Scribd
Upload
22 views

Elizabethan era notes

The Elizabethan period (1558-1603) is recognized as a golden age of literature, marked by the flourishing of works by Shakespeare and others under Queen Elizabeth I. This era saw a revival of Greek literature, an abundance of literary output, and a spirit of independence that fostered creativity in drama and poetry. The Jacobean period continued this literary development, highlighting the significance of prose and the evolution of the sonnet form.

Uploaded by

Murad Mesbah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
22 views

Elizabethan era notes

The Elizabethan period (1558-1603) is recognized as a golden age of literature, marked by the flourishing of works by Shakespeare and others under Queen Elizabeth I. This era saw a revival of Greek literature, an abundance of literary output, and a spirit of independence that fostered creativity in drama and poetry. The Jacobean period continued this literary development, highlighting the significance of prose and the evolution of the sonnet form.

Uploaded by

Murad Mesbah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

The Elizabethan period from 1558 to 1603 is considered a

golden age, as works of literature like plays by


Shakespeare flourished under Queen Elizabeth I's reign.
Literary works continued to develop after Elizabeth's
death under King James I in the Jacobean period from
1603 to 1625.
Characteristics of Elizabethan era literature:
Revival of interest in Greek literature : In all
branches of literature, Greek and Latin usages began to
force themselves upon English.In Elizabathan era The
new classical influences were a great benefit. They
tempered & polished the earlier rudeness of English
Literature.
The abundance of Output: In the Elizabethan Era,
there was an abundance of literary output. Pamphlets and
treatises were freely written and literary discussions
slowly grew in importance and frequency.
Spirit of Independence: This age depicted an unbound
spirit of independence & creativeness. Shakespeare with
his splendid creative imaginations, he transformed
everything into gold. ‘Spenserian Stanza’ filled with
creativity and boldness was introduced by Spenser.
The Development of Drama: Despite all these
difficulties including closure of the theatres (1590 to
1593) drama made a flourish. The drama reached the
splendid perfection in the hands of Shakespeare & Ben
Jonson.All the writers of the time, except Sidney and
Spenser, wrote a lot of plays. Among them, the most
famous were William Shakespeare, Christopher
Marlowe and Ben Jonson.
Development of poetry and prose : Various type of
poetry such as madrigals, pastoral poetry, patriotic
poetry, religious poetry, satirical and mocking poetry,
erotic poetry and specially sonnet is identified in time of
Renaissance.
 Sonnet: is a short poem of fourteen lines divided
into an octave and a sestet usually rhyming ABBA
ABBA CDC DCD. Elizabethan sonneters modified this
form and divided the four lines into three quatrains
and a final rhyming couplet,rhyming ABAB CDCD
EFEF GG. They develop a theme in the three
quatrains and use the final couplet to s is ummarise
it.
Prose writers as John Lyly Bacon, Richard Hokker, Sidney
made some brilliant proses. It is colourful, blazing,
rhythmic and indirect. The Renaissance spirit of
humanism, liberalism and romanticism found full play in
the growth and development of English prose in the
Elizabethan Age
The elizabethan era was the golden age of literature,
an age in which the Renaissance could come to full
flowering. The reign of Queen Elizabeth proved to be a
rich flowering season for literature

You might also like