfect match, both in talent and
beauty. They secretly married. However, on the same day, due to a confrontation, Romeo
killed Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, and was subsequently exiled. Juliet's family then forced her
to marry Count Paris. She contemplated suicide but was aided by Friar Lawrence, who
devised a plan to prevent the marriage. He gave her a potion that would induce a death-
like sleep, after which, once her family placed her in the family tomb, the friar would
inform Romeo to rescue her and flee from Verona. Unfortunately, the friar's message did
not reach Romeo in time, and instead, Romeo received news from a Montague servant
that Juliet had died. Believing her to be truly dead, Romeo took his own life beside her.
When Juliet awoke and saw Romeo dead, she also committed suicide. In the wake of
their tragic deaths, the two families reconciled and ended their long-standing feud.

Romeo

Brief introduction: Romeo is the tragic protagonist of the drama "Romeo and Juliet" by
William Shakespeare. He is one of the complex characters whose personality is defined
by strong and impulsive nature. He is also a young, impetuous lover blinded by love,
which leads to his tragic ending.

1. Five typical characteristics of Romeo from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and

Juliet" include:

1. Romantic and passionate: Romeo is known for his intense emotions and his
ability to fall deeply in love at first sight. For example, when he sees Juliet for the
first time at the Capulet party, he immediately falls in love with her and declares,
"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till
this night. - Act 1, Scene 5"
2. Impulsive and reckless: Romeo often acts without thinking and lets his emotions
drive his decisions. For instance, when he hears about Juliet's apparent death, he
impulsively decides to take his own life next to her tomb, saying, "Then I defy
you, stars! - Act 5, scene 1"
3. Youthful and naive: Romeo is portrayed as a young and inexperienced lover,
prone to idealism and the belief in everlasting love. He frequently speaks in poetic
and exaggerated terms, demonstrating his youthful optimism. In Act II, Scene 2,
he says, "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls; For stony limits
cannot hold love out. – act 2, scence 2"
4. Moody and melancholic: Romeo often displays mood swings and struggles with
his emotions throughout the play. He tends to be easily swayed from joy to
despair. One example is when he learns of his banishment from Verona after
killing Tybalt. He laments, "There is no world without Verona walls, / But
purgatory, torture, hell itself. Act 3 Scene 3"
5. Loyal and devoted : Despite his impulsive nature, Romeo remains fiercely loyal
to those he loves. He demonstrates this loyalty when he chooses to marry Juliet
secretly, showing his commitment and devotion to her even in the face of the
longstanding feud between their families.

Among these characteristics, the characteristic that I like most is Romeo's romantic and
passionate nature. His ability to express his love in beautiful and poetic language makes
him an endearing character. His dedication to Juliet and his willingness to risk everything
for their love is both admirable and captivating.

Through Romeo's character, we can learn several important lessons:

1. The power of love: Romeo's passionate love for Juliet reminds us of the intensity
and transformative nature of love. It teaches us that love has the ability to
overcome barriers and unite people, even in the midst of conflict.
2. The consequences of impulsivity: Romeo's impulsive actions, such as his hasty
decision to marry Juliet or his rush to take his own life, illustrate the dangers of
acting without thinking things through. We learn that impulsive choices can have
severe consequences and that it is important to consider the potential outcomes
before taking action.
3. The perils of unchecked emotions: Romeo's tendency to be driven by his
emotions, particularly his overwhelming love and despair, shows us the potential
dangers of allowing our emotions to control us completely. It reminds us to strive
for emotional balance and rationality in our decision-making.
4. The impact of feuds and hatred: Romeo's role in a family feud that engulfs Verona
highlights the destructive nature of hatred and unresolved conflicts. It serves as a
reminder of the negative consequences of holding grudges and how they can lead
to tragedy.
5. The fragility of life and the inevitability of death: Romeo's tragic ending reminds
us of the fleeting nature of life and the importance of cherishing each moment. It
emphasizes the fragility of human existence and the need to appreciate and value
the time we have.

Overall, Romeo's character teaches us about the complexities of love, the consequences
of impulsive actions, the risks of unchecked emotions, the destructive power of hatred,
and the transient nature of life. While his passion and loyalty are admirable, his tragic
fate serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of thinking before acting and
maintaining a balance between emotion and reason.

Juliet:

Strength and independence

• At the play’s beginning: an obedient, sheltered, naive child; little freedom

and disconnected from the outside world, and doesn't fight back against it
 • First meeting with Romeo: begins to change toward adulthood
• Ready to abandon family to be with Romeo “sworn my love, and I’ll no
longer be a Capulet” (act 2, scene 2)
• Criticize Romeo’s rash decisions and his tendency to romanticize things
“Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract tonight.
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden

• In fact, Juliet proposed to Romeo:

“Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.
If that thy bent of love be honorable,
Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,
By one that I'll procure to come to thee,
Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,
And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay
And follow thee my lord throughout the world”
(act 2, scene 2)
• Decided to die rather than marry Paris "If all else fail, myself have
power to die" => take control of her own destiny instead of allowing her
life to be controlled by others
• Juliet’s suicide requires more nerve than Romeo: while he swallows
poison, she stabs herself through the heart with a dagger

Deep love
• Profoundly in love with Romeo at first sight - the son of her family's
enemy, Lord Montague “My only love sprung from my only hate” (act 1,
scene 5)
• Ready to sacrifice everything for love
“Deny thy father and refuse thy name,
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (act 2, scene 2)
• Immense and passionate love
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite” (act 2, scene 2)
• Determined to protect love
“If they do see thee, they will murder thee”
“I would not for the world they saw thee here” (act 2, scene 2)
=> The hatred between the two families becomes meaningless before the power of love

• They decided to hold a wedding and vow to love each other forever under
the witness of Friar Laurence, despite objections from their families or the
dangers that await
 • When she wakes in the lomb to find Romeo dead, she doesn’t kill herself
out of feminine weakness, but rather out of an intensity of love
“A cup closed in my true love’s hand?
Poison I see has been his timeless end!”
“Thy lips are warm!”
“O happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die”
(act 5, scene 3)
=> The meaning of the image of Juliet:
• Symbol of love that overcomes fate and eternal feud
• Juliet's development into a confident, loyal, and capable woman is one of
Shakespeare's first successes in character building

William Wordsworth
Wordsworth, William (1770-1850) - English poet who, along with
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, was an early leader of English
Romanticism. He is best known for his worship of nature and his
humanitarianism. (1798) - One of
Wordsworth’s best-known nature poems.

Daffodils is one of the most popular poems of the Romantic Age, unfolding the poet’s
excitement, love and praise for a field blossoming with daffodils. It was inspired by an
April 15, 1802 event, in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a “long
belt” of daffodils on a walk near Ullswater Lake in England. This poem was first
published in 1807, and a revised version was released in 1815.

Stanza 1
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

The poet was travelling aimlessly just like a cloud over the hills and valleys of the
mountainous Lake District in England. At that time, suddenly he came across a large
number of golden daffodils beside the lake and under the trees. The flowers were
‘fluttering and dancing’ in the breeze.

Figure of speech:
simile (Stanza 1 – line 1): The poet likens himself to a lonely cloud  emphasize the
loneliness
Personification (Stanza 1 – line 6): The poet personifies the daffodils as humans who can
dance  The poet was amazed at the beauty of flowers hence he found everything
around him so joyful.

Alliteration (line 2 “high and hills”; line 5 “beside and beneath”)

Contrast: (vales and hills; over vs beneath): ): the poet brings contrast words together to
clarify the meaning of the poem

So, we get an overall idea of the landscape which includes the valleys and hills, the lake,
the trees, the flowers beneath them and the breezy atmosphere

-Stanza 2
“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.”

Figure of speech:
Simile (stanza 2, line 1): The poet likens the daffodils to the shining stars  Emphasizes
the beauty of daffodils

Personification (Stanza 2 – line 6): The poet personifies the daffodils as humans who can
dance and toss their heads The poet was amazed at the beauty of flowers hence he
found everything around him so joyful.

Hyperbole (Stanza 2 – line 5): The poet exaggerates in his description of the great
number of the daffodils -> This indicates that the poet has never seen so many
daffodils at once and he was simply overjoyed

Here is another Simile. The flowers are compared to the stars. They stretched in a
continuous line just like the stars in a galaxy like the Milky Way. Moreover, the
daffodils were shining (as they were golden in colour) and twinkling (as they were
fluttering in the breeze) as the stars. This comparison with the stars may have a
greater implication in indicating that the flowers are heavenly as the stars.
The flowers were visible as far as the poet could see along the shore-line of a bay. That is
why he uses the phrase “never-ending line”. Here ‘continuous’ and ‘never-ending’
may also suggest that the flowers left an everlasting impact on him.
Wordsworth exaggerates the number of flowers by saying “Ten thousand saw I at a
glance”. That indicates that the poet has never seen so many daffodils at once. So
he is just overjoyed. This type of exaggeration is called hyperbole (exaggerated
statements or claims not meant to be taken literally).
The poet also says that the daffodils were tossing their heads as if they were dancing in
happiness. Actually, the poet was amazed at the beauty of the flowers. So, he found
everything around him joyful. All these references of dancing and tossing heads
are parts of his personification of the flowers.

-Stanza 3
“The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:”

Figure of speech:
Personification (Stanza 3 – line 1): The poet personifies the waves as humans who can
dance The poet was amazed at the beauty of flowers hence he found everything around
him so joyful.

Alliteration (line 17 “I gazed and gazed)

Repetition: (“gazed and gazed” repeated twice)  How enchanted the poet was; he gazed
them a lot for a long time forgetting the surroundings.

The waves in the bay were dancing and looking gleeful at the atmosphere. But the
flowers outshone the lively waves in their happiness. Having such cheerful companion
like the daffodils, a poet like Wordsworth cannot help being happy. So he was gazing
constantly at the flowers and enjoying their beauty. The word ‘gazed’ is used twice to
indicate how moved or charmed the poet was. So he gazed at them for a long time,
forgetting his surroundings.

At that time, he did not think much about the ‘wealth’ that the flowers had brought to
him. The poet realized that later, may be, after a few days. This ‘wealth’ is the happiness
and the pleasant memory that he enjoyed for a long time since the day.

-Stanza 4
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”
Personification (Stanza 4 – line 5,6): The poet personifies his heart as humans who can
dance  The poet was amazed at the beauty of flowers hence he found everything
around him so joyful.

Contrast (In vacant or in pensive mood): the poet brings contrast words together to clarify
the meaning of the poem

Metaphor (Stanza 4 – line 3): eye compared to the memory and imagination
 The images of daffodils flush his mind and when this happens the poet feels calm,
refreshed, motivated and good about himself.
 The nature influences on him

Metaphor (Stanza 4 – line 5): The poet compares his heart to a container that can be
filled.
 The daffodils fill his heart with pleasure and joy and he feels like dancing along with
the daffodils
 Healing and refreshing effect of nature on the poet.

Alliteration (line 24 “dance and daffodils”)

By starting this stanza with ‘For’, the poet continues his reasoning for saying that the
flowers had brought him ‘wealth’. He clarifies why the sight of the flowers was so
important in his life. Whenever he lies on his bed in a vacant or thoughtful mood, the
daffodils flash upon his innereye, i.e., his imagination. The daffodils have become an
everlasting memory for the poet, whenever he is lonely. So, he calls it ‘a bliss of
solitude’, a blessing of staying alone.

And whenever he sees the flowers in his imagination, his heart fills with pleasure and his
mind dances with the dancing daffodils.
This shows the poet’s intense feelings. The poet has been able to depict the landscape and
express his mind so vividly in so simple language and form, that really draws one’s
attention. And that is why this poem has been one of the most read and mentioned
subjective poems in the history of English literature.

Sound devices
1. Rhyme scheme ABABCC
 In each stanza, the first line ends with a word that rhymes with the third line
*cloud crowd"

 The second line ends with a word that rhymes with the fourth line "hills daffodils"

 The fifth and final lines both end with words that rhyme with each other "tree
breezes
2. Rhyming words
“cloud crowd" "hills - daffodils"

"trees - breeze" "shine - line"

"way - bay" "glance-dance"

"they - gay" "glee - company"

"thought - brought" "lie- eye"

"mood-solitude" "Alls-daffodils"
 Tone: cheerful, happy, merry and joyful

Meaning
1. Nature and Transcendence
The poem celebrates the beauty of nature, particularly the scene of a field of daffodils.
Wordsworth suggests that nature has the power to uplift the human spirit. The daffodils
represent joy and inspiration, serving as a reminder of nature's beauty and its ability to
transcend everyday troubles.
2. Memory and Imagination
Wordsworth emphasizes the importance of memory in shaping our emotional
experiences. The speaker recalls the sight of the daffodils, and this memory brings him
joy and solace during times of solitude or distress. This illustrates the idea that memories
of beauty can provide comfort and happiness long after the moment has passed.
3. Solitude and Reflection
The poem opens with the speaker feeling lonely, yet this solitude leads him to a deeper
appreciation of nature. The experience of observing the daffodils transforms his
loneliness into a sense of connection with the natural world, suggesting that solitude can
foster introspection and personal growth.
4. Joy and Contentment
The poem conveys a message about finding joy in simple pleasures. The daffodils
symbolize happiness that is accessible and can be found in everyday experiences,
encouraging readers to appreciate the beauty in their surroundings.

Contribution:
This is a beautiful poem that captures nature at its finest.

This poem helps us get into our head how much love and admiration

Willian gives to nature. Also, it has a message to praise the beauty of nature. Nature is the
greatest gift or blessing to mankind. It has the power to heal our miseries.