Brit Lit Notes @ ceyo

Class notes in brief for British Literature

Classicism v. Romanticism

December 15, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

Elements of Classicism                                  Elements of Romanticism

Restraint and self-control                                     Freedom, independence
Restricted scope                                                       Wild, abandon
Dominance of reason, logic                                  Dominance of emotion, imagination
Sense of form (formal, balanced, unified)      Irregularity of form (mixed genres)
Respect for tradition, conservativism            Rebellion, experimentation
Chasteness, moderation                                        Spontaneity, excess
Decorum, “good sense”                                         Exotic & supernatural
Aristocracy, urban, artificial                              Commoners, rural, natural

Greek & Roman sources                                         Celtic, Scandinavian sources

Epic                                                                                Lyric

Objectivity                                                                  Subjectivity

 

DONNE, MILTON                                                     WORDSWORTH, COLERIDGE

Macbeth — A Play Made to Order

November 5, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

As the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I set up her cousin James VI of Scotland to be her successor, thus ending the House of Tudor and beginning the House of Stuart in 1603.  With this Scottish King taking the English throne as James I of England, the bond between Scotland and London further increased.

The royal company of players, who under the Queen’s patronage were known as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, would now be The King’s Men.  By this time, Shakespeare was now a consummate dramatist–an actor, director, playwright, poet, and theater stockholder.  For his new patron James, he would write a “Scottish Play.”

Researching Scottish history, Shakespeare turned to the authority of Raphael Holinshed, author of The Histories of Scotalnd.  In Holinshed’s Chronicles, the playwright would find the raw material of one of his darkest tragedies, Macbeth.  Elements in the histories the turn up in the play include:

Add to this, King James’ belief in witches and demons as well as his interest in all matters of theology–he did commission a new, beautiful and poetic English translation of the Bible, afterall–and Shakespeare figured he had a winner of a play, made to order for his new patron.  James’ had furthered his own reputation for scholarship by writing Daemonology, a tract on witchcraft.

Indeed there are many instances in the play where Shakespeare gives “props” to James and his supposed ancestral line to Banquo, particularly in Act 4, when the Witches show Macbeth a line of Banquo’s sons succeeding him.  Also in Act 4, Malcolm tells Macduff of spiritual talent ascribed to the English King–the ability to cure ills by touch.  All this should have delighted James as much as its witches would vex him.

Tags: ·······

Shakespeare: Playwright in the Right Time, Right Place

November 5, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

As the film Anonymous conjures doubts as to whether William Shakespeare is really responsible for more than three dozen plays, 154 sonnets, and several narrative poems, we can say that no matter “who” he was, Elizabethan England was a fertile context for this great work to grow.

Elizabeth took the throne in in 1558, six years before Shakespeare was born.  She was well in charge of a country growing in power by the time he came of age.  When he was 24, Elizabeth’s Royal Navy, with the command of Sir Francis Drake, defeated the Spanish Armada and claimed Britain’s preeminence of the seas.  This meant British trading routes would be open and London would become a marketplace of heretofore untold wonders, just as Shakespeare was taking up residence there.

Queen Elizabeth, kept herself free of martial and therefore political entanglements with Spain, France, and Sweden.  As a the Virgin Queen, she settled the not only international question but also internal divisions.  Most notably she re-established her father Henry VIII’s Anglican Church.  The Church of England was to be  the law of the land for her regin over a generation and firmly in place once and for all. Under her scepter, England would not return to Catholicism, nor would it go so far as Puritans would like to take the Reformation.  Thus, Elizabeth managed to keep a reasonable lot of peace–albeit not to everyone’s satisfaction–at home and abroad.

Such stability, arguably allows for arts to flourish.  Here, too, the Queen helped things along.  She was a patron of the arts in general, enjoying dance and theater, particularly.  The Lord Chamberlain’s Men were  the troupe with her patronage, and Shakespeare was in the number.  His craft had royal support, despite Puritan protests against the playhouses.

Thus, at the the height of the English Renaissance, Shakespeare was the right man, in the right place, at the right time.  He was working in a context of:

  • renaissance of humanities and sciences–rise of humanis
  • religious and political stability under Anglican Church
  • international peace under the Virgin Queen
  • time of exploration and discovery of far-off lands
  • monarchs who supported the arts

Tags: ·····

English Renaissance 1500 – 1650

October 22, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

Shakespeare reached his zenith at the height of the English Renaissance.  Here’ some key notes of this time:

View of Deity -- Religious unrest and Reformation are the keynotes of the church, ending in the establishment of the Protestant Church of England, or Anglican Church

View of People — Spirited interest in the study of the humanities and sciences dating back to ancient Greek and Rome emphasized the value of people as beings capable of great works and this life as having worth.  This cultural, intellectual movement is called humanism.

View of Society —  A “most excellent and perfect order,” or a “Great Chain of Being” defined a rigid class hierarchy, reinforced by the government and the church with the monarch as the head of both.

View of Nature —  Building were built of stone, brick, wood, and thatch.  Spread of infectious disease and famine threatened the public health, especially as cities developed.

View of their Place in the World — Exciting explorations and expanding trade routes mark an “Age of Discovery.”  England figured prominently as international interest opened.

Tags: ··

Tudor England

October 22, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

Henry VIII personal and public struggles for power changed the history of England in profound ways.  His desire for a son-heir-to-the-throne,  coupled with wandering eye with women who could bear that son, led him to disavow the Roman Catholic Church in protest to the Pope who would not grant him the needed annulment of his marriage and divorce.  The Anglican Church was established with the feisty monarch as its head.

Here’s a review of his tumultuous married life:

Six Wives of Henry VIII

  • Catherine of Aragon, married in 1509, gave birth to Mary, divorced in 1533
  • Anne Boleyn, married in 1533, gave birth to Elizabeth, beheaded in 1536
  • Jane Seymour, married in 1536, died after giving birth to Edward in 1537
  • Anne of Cleves, married in January 1540, divorced June 1540
  • Kathryn Howard, married in 1540, executed in 1542

Katherin Parr, married in 1543, widowed in 1547

 

Henry’s Heirs

Following Henry’s death the line of succession begins:

  • Edward VI  reigns from 1547 until his death in 1553
  • Mary I reigns from 1553 until her death in 1558
  • Elizabeth reigns from 1558 until her death in 1603

 

A New Dynasty

Childless the Virgin Queen Elizabeth arranges her successor the Protestant King James VI of Scotland, of the Stuart Family, to follow her reign.  He becomes James I of England in 1603.

 

Tags: ···

A Trio of Medieval Ideas

October 22, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

In Everyman, we see some ideas and motifs familiar in the medieval culture.

1.  Life as a pilgrimage.  Recalling that a pilgrimage is a journey undertaken with religious or spiritual destination, we see the morality play Everyman as pilgrimage.  Just as the Canterbury Tales characters were making pilgrimage to an earthly religious site, Everyman is coming to the end of his journey and hoping for a spiritual eternity in Heaven, avoiding Hell.  That’s just what we expect in a morality play, an allegory of abstract qualities personified in the struggle for a person’s soul.

2.  Momento Mori.  This Latin phrase reminded the medieval person to “keep Death in mind, ” so as to be prepared spiritually for the afterlife.  It seems at the beginning of Everyman, that our title character is not fully ready.

3. Human Will is Necessary for Salvation.  Everyman’s plight underscores the need for his doing something beyond mere faith.  In the medieval ethos, faith is assumed.  It is right action that Everyman must undertake with Knowledge, Confession, and Contrition to make his way to Heaven.

Tags: ·

3 Ms of Early English Drama

October 22, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

Out of liturgy came tropes, elaborations of the mass.  Then came the four-line Latin Easter Drama Quem Quaeritis, considered the first English drama with character, dialogue, and setting.

From this developed three medieval religious dramatic categories:

1. Mystery plays — dramas on the mysteries of the Bible, portraying episodes from the Christian sacred text

Famous examples: York Cycle, retelling the Bible,and Wakefield Cycle, including The Second Shepherd’s Play

2. Miracle plays — dramas based on the lives and actions of the saints

3. Morality plays — dramas using allegory, whereby abstractions are personified as characters in the struggle for a person’s soul

Famous example:  Everyman

Tags:

Medieval Mindset 1066-1500

October 2, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

View of Deity:  The Roman Catholic Church was a powerful spiritual, political, economic, and social force in England at this time.  As power grew, so did some abuse by clergy.  A political dispute between Henry II and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket, resulted in Becket’s martyrdom.

View of People:  The stout, hardy perseverance of the Anglo-Saxons blends with the clever, nimble-witted, Normans for a new breed–the British. These are people who valued morals, love, service, valor, honor, and courtesy.

View of Society:   The Norman ruled feudal society establishes a class structure that provides stability.  England incorporates Scotland and Wales, creating a “Britain.” The growing stability of the time leads to a constitutional government (King John signs the Magna Carta in 1215) and the rise of the merchant and craftsman class (a middle class).  This middle class forms guilds, medieval trade associations.

View of  Environment:  Close living conditions, poor sanitation, and ignorance of bacteria leads to the spread of disease.  Black Death occurs in 1347-49, killing half the population.

View of International Status:  Self-sufficient and once again connected to the continent, the British reach out to Europe and the Middle East as they traded with these areas and fought in the Crusades.  They begin to see themselves as spiritually and militarily superior.

Key terms:  Norman Conquest, William I, Harold II, Henry II, Thomas a Becket, feudalism, chivalry, guilds, Black Death, Magna Carta

 

Tags: ··

English Medieval Period 1066-1500

October 2, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

The beginning of English medieval period is marked by the Norman Conquest.  William, Duke of Normandy (present-day France) invades England and takes the throne from King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, October 13, 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry, a fabric panel of a remarkable 20 inches high and 230 feet long, tells the story of William’s disdain for his cousin Harold, his sailing to England, the battle, and Harold’s death and defeat.  See the entire masterwork at WikimediaCommons.

The blending of Old French and Old English tongues brought forth the robust vocabulary we see and hear in English today.  The British spoke what is now referred to as Middle English, a much closer cousin to Modern English than to Old English, as the Roman and Greek tongues influenced that of Britannia once again.

In these five hundred years, England undergoes great change and development spurred by its connection to Europe once again.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Tags: ·

Old English

September 22, 2011 by · Comments Off · Uncategorized

Beowulf is written in Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons.

Although some of our most basic and useful words come directly from Old English, we would have a difficult-to-impossible time understanding Old English without training.  We now speak Modern English, which developed in the 1500s, after about 450 years of Middle English, a mixture of Old English and Old French.

You can find out more about Old English at this site by West Michigan U.

Here are some Old English words, we still recognize: nestle, keen, gospel, anvil, watery, windily, fiery, lithe, belay, blithe, whirlpool, barrow, creepy, errand, dealership, workmanship, icicle, yeild, folk, daily, gnat, fiend, aspen, barley, goatee, abide, fickle, cow, pig, sheep, glee, board, laughter, beach, shepherd, knavery, dairy, dog, roughhewn, timely, quiver. . .

 

 

Tags: ······