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English literature: The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age

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The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age

The beginning of the Tudor dynasty coincided with the first dissemination of printed matter. William Caxton's press
was established in 1476, only nine years before the beginning of Henry VII's reign. Caxton's achievement encouraged
writing of all kinds and also influenced the standardization of the English language. The early Tudor period,
particularly the reign of Henry VIII, was marked by a break with the Roman Catholic Church and a weakening of
feudal ties, which brought about a vast increase in the power of the monarchy.
Stronger political relationships with the Continent were also developed, increasing England's exposure to
Renaissance culture. Humanism became the most important force in English literary and intellectual life, both in its
narrow sensethe study and imitation of the Latin classicsand in its broad sensethe affirmation of the secular,
in addition to the otherworldly, concerns of people. These forces produced during the reign (15581603) of Elizabeth I
one of the most fruitful eras in literary history.

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The energy of England's writers matched that of its mariners and merchants. Accounts by men such as Richard
Hakluyt, Samuel Purchas, and Sir Walter Raleigh were eagerly read. The activities and literature of the Elizabethans
reflected a new nationalism, which expressed itself also in the works of chroniclers (John Stow, Raphael Holinshed,
and others), historians, and translators and even in political and religious tracts. A myriad of new genres, themes,
and ideas were incorporated into English literature. Italian poetic forms, especially the sonnet, became models for
English poets.
Sir Thomas Wyatt was the most successful sonneteer among early Tudor poets, and was, with Henry Howard, earl of
Surrey, a seminal influence. Tottel's Miscellany (1557) was the first and most popular of many collections of
experimental poetry by different, often anonymous, hands. A common goal of these poets was to make English as
flexible a poetic instrument as Italian. Among the more prominent of this group were Thomas Churchyard, George
Gascoigne, and Edward de Vere, earl of Oxford. An ambitious and influential work was A Mirror for Magistrates
(1559), a historical verse narrative by several poets that updated the medieval view of history and the morals to be
drawn from it.
The poet who best synthesized the ideas and tendencies of the English Renaissance was Edmund Spenser. His
unfinished epic poem The Faerie Queen (1596) is a treasure house of romance, allegory, adventure, Neoplatonic
ideas, patriotism, and Protestant morality, all presented in a variety of literary styles. The ideal English Renaissance
man was Sir Philip Sidneyscholar, poet, critic, courtier, diplomat, and soldierwho died in battle at the age of 32.
His best poetry is contained in the sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella (1591) and his Defence of Poesie is among
the most important works of literary criticism in the tradition.
Many others in a historical era when poetic talents were highly valued, were skilled poets. Important late Tudor
sonneteers include Spenser and Shakespeare, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, and Fulke Greville. More versatile
even than Sidney was Sir Walter Raleighpoet, historian, courtier, explorer, and soldierwho wrote strong, spare
poetry.
Early Tudor drama owed much to both medieval morality plays and classical models. Ralph Roister Doister (c.1545)
by Nicholas Udall and Gammer Gurton's Needle (c.1552) are considered the first English comedies, combining
elements of classical Roman comedy with native burlesque. During the late 16th and early 17th cent., drama
flourished in England as never before or since. It came of age with the work of the University Wits, whose
sophisticated plays set the course of Renaissance drama and paved the way for Shakespeare.
The Wits included John Lyly, famed for the highly artificial and much imitated prose work Euphues (1578); Robert
Greene, the first to write romantic comedy; the versatile Thomas Lodge and Thomas Nashe; Thomas Kyd, who
popularized neo-Senecan tragedy; and Christopher Marlowe, the greatest dramatist of the group. Focusing on heroes
whose very greatness leads to their downfall, Marlowe wrote in blank verse with a rhetorical brilliance and eloquence
superbly equal to the demands of high drama. William Shakespeare, of course, fulfilled the promise of the
Elizabethan age. His history plays, comedies, and tragedies set a standard never again equaled, and he is
universally regarded as the greatest dramatist and one of the greatest poets of all time.
Sections in this article:
Introduction
The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age
The Jacobean Era, Cromwell, and the Restoration
The Eighteenth Century
The Romantic Period
The Victorian Age
The Early Twentieth Century
The Postwar Era to the Present
Bibliography
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

More on English literature The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age from Infoplease:
English literature: The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age - The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age The beginning of the
Tudor dynasty coincided with the first ...
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English literature: The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age

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