Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa

Literatura Inglesa

Docente: Lucas Accastello

Material de Lectura
Modulo 2
 Literatura Inglesa 2024
Módulo 2-Siglos XVI & XVII:
● El Renacimiento inglés y la época isabelina. La poesía pastoral en Christopher Marlowe:
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” y Sir Walter Raleigh: “The Nymph’s Reply to the
Shepherd”.
● Los poetas metafísicos. John Donne:“Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness”.
● El soneto inglés y el teatro de William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Sonnet 18, 73 & 116
● El Masque Británico.
● La Edad de Milton. John Milton: Paradise Lost (Selection).

Renaissance Age of Faith

Historical 1347-1351: Black Death ravages Europe. 1603: James VI of Scotland becomes
Events 1374: Death of Petrarch. James I of England, uniting the two
1434: Cosimo de Medici controls Florence. crowns.
1440: Gutenberg invents the printing press. 1605: Gunpowder Plot.
1453: Fall of Constantinople. 1625: Charles I becomes King of
1475: Birth of Michelangelo. England.
1492: Columbus's first voyage to the 1642-1651: English Civil War.
Americas. 1649: Execution of Charles I.
1494: Charles VIII of France invades Italy. 1649-1660: Commonwealth of England
1501: Michelangelo begins David. (Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector).
1503: Leonardo begins Mona Lisa. 1660: Restoration of the Monarchy,
1508: Michelangelo starts the Sistine Charles II becomes King.
Chapel ceiling. 1665: Great Plague of London.
1517: Luther's 95 Theses. 1666: Great Fire of London.
1519-1522: Magellan's circumnavigation. 1685: James II becomes King.
1543: Copernicus's heliocentric model. 1688: Glorious Revolution, William and
1564: Death of Michelangelo. Mary take the throne.
1588: Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 1702: Anne becomes Queen.
1599: Globe Theatre built. 1707: Act of Union creating Great
1603: Death of Queen Elizabeth I. Britain.
1609: Galileo builds his telescope. 1714: Death of Queen Anne.

Literary Lyric poetry, Epic poetry, metaphysical Epic Poetry, Pamphlets, Pastoral Poetry
Genres poetry, Sonnets, Tragedies, Comedies,
Romances, History Plays

Literary Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene John Milton's Paradise Lost, Paradise
Texts and William Shakesepeare´s Hamlet, Macbeth, Regained
Main Othello, Sonnets John Donne´s"Holy Sonnets," "The Flea"
Authors Thomas More's Utopia Philip Sidney: Astrophel and Stella
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe´s

Trends Humanism, secularism Puritanism

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 The Four Rs

The period from roughly 1500 to 1700 in English literature, often referred to as the Early Modern
Period, witnessed a confluence of historical events that profoundly influenced the development of
literary expression. Understanding these pivotal moments – the Renaissance, the Reformation, the
Revolution, and the Restoration (collectively known as the "Four Rs") – provides a valuable framework
for analyzing the major themes, styles, and anxieties that permeated the literature of this era.

➢ The Renaissance (14th-17th centuries): A revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman
thought, art, and literature swept across Europe. This intellectual movement, characterized
by a renewed focus on human potential, secularism, and the rediscovery of ancient texts, had
a profound impact on English writers. Playwrights like William Shakespeare and Christopher
Marlowe embraced a broader range of human experience in their works, exploring complex
psychology, individual desire, and the challenges to traditional authority.
➢ The Reformation (16th century): The Protestant Reformation, a religious and political
upheaval that challenged the Catholic Church's authority and led to the establishment of the
Church of England, significantly impacted the literary landscape. Theological debates
concerning faith, morality, and the role of the Church permeated literature. Authors like John
Milton, in his epic poem Paradise Lost, grappled with the nature of good and evil, the fall of
man, and the divine order.
➢ The Revolution (17th century): The English Civil War (1642-1651) and the overthrow of the
monarchy by Oliver Cromwell drastically altered the political landscape of England. This period
witnessed the rise of political pamphlets and critiques of government. Philosophical works by
John Locke explored ideas of natural rights, limited government, and the social contract,
concepts that resonated in the wake of revolution.
➢ The Restoration (1660): Following the overthrow of Cromwell, the monarchy was restored
under Charles II. This period saw a shift in literary focus towards wit, satire, and a
preoccupation with courtly life. Playwrights like William Congreve explored themes of social
manners, love, and class through witty comedies, often reflecting the social anxieties and
moral ambiguity of the post-revolutionary era.

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 In Module 1, it became evident that the Anglo-Saxon literary productions were mainly epic, heroic
poems that were later influenced by other languages and literary genres and resources. Latin and
French had a strong impact not only on the language but also on the way literary works were
produced and received by the audience.
Module 2 examines the literary heritage of the English Renaissance, spanning the Elizabethan era
and Stuart period. This reading material offers a framework and essential resources to trace the
roots of these literary works in Old English and Medieval literature to fully grasp their enduring
impact on British literature. In order to deal with the different topics of this module, this reading
guide aims at providing an outline and suggested reading materials and other resources that can
be helpful to fully grasp the relevance of the literary masterpieces of Renaissance literature.

The Sociocultural Context of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

In the Middle Ages the themes were mainly religious and were mainly addressed to well-
educated readers as they circulated among the members of the ones that had access to education.
The Catholic monasteries were the medieval cultural centers. In addition, in England, after the
Norman conquest, French became the language of the Court, i.e., the language spoken and used in
literature.

The 15th century was a period of growth in lay literacy, a process enhanced by the introduction
into England of printing by William Caxton in 1476. Caxton published Malory’s Le Morte Darthur in
the same year (1485) that Henry Tudor acceded to the throne as Henry VII, and the period from this
time to the mid-16th century has been called the transition from medieval to Renaissance in English
literature.

The themes of education and good government predominate in the new humanist writing of
the 16th century, both in discursive prose. The most important work of English humanism, Sir Thomas
More’s Utopia (1516), was written in Latin and translated into English in 1551. The most distinctive
voice in the poetry of the time was that of John Skelton, tutor to Henry VII’s sons and author of an
extraordinary range of writing, often in an extraordinary style. His works include a long play,
Magnificence (1516), an allegorical satire on court intrigue; and reflexive essays on the role of the
poet and poetry, in Speak, Parrot (written 1521) and The Garland of Laurel (1523).

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The Renaissance period: 1550–1660
The Elizabethan and early Stuart periods produced the most brilliant authors of Renaissance
literature. This period started with the reign of Elizabeth I, which began in 1558 and ended with her
death in 1603. She was succeeded by the Stuart king James VI of Scotland, who took the title James I
of England as well. English literature of his reign as James I, from 1603 to 1625, is known as ‘Jacobean’.
Nonetheless, this was a time of unusually traumatic strain, in which English society underwent
massive disruptions that transformed it and decisively affected the life of every individual. It was the
moment in which England assimilated the European Renaissance.
The first half of the 16th century was also a period for courtly lyric verse in poems with
musical settings, such as Sir Thomas Wyatt’s “They flee from me” and “Whoso list to hunt” with the
medieval convention of anonymity. Also, translations from the Aeneid introduced ‘blank verse’, that
is to say, unrhymed iambic pentameter, into English for the first time, providing an essential
foundation for the work of Shakespeare and John Milton. English poetry and prose evolved
significantly in the late 1570s that became evident in the works of Spenser and Sidney. It was
accompanied by their literary production in the 1590s and 1600s.
Sir Philip Sidney (1554 – 1586) represented the new Renaissance “universal man”: a courtier,
diplomat, soldier, and poet. Sidney defended literature on the ground of its power to teach; his real
emphasis was on its ability to depict the world not as it is but as it ought to be, as he demonstrated
in his sonnet Astrophel and Stella (written 1582, published 1591). His Arcadia, in its first version
(written c. 1577–80), is a pastoral romance in which courtiers disguised as Amazons and shepherds
make love and sing delicate experimental verses. The revised version (written c. 1580–84, published
1590; the last three books of the first version were added in 1593), abandoned in mid-sentence,
added plots of heroism in love and war, philosophical and political discourses. Sidney was an
innovator whose new forms and stylistic melody had an impact on his generation. His public fame was
as an aristocratic champion of a Protestant foreign policy, and unresolved conflicts in his poetry
(desire against restraint, heroism against patience, rebellion against submission).
Edmund Spenser(1552- 1599), who had the patronage of the earl of Leicester, was a militant
Protestant at court, as shown in his poetic manifesto, The Shepherds Calendar (1579). Spenser’s
masterpiece, The Faerie Queene (1590–96), is an epic of Protestant nationalism in which the villains
are papists, the hero is King Arthur, and the central value is married chastity. The poem was published
with the help of Sir Walter Raleigh, as they became well acquainted with one another’s poetry.
Spenser implies that Raleigh persuaded Spenser to accompany him back to England to present the
completed portion of The Faerie Queene to Queen Elizabeth herself. The first three books of The
Faerie Queene were duly published in 1590, together with a dedication to her and commendatory

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sonnets to notables of the court. Other poems were published in a collection called Complaints
(1591), many of which had probably been written earlier in his career. In early 1595 he published
Amoretti and Epithalamion, a sonnet sequence and a marriage ode celebrating his marriage to
Elizabeth Boyle. The Epithalamion idealizes marriage by building into its structure the symbolic
numbers 24 (the number of stanzas) and 365 (the total number of long lines), allowing the poem to
allude to the structure of the day and of the year. The marriage is connected with the encompassing
harmonies of the universe, and the cyclical processes of change and renewal expressed in the
procreation of the two mortal lovers.
However, matters are less harmonious in Books IV, V, and VI of The Faerie Queene, which
appeared in 1596 and are strikingly more ambiguous and ironic than the first three books. Book V
includes much direct allegory of some of the most problematic political events of Queen Elizabeth’s
reign, and Book VI’s Sir Calidore is a far less confident and effective fairy knight than his predecessors
were. In the only surviving fragment of a projected seventh book (published posthumously in 1609),
Spenser represents Elizabeth herself as subject to Mutability, the inexorable processes of aging and
change. This publication was the last of his lifetime.
Often regarded as the "father of English tragedy," Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593) was not
only Shakespeare’s most important predecessor in English drama, noted especially for establishing
dramatic blank verse, but also possessed a lyrical dexterity that is often underappreciated. While his
unfinished epic, Hero and Leander, showcases a masterful command of narrative and sensual
language, it is his shorter poems that truly reveal the poet's concise and emotionally potent artistry.
Marlowe's lyric verse, marked by its vivid imagery, musicality, and direct emotional impact, stands as
a testament to his versatility. Whether it is the idyllic pastoral of "The Passionate Shepherd to His
Love" or the intense, compressed emotion of "Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?",
Marlowe's lyric poetry offers a compelling counterpoint to his dramatic oeuvre, solidifying his status
as a multifaceted literary genius.
Renowned more for his exploits as a courtier, explorer, and historian, Sir Walter Raleigh (c.
1552-1618) possessed a lyrical talent that complemented his multifaceted career. While his poetry
often takes a backseat to his other accomplishments, his verse offers a glimpse into the mind of a
complex and enigmatic figure. Raleigh’s poetry, characterized by its reflective tone and introspective
nature, stands in contrast to the exuberant lyricism of his contemporaries. His works, such as "The
Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd," a witty and insightful response to Marlowe's pastoral, demonstrate
his ability to engage with poetic conventions while offering a fresh perspective. Raleigh's verse,
though less voluminous than that of some of his peers, nonetheless contributes significantly to the
rich tapestry of Elizabethan poetry.

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Shakespearean Sonnets:
Shakespeare perfected the English sonnet form, distinct from its Italian predecessor.
Characterized by three quatrains and a concluding couplet, it follows an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme
scheme. Written in iambic pentameter, a meter of five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables per
line, the Shakespearean sonnet offers a structured framework for complex themes.
Shakespeare's sonnets stand out from those of his contemporaries by their depth of emotion,
their psychological insight, and their universal themes. While other sonneteers often focused on
idealized beauty and courtly love, Shakespeare delved into the complexities of human relationships,
exploring love's joys, sorrows, and enduring power.
Undoubtedly, sonnet 18, often referred to as "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?," is
perhaps Shakespeare's most celebrated sonnet. It compares the beloved's beauty to a summer's day,
yet surpasses it by declaring the beloved's eternal beauty, unmarred by the passage of time.
Shakespeare's skillful use of metaphors, similes, and the iambic pentameter rhythm creates a
harmonious and memorable expression of love's transcendence.
In contrast to Sonnet 18's celebration of eternal beauty, sonnet 73 confronts the inevitability
of time's passage and the decay of physical beauty. The speaker laments the aging of the beloved,
comparing it to the changing seasons and the decline of nature. Yet, amidst this lament, Shakespeare
offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting that the beloved's true essence, their inner beauty and love, will
endure beyond the ravages of time.
Sonnet 116, often referred to as "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit
impediments," is a profound meditation on the nature of true love. Shakespeare rejects the superficial
and conditional aspects of love, instead defining it as an unbreakable bond that transcends
imperfections and defies the passage of time. The sonnet's powerful imagery and unwavering
declaration of love's enduring strength have made it a timeless expression of love's true essence.
The previous sonnets exemplify the versatility of the form, allowing Shakespeare to explore a
wide range of themes, from love and beauty to mortality and time.

Metaphysical Poetry

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 This type of poetry emerged in 17th-century England as a radical departure from traditional
verse. Characterized by intellectual rigor, complex imagery, and a direct, often colloquial style, these
poets delved into the complexities of love, religion, and philosophy. Their hallmark, the metaphysical
conceit, involved startling and ingenious comparisons between disparate objects or ideas, serving as
intellectual and emotional catalysts. Figures like John Donne, George Herbert, and Richard Crashaw
explored the human condition with a raw honesty, blending the physical and spiritual realms in a
manner unprecedented in English poetry.
John Donne (1572 - 1631) is best known as a poet, but in Jacobean England he was most
famous for the powerful oratory of his sermons, and for his public role as Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral
in London. Donne spent the next 14 years unsuccessfully seeking public office, and writing poetry as
well as polemical prose tracts and paradoxes such as Pseudo-Martyr, and Biathanatos. The anti-Jesuit
Pseudo Martyr argues that Catholics took the Oath of Allegiance to James I with clear consciences. It
was clear that Donne had moved from Catholicism to Protestantism. He was eventually ordained in
the Church of England in 1615, and became a royal chaplain to James. His fame as an eloquent
preacher of powerful sermons grew, and he was made Dean of St Paul’s in 1621. He spent the
following decade preaching and writing. He fell ill in the autumn of 1630 and died on 31 March,1631.
Donne’s preference for publishing his poems in manuscript makes them difficult to date
accurately. His Satires and Elegies were probably written in the 1590s, as were some of his love
poems. Many of his Holy Sonnets, and perhaps his love poetry, were probably written from the time
of his marriage in 1601 to his ordination in 1615. Although Donne’s poetry was celebrated by readers,
within a few decades after his death, it fell out of favor. From the end of the 17th century his poems
were considered metrically irregular, and his work did not reach a wide audience.

Enrichment Reading(Optional)
▪ You can find more information about the previous topics in:
Beers, H.A. (1899) From Chaucer to Tennyson, Macmillan. Release Date: March 17, 2004 [eBook
#11618]
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11618/pg11618-images.html Chapter III.
The Age of Shakespeare. 1564-1616.
▪ Some of the literary masterpieces of the authors of this period are available at:
- Donne, J. (1912) The Poems of John Donne [2 vols.] Volume I. Edited from the Old Editions and
Numerous Manuscripts. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Release Date: April 12, 2015 [EBook
#48688] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48688/48688-h/48688-h.htm
- Marlowe, C. (1885) The Works of Christopher Marlowe, Vol. 3 (of 3). Editor: A. H. Bullen. London
John C. Nimmo 14. King William Street, Strand. Release Date: April 30, 2007 [EBook #21262]
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21262/21262-h/21262-h.htm
- Marlowe, C. (1604) The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. Edited by The Rev. Alexander Dyce. Release
Date: November 3, 2009 [EBook #779] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/779/779-h/779-h.htm
- Shakespeare, W. (1609) The Sonnets. Release Date: September, 1997 [eBook #1041] [Most
recently updated: July 16, 2022] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1041/1041-h/1041-h.htm
- Spenser, E. (1848) The Shepheard's Calender - Twelve Aeglogues Proportional to the Twelve

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 Monethes. London & New York Harper & Brothers. Release Date: April 27, 2013 [EBook #42607]
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42607/42607-h/42607-h.htm
- Spenser, E. (1921) The Faerie Queene, Book I. Edited by George Armstrong Wauchope. The
MacMillan Company London: MacMillan & CO., LTD. Release Date: March 7, 2005 [eBook #15272]
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15272/15272-h/15272-h.htm
The Age of Milton or The Age of Faith
The mid-seventeenth century in England was a crucible of intellectual, religious, and political
upheaval. This era, marked by the English Civil War and the subsequent Interregnum, witnessed a
profound transformation of English society. Puritanism, with its emphasis on individual conscience
and plain living, was a dominant force, shaping literature, politics, and social mores. Amidst this
tumultuous backdrop, John Milton emerged as a towering figure, whose epic poetry, political
pamphlets, and prose works reflect the complexities and contradictions of the age.
John Milton(1608-1674) was a seventeenth century English poet whose works have had a
great influence on the literary world. Milton wrote poetry and prose between 1632 and 1674, and is
most famous for his epic poetry. Milton's major works include Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained,
L'Allegro and Il Penseroso.
Paradise Lost is one of the most recognized works in English literature. The first version, which
was published in 1667, contained ten books. A later edition was published in 1674, which included
twelve books. Paradise Lost consists of more than 10,000 lines of verse. It tells the story of Adam and
Eve, including their creation and inability to resist the temptations of Satan, which ended up with
their fall from grace.
Another famous work by Milton is Paradise Regained, which was first published in 1671. It is
a philosophical dialogue between Satan and the Son of God. The Son of God strives for noble
consciousness as an internal quality. Conversely, Satan believes that it is acceptable to pursue external
values, such as power, wealth, and recognition.
Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso is another important work which depicts the interaction
between day and night, one of Milton's primary themes in the work. Both L’Allegro and Il Penseroso
consider the internal and external life of the poet through allegory. Milton was in his twenties when
he wrote L”Allegro and Il Penseroso. As a young poet he questioned what to be an epic poet meant.
As he matured, this early work had a major influence on his later writings. As he grew older, his
poems became more complex and insightful. By the time he wrote Paradise Lost and Paradise
Regained Milton was blind. Although he had lost his sight, he used what he called "divinest
Melancholy" to compose his most powerful works.

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 Enrichment Reading(Optional)
▪ You may find more relevant information in:
Beers, H.A. (1899) From Chaucer to Tennyson, Macmillan. Release Date: March 17, 2004 [eBook
#11618] https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11618/pg11618-images.html Chapter IV. The
Age of Milton. 1608-1674.
▪ Also, you will find Milton’s works in:
- Milton, J. The Poetical Works of John Milton. Release Date: November 20, 2009 [EBook #1745]
Last Updated: November 10, 2014 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1745/1745-h/1745-h.htm

Elizabethan Drama:
Elizabethan drama before Shakespeare was a dynamic and formative period. Rooted in the
medieval tradition of religious drama, with its morality plays and mystery cycles, the stage began a
gradual shift towards secular and humanistic themes. Playwrights like John Bale and Nicholas Udall
experimented with new forms, laying the groundwork for subsequent dramatic developments. Their
works, though often didactic and allegorical, contributed significantly to the evolution of dramatic
structure and characterization.
In this evolving landscape, Christopher Marlowe(1564–1593) emerged as a leading figure. His
plays marked a dramatic departure from the prevailing dramatic conventions. His playwriting career
lasted little more than six years, and his achievements were diverse. Before leaving Cambridge, he
had already written Tamburlaine the Great (in two parts, both performed by the end of 1587;
published 1590). During his later Cambridge years, Marlowe had translated Ovid’s Amores (The Loves)
and the first book of Lucan’s Pharsalia from Latin. About this time, he also wrote the play Dido, Queen
of Carthage (published in 1594 as the joint work of Marlowe and Thomas Nashe). With the production
of Tamburlaine, he received recognition and acclaim, and playwriting became his major concern in
the following years. Both parts of Tamburlaine were published anonymously in 1590, and the
publisher omitted certain passages that he found incongruous with the play’s serious concern with
history. No other of his plays or poems or translations was published during his life. His unfinished
but splendid poem Hero and Leander, which is the finest nondramatic Elizabethan poem apart from
those produced by Edmund Spenser, appeared in 1598.
It is believed that Faustus followed Tamburlaine and that then Marlowe turned to a more
social kind of writing in Edward II and The Massacre at Paris. His last play was The Jew of Malta, in
which he broke new ground. Marlowe’s most famous play is The Tragical History of Dr Faustus; but
its date of composition has been disputed. It was first published in 1604, and another version
appeared in 1616. Faustus takes over the dramatic framework of the morality plays in its
presentation of a story of temptation, fall, and damnation and their free use of morality figures such
as the good angel and the bad angel and the seven deadly sins, along with the devils Lucifer and

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Mephistopheles. In Faustus Marlowe tells the story of the doctor-turned-necromancer, who sells his
soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. The devil’s intermediary in the play,
Mephistopheles, achieves tragic grandeur as a fallen angel torn between satanic pride and dark
despair when he felt close to damnation for a lost heaven. Finally, Faustus asks to be saved by Christ
before his soul is claimed by the devil.
Undoubtedly, William Shakespeare(1565 –1616) could be considered the most outstanding
writer in English literature of the Renaissance. His early plays were mainly histories and comedies.
About a fifth of all Elizabethan plays were histories, but this was the genre that Shakespeare
particularly made his own, from Richard II to Henry VII in two four-play sequences, an astonishing
project carried off with success. The first sequence, comprising the three Henry VI plays and Richard
III (1589–94), began as a patriotic celebration of English valour against the French. But this soon
turned into a mature, disillusioned understanding of the world of politics, in the devastating portrayal
of Richard III, which represents the accession of the dynasty of Tudor. The second sequence starting
with Richard II (1595–96), Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 (1596–98), and Henry V (1599) that begins with
the deposing of a bad but legitimate king and follows its consequences through two generations,
presenting the difficult questions of authority, obedience, and order that it provoked. In the Henry IV
plays, Shakespeare combined scenes among the rulers with scenes among those who were ruled,
thus creating a multifaceted composite picture of national life at a particular historical moment. The
tone of these plays is increasingly pessimistic, but in Henry V a patriotic fantasy of English greatness
is shown. Shakespeare’s other history plays, King John (1594–96) and Henry VIII (1613), presented
similar questions.

Shakespeare’s early comedies

The early comedies shared the popular and romantic forms with elements of elegant courtly
revel and a sophisticated consciousness of comedy’s fragility and artifice. They were festive comedies,
giving access to a society vigorously and imaginatively at play. The plays of one group included The
Comedy of Errors (c. 1589–94), The Taming of the Shrew (c. 1589–94), The Merry Wives of Windsor
(c. 1597–98), and Twelfth Night (1600–01) and were comedies of intrigue, fast moving, and witty. The
plays of a second group included The Two Gentlemen of Verona (c. 1589–94), Love’s Labour’s Lost
(1589–94), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c. 1595–96), and As You Like It (1598–1600) had as a
common element a journey to a natural environment, such as a wood or a park, in which the
restraints governing everyday life are released and the characters are free to remake themselves,
providing a space in which the individual may recover his wholeness. All the comedies share a belief
in the positive, health-giving powers of play, but none is completely innocent of doubts about the

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limits of the comic side. In the four plays that approach tragicomedy, namely The Merchant of Venice
(c. 1596–97), Much Ado About Nothing (1598–99), All’s Well That Ends Well (1601–05), and Measure
for Measure (1603–04), festivity finds the constraints of normality, with time, business, law, human
indifference and selfishness. These plays give greater weight to the less-optimistic perspectives on
society current in the 1590s, and their comic resolutions are provisional, because of characters’
manipulation, their compromise, or the exclusion of one or more major characters. The unique play
Troilus and Cressida (c. 1601–02) presented a theatrical no-man’s-land between comedy and tragedy,
between satire and savage farce.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies
The confusions and contradictions of Shakespeare’s age found their highest expression in his
tragedies. In these extraordinary works, all values, hierarchies, and forms were presented, and all
society’s latent conflicts were activated. Shakespeare set husband against wife, father against child,
the individual against society; he uncrowned kings, leveled the nobleman with the beggar, and
interrogated the gods. In the early experimental tragedies, Titus Andronicus (1589–94), with its
violence, and Romeo and Juliet (1594–96), with its comedy and romantic tale of adolescent love,
Shakespeare challenged the conventional Elizabethan understanding of tragedy as a twist of fortune
to a more complex motive, and in Julius Caesar (1599) he turned the political interests of the history
plays into secular and corporate tragedy, as men fall victim to the public events by their own
misjudgements. In the major tragedies that follow, Shakespeare’s practice cannot be confined to a
single general statement that covers all cases, for each tragedy belongs to a separate category:
revenge tragedy in Hamlet (c. 1599–1601), domestic tragedy in Othello (1603–04), social tragedy in
King Lear (1605–06), political tragedy in Macbeth (1606–07), and heroic tragedy in Antony and
Cleopatra (1606–07). In each category Shakespeare’s play is exemplary and defines its style.

Shakespeare’s Later Works

In his last period Shakespeare’s fertile invention returned to experimentation. In Coriolanus
(1608) he completed his political tragedies, drawing a dispassionate analysis of the dynamics of the
secular state. Timon of Athens (1605–08) is an unfinished tragic satire. The last group of plays
comprises the four romances, Pericles (c. 1606–08), Cymbeline (c. 1608–10), The Winter’s Tale (c.
1609–11), and The Tempest (1611), in which fortune and suffering were mingled.
The Two Noble Kinsmen [1613–14], was written in collaboration with John Fletcher, as
perhaps was a play known as Cardenio [1613, now lost].) In these plays Shakespeare’s imagination
returns to the popular romances of his youth and dealt with mythical themes such as wanderings,

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shipwrecks, the reunion of families, and the resurrection of people that had been dead for long.
Shakespeare’s subsidiary theme is a sustained examination of the nature of his own art, a subtle
interchange between his delight in his own illusion and his mature awareness of his own
disillusionment.
The crucial innovations in satiric comedy were made by Ben Jonson(1572 – 1637),
Shakespeare’s friend and nearest rival, who started the dominant modern comic tradition. His early
plays, particularly Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Every Man Out of His Humour (1599), with
their grotesques and detachment, were present in the verse satires of the 1590s; they introduced to
the English stage the language, habits, and humors of the London scene. Jonson began as a self
appointed social legislator, socially conservative but intellectually radical, and ambitious enough to
establish himself as the privileged artist, the fearless and faithful mentor and companion to kings
with a court inclined in its masques to prefer flattery to judicious advice.
Consequently, the greater satires that followed are marked by their gradual accommodations
with popular comedy and with the intention to make their implied moral judgments explicit: Volpone
(1606); Epicoene (1609); The Alchemist (1610); and Bartholomew Fair (1614). In these plays, he forced
upon the audience both criticism and admiration; the strategy leaves the audience to draw its own
conclusions while liberating Jonson’s comic invention, skill with plot construction, and mastery of a
language. After 1616 Jonson abandoned the stage for the court, and returned to the theaters. The
most notable of his late plays are popular in style: The New Inn (1629), which has affinities with the
Shakespearean romance, and A Tale of a Tub (1633), which resurrects the Elizabethan country farce.
Among Jonson’s successors in city comedy, Francis Beaumont, in The Knight of the Burning
Pestle (1607), insults the citizenry while ridiculing its taste for romantic plays. John Marston adopts a
sharp satirical tone in his comic plays that frequently resembled tragedy. All values are mocked by
city comedy The DutchCourtezan (1605), set in London, explores the pleasures and perils of
libertinism. His tragicomedy The Malcontent (1604) is remarkable for its wild language and sexual
and political disgust, an interplay of parody and seriousness. In the city comedies of Thomas
Middleton was Jonson’s moral concern with greed and self ignorance represented, Middleton
presented the pursuit of money, usury, law, and the wooing of rich widows as the dominant modes
of social interaction.

12
 Enrichment Reading(Optional)
You will be able to have access to some of Shakespeare’s masterpieces in:
▪Shakespeare, W. (c. 1604-1605) All's Well That Ends Well. Release Date: November 1998
[eBook #1529] [Most recently updated: December 28,
2021]https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1529/1529-h/1529-h.htm
▪ Shakespeare, W. (c. 1599-1600) As You Like It. Release Date: November, 1998 [EBook #1523]
[This HTML file was first posted on July 21, 2003] Edition: 10.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1523/1523-h/1523-h.htm
▪Shakespeare, W. (1595) Romeo and Juliet. Release Date: November, 1998 [eBook #1513]
[Most recently updated: May 11, 2022]https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1513/1513-h/1513-
h.htm

The Masque
The “masque” was a quasi-dramatic entertainment, a group of strangers who danced and
sang before an audience of guests and attendants in a royal court or nobleman’s house. This
elementary pattern was elaborated during the reign of James I, when magnificent costumes and
scenic effects for masques were provided at court. The few spoken words that the masque had
demanded in Elizabethan days expanded into a text of a few hundred lines and a number of set
songs. Therefore, the author became important as well as the designer: he was to provide not only
the necessary words but also a special “allegorical” meaning underlying the whole entertainment. It
was Jonson, in collaboration with Jones, who gave the Jacobean masque its characteristic shape and
style. He did this primarily by introducing the suggestion of a “dramatic” action. It was the poet who
provided the informing idea and dictated the fashion of the whole night’s assembly. Jonson’s early
masques were clearly successful. Consequently, during the following years he was repeatedly called
upon to function as poet at court. Among his masques were Hymenaei (1606), Hue and Cry After
Cupid (1608), The Masque of Beauty (1608), and The Masque of Queens (1609). In his masques Jonson
invented new motives for the arrival of the strangers. But this was not enough: he also invented the
“antimasque,” which preceded the masque and which featured grotesques or comics who were
primarily actors rather than dancers or musicians. masque Dramatic presentation that originated in
Italy but became popular in the English court and the great houses of the nobility during the late 16th
and early 17th centuries. The masque consisted of verse, comedy and, as an essential feature, a dance
for a group of masked revelers. The earliest masque text is Proteus and the Adamantine Rock,
performed at Gray's Inn in 1594 in honor of Queen Elizabeth I.

13
Other attempts at defining ‘Masque’:

Masque: Dramatic presentation that originated in Italy but became popular in the English
court and the great houses of the nobility during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The
masque consisted of verse, comedy and, as an essential feature, a dance for a group of
masked revelers. The earliest masque text is Proteus and the Adamantine Rock, performed
at Gray's Inn in 1594 in honor of Queen Elizabeth I.

Masques were a form of English courtly entertainment, involving dancing, speech, song, and
instrumental music, that flourished from the later 16th cent. until 1640. In the later 17th and
18th cents. the term was also applied to self-contained musical entertainments, normally
accompanying a spoken play. During the reigns of James I and Charles I the masque became
an opulent affair, its allegorical or mythological plot symbolizing the monarch's political
power and wealth. The most celebrated works involved the collaboration of the first poet
laureate Ben Jonson and the architect Inigo Jones, who designed not only the spectacular
stage effects and costumes but also the Banqueting House at Whitehall where the works
were often performed. The songs, dances, and incidental instrumental music were normally
written by different composers. The main characters or ‘masquers’ were courtiers who were
joined by members of the audience for the ‘revels’. Professionals were, however,
increasingly used, particularly for the ‘antimasques’: grotesque or comic scenes first
introduced in Jonson's The Masque of Queens (1609). The only masque whose music survives
complete is Cupid and Death (1653 and 1659), which—unusually—experimented with
Italianate recitative. After the Restoration the masque transferred to the professional
theatre, where its tradition continued in Purcell's semi-operas.

Eric Cross

Masque is a form of amateur dramatic entertainment, popular among the nobility in 16th-
and 17th-century England, which consisted of dancing and acting performed by masked
players, originally in dumbshow and later with metrical dialogue.

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 THE ENGLISH MASQUE
(by Felix E. Schelling)

HAD Ben Jonson never lived, the English masque would scarcely need to be chronicled among
dramatic forms. For despite the fact that mumming, disguising, and dancing in character and
costume were pastimes in England quite as old, if not older, than the drama itself, it is to Jonson
that we owe the infusion of dramatic spirit into these productions, together with the
crystallization of their discordant elements into artistic unity and form. Generically, the masque
is one of a numerous progeny, of more or less certain dramatic affiliation. Specifically, a masque
is a setting, a lyric, scenic, and dramatic framework, so to speak, for a ball.1 It is made up of "a
combination, in variable proportions, of speech, dance, and song;" and its "essential and
invariable feature is the presence of a group of dancers . . . called masquers."2 These dancers —
who range in number from eight to sixteen — are commonly noble and titled people of the court.
They neither speak nor sing, nor is it usual to exact of them any difficult or unusual figures, poses,
or dances. Their function is the creation of "an imposing show" by their gorgeous costumes and
fine presence, enhanced by artistic grouping, and by the aids which decoration and scenic
contrivance can lend to the united effect. On the other hand, the speech of the masque, whether
of presentation or in dialogue, and the music, both vocal and instrumental, were from the first in
the hands of the professional entertainer, and developed as other entertainments at court
developed. The masque combined premeditated with unpremeditated parts. The first
appearance of the masquers with their march from their "sieges" or seats of state in the scene,
and their first dance — all designated the "entry" — was carefully arranged and rehearsed; so
also was the return to the "sieges" or "going cut," and this preparation included sometimes the
preceding dance. The "main," too, or principal dance, was commonly premeditated, as in Jonson
Masque of Queens, where the masquers and their torchbearers formed in their gyrations the
letters of the name of Prince Charles. Between the "main" and the "going out," two extemporal
parts were interpolated, the "dance with the ladies" and the "revels," which last consisted of
galliards, corantos, and la voltas.
___________________________________________________
1 Soergel, Die englischen Maskenspiele, 1882, p. 14: "die Maske war anf¨nglich nicht mehr
als ein improvisirter Maskenball."
2 Evans, The English Masque, 1897, p. xxxiv.

15
 Several classifications of the masque are possible. We might consider its form, with the growth
and degeneracy of the antimasque. We might treat of the masque mainly with reference to its
costly and gorgeous performance and the august occasions to which it lent its novel splendors; or
we might turn our
attention to its material and divide it, with Brotanek, into groups, mythological, astronomical,
mythological-allegorical, allegorical-romantic, and allegorical historical, did not the saving grace of
humor forbid.1 It is safest to tell the story of the Jacobean masque in simple chronological order.
Jonson's Masque of Blackness, 1605.
On January 6, 1605, the first of
Jonson's masques, The Masque of
Blackness, was acted at Whitehall. It
formed part of Queen Anne's
entertainment of the Duke of Holstein,
her brother, and on the same day
Prince Charles was created Duke of
York. Moreover, the queen was herself
one of the masquers, and had
suggested to Jonson his subject, a
masque of blackmoors.2 On this hint
the poet conceived the idea of twelve
"negrotes" (the masquers), who appear in mid-ocean, ranged "in an extravagant order" on a floating
concave shell, and attended by Oceaniæ (the light bearers), by Niger, Oceanus, tritons, and other
sea monsters. They are seeking a land, foretold by prophecy, wherein their darkened skins shall be
changed to fairness. Britannia is that land, and the miracle is wrought. Here for the first time is
disclosed the scenic art of Inigo Jones, long to be associated with Jonson in such devices. In The
Masque of Blackness, unlike what had gone before, a regular scene was set at one end of the hall
representing "a landscape consisting of small woods," and this "falling," an artificial sea flowed in,
"raised with waves which seemed to move. . . . The masquers were placed in a great concave shell
like mother of pearl, curiously made to move. . . . and rise with the billows," and the horizon, on a
level with the stage, was drawn by the lines of perspective.1 Here was a step in scenic
representation, the greatest of its time.
_________________________________________
1 Brotanek, 182-222 /2 Gifford, Jonson, vii, 6.

16
Characteristic of the Jacobean masque; the nature of its allegory.

From the foregoing sketch of the masque in the reign of King James several things are derivable.
We have, first, the stubborn persistence of allegory, seldom well sustained, it is true, but
nonetheless pervading. The allegorical nature of the masque is its oldest inheritance, one that
comes directly from the time-honored practices of morality. When we consider the stern grip of
allegory on the literature of generations that had gone before, how its coloring of the drama was
only one manifestation of a tincture that dyed in its vivid colors the religion, the architecture, and
pictorial art of the time, the masque assumes a new interest as the last flicker of expiring medieval
art.1 The allegory of the morality was didactic; that of the masque eulogistic and artistic. The
allegory of morality was often intellectually subtle. That of the masque was simpler and appealed—
sometimes grossly—to the senses. The allegory of the Jacobean masque is rarely over-ingenious,
and the use of the allegory of double relation,—like that of the Faery Queen and the dramas of
Lyly,—in which a given story has alike a reference to abstract qualities and their concrete
embodiment in certain well-known personages, had become practically a matter of the past. In a
word, the ponderous and complete allegory of the Middle Ages, in which every item is figured
forth with keen and tireless ingenuity, has been replaced by the delicate art of poetical suggestion,
wherein allusion, hidden significance, and the force of subtle similitude are plain to the cultivated
gentleman, an intimate in the charmed circle of the court, but a blank to ignorance and outside
impertinence. It was the recognition of this that prompted Jonson's words in the Masque of
Queens, where, excusing himself for not making certain of his personages "their own decipherers,"
he says: "To have made . . . each one to have told upon their entrance what they were and whither
they would, had been a most piteous hearing, and utterly unworthy every quality of a poem:
wherein a writer should trust somewhat to the capacity of the spectator, especially in these
spectacles; where men, beside inquiring eyes, are understood to bring quick ears, and not those
sluggish ones of porters and mechanics, that must be bored through with narrations."
____________________
1 In pageantry such as that of the Lord Mayors' shows alone did this obvious allegory of old time persist any
later. See Fairholt, Lord Mayors' Pageants.

Enrichment Material(Optional)
● Elizabeth Knowles "masque ." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. . Retrieved

17
 August 25, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-
press-releases/masque
● "masque ." World Encyclopedia. . Retrieved August 25, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/masque
● "masques ." The Oxford Companion to British History. . Retrieved August 27, 2022 from
Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-
transcripts-and-maps/masques
● Schelling, F. E. (1908) Elizabethan Drama, 1558-1642. New York: Houghton Mifflin &
Company. 93-138.
Videos
● University of North Texas College Concerts. (2020, November 2). Courtly Masque Music
from the 17th & 18th century [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnbQ059E0rY
● Heidi Kobara. (2013, February 24). The history of the British Masque [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22UED2yJ_Q

Activities Module 2:
Private Phase.

18
In this phase, you can work with your classmates and if you have doubts on the answers to the
questions, you can share them in our synchronous meetings.
➢ Pastoral Poetry - Marlowe and Raleigh

Read the poems “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”.
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the main features of pastoral poetry?
2. How does pastoral poetry idealize rural life?
3. Compare and contrast the themes explored in Marlowe’s and Raleigh’s pastoral poems.
4. What is the significance of the dialogue between the shepherd and the nymph in terms of
gender roles and social expectations?

➢ Metaphysical Poetry - John Donne

Read “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness".
1. What are the defining characteristics of Metaphysical poetry?
2. How does Metaphysical poetry differ from earlier poetic styles?
3. What role does intellectual and philosophical inquiry play in Metaphysical poetry?
4. How does John Donne use religious themes in his poetry?

➢ Shakespearean Sonnets
Read sonnets 18, 73, and 116 and answer the following questions
1. What is the rhyme scheme and meter of each sonnet? How does the scheme differ from other
types of sonnets?
2. How does the sonnet structure (three quatrains and a couplet) contribute to the development
of the poem's theme in each case?
3. Analyze the role of the volta (turn) in each sonnet.
4. Examine the use of figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification) in each sonnet.
5. How do sound devices (alliteration, assonance) contribute to the overall effect of each
sonnet?
6. Discuss the use of enjambment and caesura in relation to the poem's rhythm and meaning.
7. How does each sonnet present a different perspective on love?
8. What is the role of time in each sonnet, and how is it portrayed?
9. Explore the concept of beauty and its relationship to mortality in the sonnets.
10. Analyze the speaker’s attitude towards the natural world and its connection to human life.
11. How do these sonnets reflect the cultural and social values of the Elizabethan era?

19
 12. Examine the relationship between the individual and society as presented in the sonnets.

➢ The Age of Milton

Read Paradise Lost Book I(only lines 1-80) to answer the following questions:
1. How does Milton's invocation to the Holy Spirit (lines 1-17) compare to traditional epic
invocations to muses?
2. How does Milton establish the epic setting of Hell in the opening books? What details
contribute to the creation of a vast and terrifying underworld?
3. Examine the initial portrayal of Satan, How does Milton establish Satan as an epic hero (anti-
hero)?
4. How does Milton introduce the theme of free will in the opening books, laying the groundwork
for the epic conflict?
5. Analyze the use of elevated diction, inversion, and other poetic devices in the opening of
Paradise Lost to create an epic style. What biblical or classical allusions can you identify? How
do they contribute to the overall message of the poem?

Public Phase
1. Participate in the forum “Hamlet” or in the synchronous meetings.
2. Participate in the Collaborative Glossary.

Term Selection: Choose a literary term or concept that you want to define. It could be a term from
any module or literary text. Consider terms related to:

● Literary Movements: Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, Postmodernism, etc.

● Literary Devices: metaphor, simile, symbolism, irony, etc.
● Narrative Elements: plot, character, setting, point of view, etc.
● Poetic Forms: sonnet, ballad, haiku, free verse, etc.
● Dramatic Elements: tragedy, comedy, soliloquy, aside, etc.
● Literary Theory: feminism, postcolonialism, structuralism, etc.
● Thematic Concerns: love, loss, identity, power, nature, etc.
● Historical Context: Renaissance, Enlightenment, Victorian era, etc.

Definition and Explanation: Elaborate a clear and concise definition of the term. Explain its
significance in literary analysis.
Examples: Offer examples of the term used in literary works.
Citation: Cite the source of your information. Use MLA. Here are some reliable sources.
Collaboration: Review and comment on your peers' entries. Suggest improvements or additional
information.
Bibliographical References:

20
● Beers, H.A. (1899) From Chaucer to Tennyson, Macmillan. Release Date: March 17, 2004
[eBook #11618] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11618/11618-h/11618-h.htm#chap3
Chapter III. The Age of Shakespeare. 1564-1616.
● Beers, H.A. (1899) From Chaucer to Tennyson, Macmillan. Release Date: March 17, 2004
[eBook #11618] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11618/11618-h/11618-h.htm#chap4
Chapter IV. The Age of Milton. 1608-1674.
● Donne, J. (1912) The Poems of John Donne [2 vols.] Volume I. Edited from the Old Editions
and Numerous Manuscripts. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Release Date: April 12, 2015
[EBook #48688] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48688/48688-h/48688-h.htm
● Marlowe, C. (1885) The Works of Christopher Marlowe, Vol. 3 (of 3). Editor: A. H. Bullen.
London John C. Nimmo 14. King William Street, Strand. Release Date: April 30, 2007 [EBook
#21262] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21262/21262-h/21262-h.htm
● Marlowe, C. (1604) The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. Edited by The Rev. Alexander Dyce.
Release Date: November 3, 2009 [EBook #779] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/779/779-
h/779-h.htm
● Milton, J. The Poetical Works of John Milton. Release Date: November 20, 2009 [EBook #1745]
Last Updated: November 10, 2014 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1745/1745-h/1745-
h.htm
● Shakespeare, W. (1609) The Sonnets. Release Date: September, 1997 [eBook #1041] [Most
recently updated: July 16, 2022] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1041/1041-h/1041-h.htm
● Spenser, E. (1848) The Shepheard's Calender - Twelve Aeglogues Proportional to the Twelve
Monethes. London & New York . Harper & Brothers. Release Date: April 27, 2013 [EBook
#42607] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42607/42607-h/42607-h.htm
● Spenser, E. (1921) The Faerie Queene, Book I. Edited by George Armstrong Wauchope. The
MacMillan Company London: MacMillan & CO., LTD. Release Date: March 7, 2005 [eBook
#15272] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15272/15272-h/15272-h.htm
● Donne, J. (n.d.). Hymn to God, my God, In my Sickness.Poetry Foundation. Website.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44114/hymn-to-god-my-god-in-my-sickness
● Marlow, C. (n.d.). The Passionate Shepherd to his Love. Poetry Foundation. Website.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44675/the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love
● Milton, J. (n.d.). Paradise Lost: Book 1 (1674 version). Poetry Foundation. Website.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45718/paradise-lost-book-1-1674-version
● Raleigh, W. (n.d.). The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd. Poetry Foundation. Website.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44939/the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd
● Shakespeare, W. The Tragedy of Hamlet. The Project Gutenberg eBook. Release Date:
November, 1998 [eBook #1524] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1524/1524-h/1524-h.htm

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