Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

Submitted By: Nabeel Riasat

Submitted To: Sir Saif

Roll No: S2F18BSEN0029

Subject: History of English Literature

Class: BS-ENG 3

Assignment: 2

University Of Central Punjab Sheikhupura.

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 Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

Table of Contents
Title Page 1
Table of contents 2
Abstract 3
Introduction to the Renaissance Period 4
Origins…………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Latin and Greek phases of Renaissance humanism 5
Social and political structures in Italy 6
Black Plague……………………………………………………………………………………6-7
Cultural in Florance…………………………………...………………………………………7-8
Characteristics of Renaissance………………………………………………………………….8
Humanism……………………………………………….……………………………………..8-9
Humanism Libraries…………………………………………………………………………….9
Art………………………..…………………………………...…………………………………..9
Science…………………………………………………………..………………………………10
Navigation and Geography.…………………………………….……………………………..10
Music…………………………………………………………….……………………………...10
Religion.....……………………………………………………….…………………………..10-11
Literature of the Renaissance….…………………………………………………………..11-12
The creation of printing Press...……………………………………………………………….12
Famous Writers.…………………………………………………………………………….12-18
Poetic Forms…………………………………………………………………………………15-17
Conclusions..…………………………………………………………………………………….17

Abstract:
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 Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

Renaissance is the Fresh term was used to describe an entire period of rebirth-“rebirth” of
ancient traditional, took as its foundation the art of Classical antiwuity, but trasformed that
tradition by the absorption of recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by
application of contemorary scientific knowledge. It is the painting, sculpture and decorative arts
of that period of European history known as the “Renaissance”, parallel with developments
which occurred in philosophy, literature, music and science.
It started in Italy, take place between the 14th and 17th centuries and then spread througgout the
European countries in the 16th century. Renaissance art history, especially the Italian Renaissance
was divide into the three stages: Eary Renaissance (about 1420-1490/1500), High Renaissance
(about 1490/1500-1520), Late Renaissance or Mannerism The first stage of the Renaissance
starting from the city of Firemen (Florence) with the statue of Donated, Gibber picture of the
relief, frescoes by Mosaic and the instruction of Fillips Brucellosis.
The poetic forms used in this period was Aubade, Ballad, elegy, epic poetry, epigram, epitaph,
idyll, lyric,meditation, oode, pastoral poetry, sestina, english sonnet, villanelle. The famous poets
of this age was Thomas Wyatt, Earl of Surray, Sir Phillip Sydney, Edmund Spencer. Gthomas
Wyatt and Earl of Surray introduced sonnets into English, translated Italian Sonnets poetic forms
of the Petrarch and also wrote their own sonnets imitating Petrarchian model. Sir Phillip Sydney
wrote epic poem, Arcodia; Pestoral Poem. Edmund wrote “Amoretti” and “Faeri Queen”.
Emergence of drama in the Renaissance period, new thoughts, new thinkings. The great name of
the Shakspear (1564-1616). The university wits: Thomas Lyly, Robert Green, George Peele,
Thomas Kyde and Christopher Marlowe ( Dr. Faustus).

Introduction to the Renaissance Period

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 Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

The Renaisance was a period in Europe, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural
bridge between the Midle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in
Italy,specifically in Florence, in the medieval period and later spread to the rest Europe,marking
the beginning of the early modern age.
The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its own invented version of humanism, derived
form the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that “
Man is the measure of all things”. This new thinking became manifest in art, artitecture, politics,
science, and literature. Early examples were the developments of perspective in oil painting and
the recycled knowledge of how to mamke concrete. Though availability of paper and the
invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the
changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe.
As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed the innovative flowering of Latin and
vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th century resurgence of learning based on classical
sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch; the development of linear perspective of
other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting; and gradual but widespread
educational reform.
In politics, the Renaissance contributed the developments of the conventions of diplomacy, and
in science an increased relience on observation. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in
many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for
its artistic developments and the contributions the term “Renaissance man”.
Various theories have been peoposed to account for the origins and characteristics of the
Renaissance, focusing on a variety of factors, including the social and civic peculiarities of the
Florence at the time; its political structure; the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici; and
the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of constantinople at the
hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Many argue that ideas characterizing the Renaissance had their origing in late 13th century
Florence, in particular in writings of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and Petrarch (1304-1374), as
well as the paintings of Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). Some writers date the Renaissance quite
precisely; one proposed starting point is 1401, when the rival geniuses Lorenzo Ghiberti and
Filippo Brunelleschi competed for the contract to build the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the
Florence Cathedral (Ghiberti won). Others see more general competition between artists and
polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as
sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance
began in Italy, and why it began when it did. Accordingly, several theories have been put
forward to explain its origins.

Origins
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 Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

Many argue that the ideas characterizing the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th-
century Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)
and Petrarch (1304–1374), as well as the paintings of Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337). Some
writers date the Renaissance quite precisely; one proposed starting point is 1401, when the rival
geniuses Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi competed for the contract to build the
bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral (Ghiberti won). Others see more
general competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello,
and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it
remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, and why it began when it did.
Accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins.

Latin and Greek phases of Renaissance humanism

In stark contrast to the High Middle Ages, when Latin scholars focused almost entirely on
studying Greek and Arabic works of natural science, philosophy and mathematics.Renaissance
scholars were most interested in recovering and studying Latin and Greek literary, historical, and
oratorical texts. Broadly speaking, this began in the 14th century with a Latin phase, when
Renaissance scholars such as Petrarch, Coluccio Salutati (1331–1406), Niccolò de' Niccoli
(1364–1437) and Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) scoured the libraries of Europe in search of
works by such Latin authors as Cicero, Lucretius, Livy and Seneca. By the early 15th century,
the bulk of the surviving such Latin literature had been recovered; the Greek phase of
Renaissance humanism was under way, as Western European scholars turned to recovering
ancient Greek literary, historical, oratorical and theological texts.

Unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late
antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. Ancient
Greek works on science, maths and philosophy had been studied since the High Middle Ages in
Western Europe and in the medieval Islamic world (normally in translation), but Greek literary,
oratorical and historical works (such as Homer, the Greek dramatists, Demosthenes and
Thucydides) were not studied in either the Latin or medieval Islamic worlds; in the Middle Ages
these sorts of texts were only studied by Byzantine scholars. One of the greatest achievements of
Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western
Europe for the first time since late antiquity.

Social and political structures in Italy

The unique political structures of late Middle Ages Italy have led some to theorize that its
unusual social climate allowed the emergence of a rare cultural efflorescence. Italy did not exist
as a political entity in the early modern period. Instead, it was divided into smaller city states and

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territories: the Kingdom of Naples controlled the south, the Republic of Florence and the Papal
States at the center, the Milanese and the Genoese to the north and west respectively, and the
Venetians to the east. Fifteenth-century Italy was one of the most urbanised areas in
Europe.Many of its cities stood among the ruins of ancient Roman buildings; it seems likely that
the classical nature of the Renaissance was linked to its origin in the Roman Empire's heartland.

Historian and political philosopher Quentin Skinner points out that Otto of Freising (c. 1114–
1158), a German bishop visiting north Italy during the 12th century, noticed a widespread new
form of political and social organization, observing that Italy appeared to have exited from
Feudalism so that its society was based on merchants and commerce. Linked to this was anti-
monarchical thinking, represented in the famous early Renaissance fresco cycle The Allegory of
Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (painted 1338–1340), whose strong
message is about the virtues of fairness, justice, republicanism and good administration. Holding
both Church and Empire at bay, these city republics were devoted to notions of liberty. Skinner
reports that there were many defences of liberty such as the Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475)
celebration of Florentine genius not only in art, sculpture and architecture, but "the remarkable
efflorescence of moral, social and political philosophy that occurred in Florence at the same
time".

Black Plague
One theory that has been advanced is that the devastation in Florence caused by the Black Death,
which hit Europe between 1348 and 1350, resulted in a shift in the world view of people in 14th-
century Italy. Italy was particularly badly hit by the plague, and it has been speculated that the
resulting familiarity with death caused thinkers to dwell more on their lives on Earth, rather than
on spirituality and the afterlife.It has also been argued that the Black Death prompted a new
wave of piety, manifested in the sponsorship of religious works of art. However, this does not
fully explain why the Renaissance occurred specifically in Italy in the 14th century. The Black
Death was a pandemic that affected all of Europe in the ways described, not only Italy. The
Renaissance's emergence in Italy was most likely the result of the complex interaction of the
above factors.

The plague was carried by fleas on sailing vessels returning from the ports of Asia, spreading
quickly due to lack of proper sanitation: the population of England, then about 4.2 million, lost
1.4 million people to the bubonic plague. Florence's population was nearly halved in the year
1347. As a result of the decimation in the populace the value of the working class increased, and
commoners came to enjoy more freedom. To answer the increased need for labor, workers
traveled in search of the most favorable position economically.

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The demographic decline due to the plague had economic consequences: the prices of food
dropped and land values declined by 30–40% in most parts of Europe between 1350 and
1400.Landholders faced a great loss, but for ordinary men and women it was a windfall. The
survivors of the plague found not only that the prices of food were cheaper but also that lands
were more abundant, and many of them inherited property from their dead relatives.

Cultural in Florence
It has long been a matter of debate why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not elsewhere in
Italy. Scholars have noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life that may have caused
such a cultural movement. Many have emphasized the role played by the Medici, a banking
family and later ducal ruling house, in patronizing and stimulating the arts. Lorenzo de' Medici
(1449–1492) was the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging his
countrymen to commission works from the leading artists of Florence, including Leonardo da
Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti.Works by Neri di Bicci, Botticelli, da
Vinci and Filippino Lippi had been commissioned additionally by the Convent of San Donato in
Scopeto in Florence.

The Renaissance was certainly underway before Lorenzo de' Medici came to power – indeed,
before the Medici family itself achieved hegemony in Florentine society. Some historians have
postulated that Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance as a result of luck, i.e., because
"Great Men" were born there by chance: Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo were
all born in Tuscany. Arguing that such chance seems improbable, other historians have
contended that these "Great Men" were only able to rise to prominence because of the prevailing
cultural conditions at the time.

Characteristics of the Renaissance

Humanism:
In some ways, Renaissance humanism was not a philosophy but a method of learning. In contrast
to the medieval scholastic mode, which focused on resolving contradictions between authors,
Renaissance humanists would study ancient texts in the original and appraise them through a
combination of reasoning and empirical evidence. Humanist education was based on the
programme of 'Studia Humanitatis', the study of five humanities: poetry, grammar, history, moral
philosophy and rhetoric. Although historians have sometimes struggled to define humanism
precisely, most have settled on "a middle of the road definition... the movement to recover,
interpret, and assimilate the language, literature, learning and values of ancient Greece and

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Rome". Above all, humanists asserted "the genius of man ... the unique and extraordinary ability
of the human mind".
Humanist scholars shaped the intellectual landscape throughout the early modern period.
Political philosophers such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas More revived the ideas of Greek
and Roman thinkers and applied them in critiques of contemporary government. Pico della
Mirandola wrote the "manifesto" of the Renaissance, the Oration on the Dignity of Man, a
vibrant defence of thinking. Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475), another humanist, is most known for
his work Della vita civile ("On Civic Life"; printed 1528), which advocated civic humanism, and
for his influence in refining the Tuscan vernacular to the same level as Latin. Palmieri drew on
Roman philosophers and theorists, especially Cicero, who, like Palmieri, lived an active public
life as a citizen and official, as well as a theorist and philosopher and also Quintilian. Perhaps the
most succinct expression of his perspective on humanism is in a 1465 poetic work La città di
vita, but an earlier work, Della vita civile, is more wide-ranging. Composed as a series of
dialogues set in a country house in the Mugello countryside outside Florence during the plague
of 1430, Palmieri expounds on the qualities of the ideal citizen. The dialogues include ideas
about how children develop mentally and physically, how citizens can conduct themselves
morally, how citizens and states can ensure probity in public life, and an important debate on the
difference between that which is pragmatically useful and that which is honest.
The humanists believed that it is important to transcend to the afterlife with a perfect mind and
body, which could be attained with education. The purpose of humanism was to create a
universal man whose person combined intellectual and physical excellence and who was capable
of functioning honorably in virtually any situation. This ideology was referred to as the uomo
universale, an ancient Greco-Roman ideal. Education during the Renaissance was mainly
composed of ancient literature and history as it was thought that the classics provided moral
instruction and an intensive understanding of human behavior.

Humanism and libraries:

A unique characteristic of some Renaissance libraries is that they were open to the public. These
libraries were places where ideas were exchanged and where scholarship and reading were
considered both pleasurable and beneficial to the mind and soul. As freethinking was a hallmark
of the age, many libraries contained a wide range of writers. Classical texts could be found
alongside humanist writings. These informal associations of intellectuals profoundly influenced
Renaissance culture. Some of the richest "bibliophiles" built libraries as temples to books and
knowledge. A number of libraries appeared as manifestations of immense wealth joined with a
love of books. In some cases, cultivated library builders were also committed to offering others
the opportunity to use their collections. Prominent aristocrats and princes of the Church created
great libraries for the use of their courts, called "court libraries", and were housed in lavishly
designed monumental buildings decorated with ornate woodwork, and the walls adorned with
frescoes (Murray, Stuart A.P.).

Art:

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Renaissance art marks a cultural rebirth at the close of the Middle Ages and rise of the Modern
world. One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly
realistic linear perspective. Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337) is credited with first treating a
painting as a window into space, but it was not until the demonstrations of architect Filippo
Brunelleschi (1377–1446) and the subsequent writings of Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) that
perspective was formalized as an artistic technique.
Renaissance artists were not pagans, although they admired antiquity and kept some ideas and
symbols of the medieval past. Nicola Pisano (c. 1220–c. 1278) imitated classical forms by
portraying scenes from the Bible. His Annunciation, from the Baptistry at Pisa, demonstrates that
classical models influenced Italian art before the Renaissance took root as a literary movement.

Science:
Applied innovation extended to commerce. At the end of the 15th century Luca Pacioli published
the first work on bookkeeping, making him the founder of accounting. Science and art were
intermingled in the early Renaissance, with polymath artists such as Leonardo da Vinci making
observational drawings of anatomy and nature. Da Vinci set up controlled experiments in water
flow, medical dissection, and systematic study of movement and aerodynamics, and he devised
principles of research method that led Fritjof Capra to classify him as the "father of modern
science". Other examples of Da Vinci's contribution during this period include machines
designed to saw marbles and lift monoliths, and new discoveries in acoustics, botany, geology,
anatomy, and mechanics.

Navigation and Geography:

During the Renaissance, extending from 1450 to 1650, every continent was visited and mostly
mapped by Europeans, except the south polar continent now known as Antarctica. This
development is depicted in the large world map Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula made by the
Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu in 1648 to commemorate the Peace of Westphalia. In 1492,
Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain seeking a direct route to
Asia. He accidentally stumbled upon the Americas, but believed he had reached the East Indies.
The long-imagined south polar continent was eventually sighted in 1820. Throughout the
Renaissance it had been known as Terra Australis, or 'Australia' for short. However, after that
name was transferred to New Holland in the nineteenth century, the new name of 'Antarctica'
was bestowed on the south polar continent.

Music:
From this changing society emerged a common, unifying musical language, in particular the
polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school. The development of printing made distribution of
music possible on a wide scale. Demand for music as entertainment and as an activity for
educated amateurs increased with the emergence of a bourgeois class. Dissemination of

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chansons, motets, and masses throughout Europe coincided with the unification of polyphonic
practice into the fluid style that culminated in the second half of the sixteenth century in the work
of composers such as Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria and William Byrd.

Religion:
The new ideals of humanism, although more secular in some aspects, developed against a
Christian backdrop, especially in the Northern Renaissance. Much, if not most, of the new art
was commissioned by or in dedication to the church. However, the Renaissance had a profound
effect on contemporary theology, particularly in the way people perceived the relationship
between man and God. The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil. The late Middle
Ages was a period of political intrigue surrounding the Papacy, culminating in the Wastern
Schism, in three men simultaneously claimed to be true Bishop of  Rome.
Churchmen such as Erasmus and Luther proposed reform to the Church, often based on humanist
textual criticism of the New Testament. In October 1517 Luther published the 95 Theses,
challenging papal authority and criticizing its perceived corruption, particularly with regard to
instances of sold indulgences. The 95 Theses led to the Reformation, a break with the Roman
Catholic Church that previously claimed hegemony in Western Europe. Humanism and the
Renaissance therefore played a direct role in sparking the Reformation, as well as in many other
contemporaneous religious debates and conflicts.

Self Awareness:
By the 15th century, writers, artists, and architects in Italy were well aware of the
transformations that were taking place and were using phrases such as modi antichi (in the
antique manner) or alle romana et alla antica (in the manner of the Romans and the ancients) to
describe their work. In the 1330s Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua (ancient) and
to the Christian period as nova (new). Humanist historians argued that contemporary scholarship
restored direct links to the classical period, thus bypassing the Medieval period, which they then
named for the first time the "Middle Ages". The term first appears in Latin in 1469 as media
tempestas (middle times).

Literature in the Renaissance Period

The earliest Renaissance literature appeared in 14th century Italy; Dante, Petrarch, and
Machiavelli are notable examples of Italian Renaissance writers. From Italy the influence of the
Renaissance spread at different rates to other countries, and continued to spread throughout
Europe through the 17th century. The English Renaissance and the Renaissance in Scotland date
from the late 15th century to the early 17th century. In northern Europe the scholarly writings of
Erasmus, the plays of Shakespeare, the poems of Edmund Spenser, and the writings of Sir Philip
Sidney may be considered Renaissance in character.

The literature of the Renaissance was written within the general movement of the
Renaissance that arose in 13th century Italy and continued until the 16th century while being

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diffused into the western world. It is characterized by the adoption of a Humanist philosophy and
the recovery of the classical literature of Antiquity and benefited from the spread of printing in
the latter part of the 15th century. For the writers of the Renaissance, Greco-Roman inspiration
was shown both in the themes of their writing and in the literary forms they used. The world was
considered from an anthropocentric perspective. Platonic ideas were revived and put to the
service of Christianity. The search for pleasures of the senses and a critical and rational spirit
completed the ideological panorama of the period. New literary genres such as the essay and new
metrical forms such as the sonnet and Spenserian stanza made their appearance.

The creation of the printing press:

The creation of the printing press (using movable type) by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1450s
encouraged authors to write in their local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical
languages, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.
The impact of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly
Catholic or predominantly Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently. Areas where the
Orthodox Church was culturally dominant, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule,
were more or less outside its influence. The period focused on self-actualization and one’s ability
to accept what is going on in one’s life.

Famous Writers of the Renaisance Period

Thomas Wyatt
Earl of Surrey
Petrarch
Sir Phillip Sydney
Edmund spenser
Shakspear

Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542):

In addition to writing poetry, Wyatt was born into a family of knights, was a diplomat in the
service of Henry VIII, and ended up imprisoned in the Tower of London after being accused of
having an affair with Henry VIII’s love interest Anne Boleyn. He was later freed and returned to
the king’s good side but died of illness in 1542 — the greatest English literary figure since
Chaucer.

Earl of Surrey (1517-1547):

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Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first
created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently
held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfolk.

Petrarch (July 20, 1304 – July 18/19, 1374):Commonly anglicized as Petrarch,

was an Italian scholar and poet during the early Italian Renaissance who was one of the earliest
humanists. Petrarch is best known for his Italian poetry, notably the Canzoniere ("Songbook")
and the Trionfi ("Triumphs"). Petrarch was an enthusiastic Latin scholar and did most of his
writing in this language. His Latin writings include scholarly works, introspective essays, letters,
and more poetry. Among them are Secretum Meum ("My Secret Book"), an intensely personal,
guilt-ridden imaginary dialogue with Augustine of Hippo; De Viris Illustribus ("On Famous
Men"), a series of moral biographies; Rerum Memorandarum Libri, an incomplete treatise on the
cardinal virtues; De Otio Religiosorum ("On Religious Leisure").

Sonnet:
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Earl of Surray introduced the sonnets of Petrarch into e
English as they translated Petrarch’s sonnets into English form Italian and also wrote their own
petrarchian imitating model.

Original Italian English translation by A.S. Kline

Aura che quelle chiome bionde et crespe Breeze, blowing that blonde curling hair,
cercondi et movi, et se’ mossa da loro, stirring it, and being softly stirred in turn,
soavemente, et spargi quel dolce oro, scattering that sweet gold about, then
et poi ’l raccogli, e ’n bei nodi il rincrespe, gathering it, in a lovely knot of curls again,

tu stai nelli occhi ond’amorose vespe
mi pungon sí, che ’nfin qua il sento et ploro,
et vacillando cerco il mio tesoro,
come animal che spesso adombre e ’ncespe:
ch’or me ’l par ritrovar, et or m’accorgo
ch’i’ ne son lunge, or mi sollievo or caggio,
ch’or quel ch’i’ bramo, or quel ch’è vero
scorgo.
Aër felice, col bel vivo raggio
you linger around bright eyes whose loving
sting
pierces me so, till I feel it and weep,
and I wander searching for my treasure,
like a creature that often shies and kicks:
now I seem to find her, now I realise
she’s far away, now I’m comforted, now
despair,
now longing for her, now truly seeing her.

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rimanti; et tu corrente et chiaro gorgo, Happy air, remain here with your
ché non poss’io cangiar teco vïaggio? living rays: and you, clear running stream,
why can’t I exchange my path for yours?

Sir Philip Sydney ( 1554-1586):

Sir Philip Sidney, (born November 30, 1554, Penshurst, Kent, England—died October 17, 1586,
Arnhem, Netherlands), Elizabethan courtier, statesman, soldier, poet, and patron of scholars and
poets, considered the ideal gentleman of his day. After Shakespeare’s sonnets, Sidney’s
Astrophel and Stella is considered the finest Elizabethan sonnet cycle. His The Defence of
Poesie introduced the critical ideas of Renaissance theorists to England. He wrote epic poem,
Arcodia; Pestoral Poem.

Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 13 January 1599):

Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for The Faerie
Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He
is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse, and is often
considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. Edumund Spenser was (and is)
called "the poet's poet" because of the very high quality of his poetry and because he enjoyed
"the pure artistry of his craft" so much. He is also called that because so many other poets
thought that he was a great poet.

William Shakspear (1564-1616):

He was a poet playwrite and actor and the greatest writer in English language. He was the
world’s greatest dramatest, national poet of England and Bard of Avon. He was excellengt in his
works,wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and has been translated in
every being used language of the day. After the death of his father he had to nourish his family
so he rushed to city and joind a Lord Chamberlains company, as page, company belonged to
London. In during 1585-1592, began a successful carreer in London as an actor, writer and part
of owner of a playing company called Lord Chamberlains Company later known as Kingsmen.

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Shakspear was famous of his four plays as; King lear, Hamlet, Macebeth, Othello. He has died in
1616.

Poetic forms of the Renaisance Period

Aubade:
It is a poem about dawn; a morning love song; or a poem about the parting of lovers at dawn.
From THE SUN RISING, by John Donne……..

BUSY old fool, unruly Sun, 

Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us ? 
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run ? 
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide 
Late school-boys and sour prentices, 
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride, 
Call country ants to harvest offices ;
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, 
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Ballad:
It is a narrative song with a recurrent refrain. From The First Fytte…..

Lythe and listin, gentilmen,

That be of frebore blode;
I shall you tel of a gode yeman,
His name was Robyn Hode.

Robyn was a prude outlaw,

Whyles he walked on grounde:
So curteyse an outlawe as he was one
Was nevere non founde.

Robyn stode in Bernesdale,

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And lenyd hym to a tre,

And bi hym stode Litell Johnn,
A gode yeman was he..

Elegy:
It is a mournful poem. From John Milton Yet once more, O ye Laurels, and once more…

Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy never-sear,

I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude,
And with forc'd fingers rude,
Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year. 
Bitter constraint, and sad occasion dear,
Compels me to disturb your season due:
For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime,
Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer:
Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew
Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.
He must not flote upon his watry bear
Unwept, and welter to the parching wind,
Without the meed of som melodious tea.

Epic poetry:
It is a long poem that tells of the adventures of one or more great heroes; epopee. An epic is
written in a dignified, majestic style, and often gives expression to the characters and ideals of a
nation or race. From The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. LO! I the man, whose Muse
whilome did maske,
As time her taught, in lowly Shepheards weeds,
Am now enforst a far vnfitter taske,
For trumpets sterne to chaunge mine Oaten reeds,
And sing of Knights and Ladies gentle deeds;
Whose prayses hauing slept in silence long,
Me, all too meane, the sacred Muse areeds
To blazon broad emongst her learned throng:
Fierce warres and faithfull loues shall moralize my song.

Lyric:

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 Poetic Forms of Renaissance literature

It is a short poem of song-like quality, meant to be chanted or sung. From Philip Sydney. 
But to myself myself did give the blow,
While too much wit (forsooth) so troubled me,
That I respects for both our sakes must show:
And yet could not by rising Morn foresee
How fair a day was near, o punished eyes,
That I had been more foolish or more wise..
Meditation:
It is a continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a
deep or abstruse nature. From John Donne's Meditation XVII. No man is an island, entire of
itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the
sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of
thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

Conclusions
Renaissance 14th-17th Century -means “revival”, also, ‘rebirth’ revival of interest in ancient
Greek, Roman culture, humanist scholars attempted to rid feudal Europe of Church domination
and conservatism -old sciences revived, new science emerged -national languages and cultures
took shape, free from Roman Church authority—art and literature flourished -began in Florence
Italy, spread to all of Europe Due to its geographic position, foreign trade and commerce
developed in Italy. – accumulation of wealth Rise of Humanism As wealth accumulated in Italy,
an increased interest in other things,
Literature Vocation “Decadence”-tale of 7 women and 3 men on way to escape Black Death.
Witty, naughty, praise of true love, wisdom. Began to express the voices of modern society.
Considered greatest prose achievement in medieval literature. Patriarch- “Canisters” book of
lyrical songs. His works expressed ‘true’ emotions. Art A break with medieval tradition at end of
13th c. Slowed up by Black Death. Revived Early 1 5th century, a decided break with medieval
tradition. -art broke away from…

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