The English Renaissance

The English Renaissance stretched from later 15th century to early 17th century. From the first half of the 16th century, the English Renaissance began to develop into a flowering of literature.
Shakespeare’s Literary Position


Shakespeare and the Authorized Version of the English Bible are the two greatest treasuries of the English language. Shakespeare has been universally acknowledged to be the summit of the English Renaissance, and one of the greatest writers in world literature.
The Fourth Period (1608-1612)

The fourth period of Shakespeare’s work is the period of romantic drama. It includes 4 romances or “reconciliation plays”.
The Third Period (1601-1607)


The third period of Shakespeare’s dramatic career is mainly the period of “great tragedies” and “dark comedies”. It includes 5 tragedies, 3 comedies and 2 Roman tragedies. Major works written in this period: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra
Periods of Shakespeare’s Dramatic Composition

Shakespeare’s career as a dramatist may
be divided into four major phases.
The First Period(1590-1594) This period is the period of his apprenticeship in play-writing. Works: 1) Henry VI 2) The Comedy of Errors《错误的喜剧》/《连 环错》 3) Love’s Labor’s Lost《迷失的爱》/《空爱一 场》/《爱的徒劳》 4) Romeo and Juliet, etc.


3) actor
The Great Tragedies:
《哈姆雷特》(Hamlet,1601 《奥赛罗》(Othello,
)
1604) 《李尔王》(King Lear, 1605) 《麦克白》(Macbeth, 1606)
The Great Comedies:



《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice, 1596) 《仲夏夜之梦》(A Midsummer Night's Dream,1596) 《第十二夜》(Twelfth Night, 1600) 《皆大欢喜》(As You Like It, 1601)

The Birthplace of Shakespeare
Stratford-on-Avon
The Statue of Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Literary Works


1) Playwright: 38 plays (history, comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, legends) 2) poet: 154 sonnets, 2 long poems.


William Shakespeare (1564-1616)



The inexhaustible William Shakespeare (1564-1616)（说不完 道不尽的莎士比亚） playwright, poet, actor
“He was not of an age, but for all time.”——Ben Johnson “Shakespeare and Aeschylus are the two greatest dramatic geniuses the world has ever known.—Carl Marks
British Renaissance


Playwright:
1) Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) Doctor Faustus 2）William Shakespeare (1564-1616) 3) Ben Johnson (1572-1637) whose reputation mainly falls in the 17th century
The highest glory of the English Renaissance is drama.


Drama

The form of composition designed for performance in the theater, in which actors take the roles of the characters, perform the indicated action and utter the written dialogue. (The common alternative name for a dramatic composition is a play.)
The Second Period (1595-1600)

This period is his mature period, mainly a period of “great comedies” and mature historical plays. It includes 6 comedies, 5 historical plays and 1 Roman tragedy. His sonnets are also thought to be written in this period.
Lecture Two The English Renaissance & General Knowledge of William Shakespeare
The Renaissance



The Renaissance: an intellectual movement sprang first in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe.Two features are striking of this movement: 1) a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature; 2) the keen interest in the activities of humanity. Key-note: Humanism.