SAILENT FEATURES IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE

KEERTHANA.T
B.A ENGLISH II YEAR
ACHARIYA ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE

Historical Introduction to The Elizabethan Age

Elizabethan age is named after the reign of the last Tudor Monarch of England

Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled from 1558 to 1603. Her reign saw a rise in The concept

of nationalism in England and this is reflected in the increased interest Those writers

had in writing literary and dramatic works in the English language. As a result,

Elizabethan England saw significant growth in cultural development. The Queen

herself was a great patron of arts and her action image and court atmosphere led to a

flourishing of arts and literature in the period.

Religious Background of the Elizabethan Age

The Elizabethan age was a time of intense religious conflicts. When Queen

Elizabeth ascended the throne, there were violent clashes throughout Europe between

Protestant and Catholic leaders and their followers. The act of supremacy helped give

the reigns of complete control of the Church of England into the hand of Queen

Elizabeth.

Scientific Background of the Elizabethan Age

Elizabethan England made great advances in the realm of science and

technology. It witnessed scientific discoveries in the fields of medicine astronomy

cartography and land surveying. English astronomer and mathematician, Thomas

Harriot was the first man to make a drawing of the moon by looking through

telescope in 1609. Galileo, Kepler, Vasaline, Harvey were some of the important

scientists of this age who bought forth a new scientific method. Important inventions
of this period include the graphite pencil, the modern calendar, time bomb, wind-

power sawmill and the thermoscope.

Literature of The Elizabethan Age

Elizabethan England saw a remarkable flourishing of arts and literature.

Renaissance humanism, protestant zeal, and geographical and scientific discovery all

contributed to this upsurge of creative power. Drama was the dominant genre in the

Elizabethan age. William Shakespeare was the most significant playwright of the age.

Shakespeare's oeuvre includes a wide variety of comedies, tragedies, tragi-comedies

and sonnets. Owing to the influence he wielded, the age is also sometimes named

after him as 'The Age of Shakespeare'. This age saw the appearance of the first

English comedy and the first blank verse tragedy in the 1550-60s. In Ralph Roister

Doister a comic play by Nicholas Udall is generally regarded as the first comedy to be

written in the English language around 1553. In 1562 one of the earliest of blank

verse plays, Gorboduc, was performed for the Queen. It is considered to be the first

English blank verse tragedy. Elizabethan age also witnessed the establishment of 'The

Theatre' in 1576 the earliest theatre ever built. Following 'The Theatre' closely were

theatres such as 'The Rose', 'The Swan' and most popular of all, 'The Glob' created in

1599.

First English Tragedy

Gorboduc or the tragedy of Ferrex and Porrex is considered to be the first

tragedy is written in english written by Thomas Sackville.

First English Comedy

Ralph Roister Doister is considered to be the first comedy in english written

by Nicholas Udall.

Important Sonnet Forms in Elizabethan Age

• Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella 1519, it Contains 108 sonnets and 11

songs to Penelope rich.

• Edmund Spenser's Amoretti 1592, it Contains 88 sonnets and an Epithalamion to

Elizabeth boyle.

• Samuel Daniel’s Delia 1592, it Contains 50 sonnets.

• Michael Drayton's Idea‘s Mirror 1594, it Contains 64 sonnets.

• Fulke Greville's Caelica 1633, it Contains 109 sonnets.

• Shakespeare's sonnets 160, 154 sonnets first, and 126 are addressed to fair youth

and the next sonnets are addressed to a dark lady.

• Lady mary worth’s Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621 48 ) sonnets.

Literary Trends of The Elizabethan Age

Lyric poetry was the second most important literary genre in the Elizabethan

period. Fluency, sweetness, and melody were some of the characteristics of

Elizabethan period. The lyrical expressions first began with the efforts of Wyatt and

Surrey, whose work mostly derives from and imitates the Italian lyrics and Petrarch.

Spenser's The Faerie Queen is the only long Elizabethan lyric poem of the very

highest rank. Almost every Elizabethan poet tried his hand at the lyric. Spenser also

inserted some lovely songs in his Shepherd's Calendar. Sidney's major poetic work,

Astrophel and Stella marked the triumphant maturity of Elizabethan poetry.

Literary Features of the Elizabethan Age

• The New Classicism

By the time of Elizabeth, the Renaissance, there was an ardent revival in the

study of Greek, which bought a dazzling light into the dark places of the intellect.

The new passion for classical learning, in itself a rich and worthy enthusiasm,

became quite a danger to the language. In all branches of Literature, Greek and
Latin usages began to force themself upon English, with results not wholly

beneficial.

• Abundance Of Output

The historical situation encouraged a healthy production. The interest shown

in the literary subject is quite amazing to a more chastened generation.

• The New Romanticism

The romantic quest is for the remote, the wonderful, and the beautiful. All

these desires were abundantly fed during the Elizabeth age which is our first and

greatest romantic epoch.

• The Drama

The bold and critical attitude of the time was in keeping with the dramatic

instinct, which is analytical and observant. the most important antic-dramatic book of

the day was Gosson's Virulent Schoole Of Abuse (1579) to which Sidney replied with

his apology for poetic (1580).

• Poetry

Though the poetical production was not quite equal to dramatic, it was

nevertheless great and original beauty. The passion for poetry was absorbing, and the

outcome of it was equal to expectation.

• Prose

For the first time prose rises to the position of first-rate importance. English

prose acquired a traditional and universal application, and so its rapid development

was almost inevitable.

Conclusion

The most important characteristics of the age was comparative religious

tolerance and social contentment, intellectual liberty, unbounded patriotism, and

peace at home and abroad. The age appealed to the imagination and the intellect, and

literature rapidly to the highest stage of its development. It is an age of dreams of

adventure and new freedom of mind, which provided it with a great literary stimulus.

Work Cited

Hudson, William Henry. An Outline of History English Literature. Uttarakhand:

Koncept books, 2011, Print.

Albert, Edward. History of English Literature. Rev. J.A. Stone, New Delhi: Oxford

university press, 1979, Print.

Sobti Sukriti and Premlata Dhanaker. English Literature. Paper II and III. Agra:

Arihant Publications Ltd, 2012, Print.