English Renaissance What is the English Renaissance The

English Renaissance

What is the English Renaissance? ● The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15 th to the early 17 th century. ● Also referred to as the Elizabethan Era because she was reigning Queen of the time. ● Began in Italy in the late 14 th century. Like most of northern Europe, England saw little of these developments until more than a century later. ● The English Renaissance was very different from the Italian Renaissance in several ways. ● The dominant art forms of the English Renaissance were literature and music. Visual arts in the English Renaissance were much less significant than in the Italian Renaissance.

Elizabethan Playwrights

William Shakespeare ● ● ● ● Shakespeare is widely considered the world’s greatest dramatist. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Shakespeare worked as an actor, writer and co-owner of a drama company called the ‘Lord Chamberlain’s Men’- Later known as the King’s Men. His greatest plays include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. There are those who question whether William Shakespeare was actually the author of the plays, attributed to him. Before Shakespeare, the English language was much less exciting. Shakespeare has given many words (estimate of 1, 700 – 3, 000) to the English language. Including many memorable phrases such as “wild goose chase” and “in a pickle. ” Shakespeare’s grave includes a curse against moving his bones.

Take a few minutes and look at the Shakespeare insult list. Then turn to your neighbor and tell them what your favorite insult is. Be nice, only share your favorites don’t insult each other!

Romeo and Juliet

Taming of the Shrew

Christopher Marlowe ● Playwright and poet. ● His literary career lasted less than six years ○ His most notable achievement is the play “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus”. ● He died at only 29 years old ○ There is a lot of crazy theories and conspiracies regarding Marlowe’s death. ● Marlowe, whose handling of blank verse gave theatre its characteristic voice for the next 50 years.

Dr. Faustus

The Globe

The Globe ● Famous theatre in Britain where all of Shakespeare’s works were performed. ● The original Globe Theatre stood in Southwark, London, on the south bank of the River Thames. Today, an accurate replica stands roughly 100 feet from the original building. ● The Globe was built in 1599, by the acting company of which William Shakespeare was a member. It burnt down in 1613, was rebuilt the following year and then demolished in 1644. ● The Globe was an open air theatre, with three floors and could seat about 3, 000 people. The stage measured about 27 by 43 feet and was raised off the ground to allow access by a trapdoor.

Tour of The Globe

Elizabethan Acting Companies

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men ● ● ● Started by Henry Carey. a theatrical company that Shakespeare was intimately connected to for most of his career as a dramatist. The records of performances show that they were by far the most favoured of theatrical companies. Their only rival was a company known during Elizabeth I’s reign as the Admiral’s Men. In 1594 their London home was for a time a theatre in Newington Butts, then the Cross Keys Inn in the city itself, and then Theatre. ○ In the autumn of 1599, the company was rehoused in the Globe Theatre. This was the company’s most famous home. The company itself ceased to exist when, at the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in 1642, theatres were closed and remained so until the Restoration 18 years later.

The Lord Admiral’s Men ● The rival of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. ● About 1576– 79 they were known as Lord Howard’s Men. ● In 1585, when Lord Howard became England’s lord high admiral, the company changed its name to “the Admiral’s Men”. It then went through a cycle of names first the “Nottingham’s Men”, then “Prince Henry’s Men, ” and “the Elector Palatinate’s (Palsgrave’s) Men. ” ● The chief actor of the Admiral’s Men was Edward Alleyn. ● The company was closely associated with Christopher Marlowe and performed several of his works including Tamburlaine and Faustus. ● Once considered the premier Elizabethan theatrical company, the “Admiral’s Men” began to decline with the rise of the “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”, by 1631 the company had disbanded.

Works Cited “Admiral's Men. ” Encylopaedia Britannica, Inc. , 15 Aug. 2008, www. britannica. com/topic/Admirals. Men. Barker, Richard Hindry. Thomas Middleton. Columbia University Press, 1958. https: //www. britannica. com/biography/Philip-Massinger Brown, John Russell, et al. “William Shakespeare. ” Encycloaedia Britannica, Inc. , 20 Oct. 2018, www. britannica. com/biography/William-Shakespeare. Gurr, Andrew. “Globe Theatre. ” Encycloaedia Britannica, Inc. , 20 May 2016, www. britannica. com/topic/Globe-Theatre. Donaldson, Ian. Ben Jonson - a Life. Oxford Univ. Press, 2011. https: //www. britannica. com/biography/James-Shirley Izenour, George C. , et al. “Theatre. ” Encycloaedia Britannica, Inc. , 24 Jan. 2018, www. britannica. com/art/theater-building. Leech, Clifford. “Christopher Marlowe. ” Encycloaedia Britannica, Inc. , 26 May 2018, www. britannica. com/biography/Christopher-Marlowe. “Lord Chamberlain's Men. ” Encycloaedia Britannica, Inc. , 19 Aug. 2007, www. britannica. com/topic/Lord-Chamberlains-Men.