TEXT 16th to 18th CENTURY



TEXT 16th to 18th CENTURY

1. Welcome to our next literary period the 16th to 18th century. In this presentation you will receive a short historical overview of the main events. Later we will be looking at the main writers of this time and of course be taking an in depth look at possibly the greatest writer of all times: Shakespeare.

2. Hopefully you remember the first presentation on The Middle Ages, there I mentioned that at the very end of this period Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. He founded the Tudor dynasty and, after a reign of nearly 24 years, was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII.

Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1558 Elizabeth who was a daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn became queen. She was born a princess, but lost this status when Henry decided to have Anne's head chopped off, when Elizabeth was just over 2 and a half years old.

Elizabeth's path to becoming Queen of England wasn't easy. Her half-brother, Edward VI, ruled until his death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to Lady Jane Grey and ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Roman Catholic Mary, in spite of statute law to the contrary. Edward's will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

In 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne. Elizabeth's reign is known as the Elizabethan era. The period is famous for the flourishing of English drama, led of course by playwrights such as William Shakespeare.

The Theatre was the first London playhouse, built in 1576 by the English actor and entrepreneur James Burbage, father of the great actor and friend of Shakespeare, Richard Burbage. It was located in a northern suburb of London where Shakespeare called home up to 1597.

In 1603 Elizabeth died and James VI of Scotland succeeded her as James I of England

3. In 1605 there was a failed effort by Catholic extremists to blow up Parliament and the king. The Gunpowder Plot, we will look at this it more detail in a moment.

In 1625 James died and his son Charles became king. Charles’s reign was not an easy one. His conflicts with parliament led to civil war and his eventual execution. Parliament fought against the king because they wanted more rights and they wanted the king to have less power over the army and the church. Charles was eventually brought to trial, accused and beheaded.

After the death of Charles, a new king did not assume power until 1660. The period from 1649-1660, when England was without a king, is called the English Interregnum. England was instead controlled by the Parliament. After this Charles the II came became the new king, he was quite a character and was known as the ‘merry’ king. He rules until his death in 1685 and was succeeded by his brother James, however James was not popular and he was overthrown by the Dutch William of Orange who became King of England.

The 18th century was one of huge expansion for Great Britain, formed in 1707 by the Union of Scotland with England and Wales. British explorers crossed the vast oceans in sailing ships, discovering unknown and often exotic ways of life in foreign countries.

4. We will now watch a short film which shows the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes and his accomplices to blow up parliament.

5. In the Middle Ages, culture and thinking had been dominated by the Catholic Church. The Renaissance saw a revival of art, literature and study. It started in Italy with a gradual renewal and flowering of architecture, art, literature, music and science. This was made possible by a new class of rich merchants and bankers who had time to enjoy spending their money. They supported men of creativity and genius.

Slowly but surely the Renaissance spread throughout Europe and individual personality, personal freedom and scientific inquiry became increasingly important. The Church’s grip on society began to weaken, and many educated people openly questioned the authority of the Pope.

6. Neoclassical period: strong influence of classicism, of ancient Greece and Rome. Classics represented the highest ideals in life, art and literature. Augustan Age: refers to Roman emperor Augustus. When he reigned the Roman empire, people were wealthy. And the Englishmen in this period thought they were in a similar position.

The Age of Reason: reason meant intellectual, common sense and wisdom. Things should be explained in a rational way.

Lots of scientific discoveries were done, by Newton for example. This made people believe that all phenomena of nature and even religion could be explained in a rational way. And if that’s true, then all problems could be solved.

But when they looked at the world they saw that people did not always act very rationally. And they started ridiculing this, which lead to satire. Stories or plays which criticize people or ideas in a humorous way.

7. The main writers of this period were;

Shakespeare

Daniel Defoe

Jonathan Swift

In the next presentation we will be looking at Shakespeare.

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