wHAT DEFINES THE 16TH CENTURY?
Click "16th Century" to access the timeline for this period.
The 16th century in literary studies is roughly defined as the period from 1485 to 1603 and is sometimes designated the Renaissance and sometimes the Early Modern period, though there exists little consensus on the span of time that those terms define. The 16th century begins with the ascension of King Henry VII and ends with the death of Queen Elizabeth I and the ascension of King James I (who commissioned the King James version of the Bible--fun fact). At the start of this period, the English language was not considered a serious form of discourse; it had little purchase abroad and few texts were written or published in English. Thomas Moore's Utopia (1515), for example, was written and published in Latin and only translated later. Most of the poems that we will be reading in this section, along with Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, were published during the latter half of the century as English as both a language and sense of nation was beginning to crystallize. During this period, the court determined culture; poems read, plays performed, music sung at court influenced popular culture, both in terms of what was popular and what was valued artistically and politically. There was no freedom of speech so artist had to use rhetoric to layer their social critiques into their texts. The term "renaissance" literally translates as "rebirth" and is used to describe this period because it saw the rebirth of interest in themes and art forms that resulted from recovered texts of classical antiquity. Scholars and artists tended to find the Pagan writings of early Greece and Rome far more interesting (and often espousing moral and philosophical values that dovetailed with those of Christianity) than those of the Medieval Christian Church. This rebirth began with the ascension of King Henry VII and flourished under the reign of King Henry VIII, raising questions associated with human intellectual and spiritual development--this included questions of gender (the sexes had distinct educations, which is why it was the rare woman indeed who managed to publish at this time). The Reformation of the church also took place during this period and resulted from both Martin Luther's response to the Catholic Churches' selling of indulgences and from King Henry VIII's breaking from the Catholic Church. After Henry VIII's death, his daughter Mary by Catherine of Argon ascended the throne and was succeeded by Elizabeth on her death in 1558. Queen Elizabeth I was a powerful ruler who never married and instead claimed all who populated England as her children. She was a savvy ruler who held onto her kingdom despite open warfare and subterfuge. As the English state developed a clear sense of national identity towards the end of the period, it began to define itself against what it was not--the Other. We will discuss racial relations, religion, gender, and their connections to the English monarchy in more detail in class.
wHAT WE'RE READING
Poetry during this period was often sung in court and only written down later, even published posthumously. It was a form of art that often had a didactic purpose. Well into the Victorian period, many believed that reading poetry (and other forms of literature) would make you a better person. You'll notice that since English as a language system is still forming, there are a host of inconsistencies in syntax and punctuation, and that some poets, like Edmund Spenser, deliberately play with language. Poetry often questioned the role of art and the poet in the world, as well as taking on more standard themes such as love. There were two primary poetic forms at this time--Pastoral and Heroic--which poets often played with.
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The Faerie Queene was written for Elizabeth I who commissioned it; she is the Faerie Queen of the title, Gloriana. We are reading Book 1 of the epic poem, which is allegorical. Redcrosse is Holiness and his journey is a spiritual epic in which he will struggle, like a true Christian, against such things as the seven deadly sins, hypocrisy, doctrinal error, and despair. Due to its length, we will only read a few of the twelve Cantos, though I provide you summaries of them all. This epic also draws on Romance traditions, think courtly love, and invokes a host of Catholic references to query the function of Protestantism now that the Church has split.
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