The Renaissance period

⦿ Renaissance is also known as

Elizabethan age after the reign of Queen
Elizabeth.
⦿ 1485-1660
 Revival

Re-birth

Flourished
• Translations
• Patriotism

• Literary Discoveries
• The Reformation

• An age of Drama
 Renaissance was born in Italy.
 Renaissance means ‘Revival’ or ‘Re-birth’.
 Re-birth of Greek learning and Greek art.
 The re-birth of classical learning, literature and
English literature.
 The influence of Renaissance in 14th century in
Italy, Germany, France and England.
 Renaissance changed the thought and ideas of the
elizabethan people
 Elizabethan age is the age of Renaissance.
 Elizabethan age is the age of Translation.
 Many Greek and Roman classical have been
translated in to english literature during
elizabethan age.
 For example :- George Champman translation
the greek epic ‘The Illiad’ in to english.
 Translation were very usefulto the writer of
the time.
 For example :- Shakespeare, Spenser, Marlow,
Ben Jonson etc…….
 Elizabethan age is the age of patriotism.
 Re-birth of patriotism.
 Patriotism was a historical play.
 Re-birth of feeling, sympathy and pity.
 Elizabethan age is the of literary discoveries.
 The various inventions in the field of literature
by elizabethan writers were also important
during this age.
 For example Spenser introduced, Spenserian
Stanza, John Lyly's Prose Style set a new
example in prose writing Christopher Marlowe
introduced and drama, Shakespeare also
introduced, Sonnet Tragedy.
 The Reformation of church during the time of
Henry.
 The effect of reformation can be found in the
work of Spencer, Shakespeare, Milton etc….
 Spencer presented the best trends of
Reformation in the fairy queen.
 The elizabethan age is the age of drama,
during this age drama made a wonderful jump
in to maturity.
 The university wits like : - Robert green,
George Peele, Thomas lodge and the greatest
them Christopher Marlowe made the drama a
glorious and successful entertainment for the
people.
 The drama reached at the heights in the hands
of Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.
 Famous dramatist of
Elizabethan Era
⦿ Christopher Marlow
⦿ William Shakespeare
 The Renaissance and the new learning had
lead to a spirit of adventure.
 The spirit was given freedom by the political
peace and unity.
 “Adventure of the mind lead to splendid
literature, Music and Art. Adventures of the
body resulted in the exploranation of the
oceans and the discovery of far lands”.
 References
⦿ Atkins, J. W. H. (2014). Literary criticism in antiquity.
Cambridge University Press.
⦿ Habib, M. A. R. (2008). A history of literary criticism:
from Plato to the present. John Wiley & Sons.
⦿ Hudson, W. H. (1918). A short history of English
literature in the nineteenth century. G. Bell and sons,
Limited.
 What is Tragedy?

“A tragedy, then, is the imitation

of an action that is serious and
also, as having magnitude,
complete in itself; in language
with pleasurable accessories, each
kind brought in separately in the
parts of the work; in a dramatic,
not in a narrative form; with
incidents arousing pity and fear,
wherewith to accomplish its
catharsis of such emotions.”
by Aristotle……
What is Hamartia?

Hamartia is a word most famously used

in Poetics, where it is usually translated as
a mistake or error in judgment. In modern
discussions of tragedy, Hamartia has often
been described as a hero's "tragic
flaw."The word Hamartia is rooted in the
notion of missing the mark (hamartanein)
and covers a broad spectrum that includes
ignorant, mistaken, as well as deliberate
iniquity, error, or sin……
Tragedy by Marlowe.

„ Tragical History of Dr.

Faustus‟

„ Knowledge is power,
but power corrupts and
absolute power corrupts
absolutely.‟
 Doctor Faustus as a Embodiment
of Machiavelli Philosophy
⦿ Marlow was influenced by Machiavelli-
the famous Italian social and political
writer, who discarded all conventional
moral principles to achieve the end by
any means ,fair or foul
 Legend:

Believed that there

existed an ambitious
person interested in
necromancy.

Destroyed himself
because of Pride
Morality Play or A Christian Play

Religious drama with the

teachings of Christianity.
 Disobedience:

Mythical heroes,
disobeyed god.

Prometheus, Adam,
Deadalus– father
of Icarus etc.
▣ Faustus has been called ‘ Renaissance Man’.
He is a personification of the spirit of the
Renaissance .A man of great learning in all
areas of human knowledge, he strives to
achieve even greater understanding and
power.
▣ Offers his soul to Lucifer for twenty
four years.
▣ Not be free from
doubts.
Conflict of conscience
▣ Between two extremes and
alternatives.

▣ Remorse and despair in the

midst of belief and
disbelief.
▣ Faustus seems a bit mature when his end
is near.

▣ Face tragic end alone.

▣ Conquering time, space about hell, about
creation of the worlds, stars, planets, history,
philosophy, religion, art, music, literature and
architecture.

▣ Faustus believed,
more in devil’s power than God’s power.
 References
⦿ Cheney, P. (2004) ‘Introduction: Marlowe in
the Twenty-First Century’, in Cheney, P.
(ed.) The Cambridge Companion to
Christopher Marlowe, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–23.
⦿ Healy, T. (2004) ‘Doctor Faustus’, in Cheney,
P. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to
Christopher Marlowe, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press, pp. 174–92.
⦿ Hopkins, L. (2000) Christopher Marlowe: A
Literary Life, Basingstoke, Palgrave.