About the Big Ideas (English)

Big Idea 1: Humanists and Courtiers
Big Idea 2: A Bard for the Ages
Big Idea 3: The Sacred and the Secular

Big Idea 1: Humanists and Courtiers

Overview

The humanists of the Renaissance focused on the earthly world, while scholars of the Middle Ages focused on the divine. Medieval scholars believed that the form of words revealed part of the meaningfulness of God’s creation. Renaissance scholars, on the other hand, studied grammar, rhetoric, and logic. They wanted to understand how human languages were related to one another.

Humanism relied more on personal contact than on instruction at schools and universities. Many works of this period were based on the friendships formed between humanists, and therefore they read like a conversation between friends.

A remarkable friendship occurred during that era between Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor of England, and Desiderius Erasmus of Holland. Erasmus wrote his best-known work, Praise of Folly, while visiting More’s home. More’s best-known work, the satire Utopia, represents his vision of an ideal society that is ruled by reason and free from convention.

Another important figure of the era was Queen Elizabeth I, famous for her wit and eloquence. She knew several languages and loved music, dancing, and the theatre. Her reign was one of significant cultural achievement, and her court served as a forum for daring displays of wit. One member of her court, Sir Walter Raleigh, was admired by the queen for his talents as soldier, sailor, explorer, poet, and scientist. When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the throne passed to her cousin James, king of Scotland, who imprisoned Raleigh in the Tower of London. It was during that time that Raleigh began to write History of the World.

Unlike Queen Elizabeth I, King James I was theological and contentious. He commissioned the translation of the Bible into English. This version, known as the King James Bible, is considered a masterpiece of English prose. King James I also enjoyed the theatre; he enjoyed one troupe of players so much that he commissioned it to perform at court. That troupe, the King’s Men, included William Shakespeare, whose tragedy Macbeth was likely written in part to honor the king’s Scottish heritage.

Web Resources

What Is Humanism?
http://www.jcn.com/humanism.php4
This Web site defines the different forms of Humanism, including literary, renaissance, cultural, philosophical, religious, and others.

Kings and Queens of England (to 1603)
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page46.asp
This Web site contains a biography of Elizabeth I as well as links to one of her speeches and an overview of the Tudors.

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Big Idea 2: A Bard for the Ages

Overview

With works produced so frequently and read so widely around the world, poet and playwright William Shakespeare is considered the world’s favorite author. His rich, human characters still live on in readers’ hearts and minds more than four-hundred years after he created them. Yet, we really know little about Shakespeare himself. He was an actor and playwright in London, according to theatrical records, but the date of his arrival in the city is not known.

Shakespeare’s fortune came not from play writing but from his investment in acting companies and theaters. He was part owner of the famous Globe Theatre, an open-air playhouse that could hold about three-thousand people. His success as a businessman enabled him to leave London around 1610 and retire to Stratford-upon-Avon, where he had grown up.

Shakespeare incorporated much of what he read into his plays. He was influenced by Latin works by the poet Ovid and the playwrights Plautus and Seneca. In his play The Tempest, the vision of an ideal society is based on French writer Montaigne’s description of a simple Native American culture.

Shakespeare’s humanistic ideal was evident in his ability to transform a wide variety of subjects into material for his works, from current events to Roman history. Shakespeare delved into the many manifestations of human nature. His vividly protrayed characters seek to fulfill their potential, fall in love, display wit or courage, pursue their deepest desires, or write poetry. Shakespeare is truly a master when it comes to understanding and depicting human behavior.

Web Resources

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/
This Web site contains all of the plays and poetry of William Shakespeare, under the headings of comedy, history, tragedy, and poetry.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/
This Web site features a wide range of information about the life and works of William Shakespeare, from his schooling, to descriptions of his physical appearance, to plot summaries of his plays.

Shakespeare Illustrated
http://shakespeare.emory.edu/illustrated_index.cfm
This Web site explores nineteenth-century paintings, criticism, and productions of Shakespeare's plays and their influences on one another.

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Big Idea 3: The Sacred and the Secular

Overview

Should there be limits on the quest for knowledge? This question was asked during the Renaissance, and it still is being asked today. Humanism placed importance on investigation rather than revelation and, as a result, religious leaders became concerned about potential threats to the church. Some humanists, however, believed that religious faith and free inquiry could co-exist.

The Roman Catholic religion was the basis for Sir Thomas More’s humanism. Prayer took priority over public affairs, and he educated his daughters in Christian and classical subjects. His opposition to Henry VIII’s impending divorce and position as head of the Church of England led to More’s execution for treason. He described his beliefs in both sacred and secular realms just before he was beheaded: “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

Even though many Renaissance writers were not humanists, they still believed that they had something to learn from religion. This was accomplished by introducing Christian sacred writings into people’s homes. With the advent of the printing press, translations of the Bible became relatively affordable. By 1522 the New Testament had been translated into German by Martin Luther. In the 1520s and 1530s, the Bible was translated into English by William Tyndale. However, there were penalties for translating the Bible without official approval from the Church. After Henry VIII took control of the Church of England, Tyndale was burned at the stake for heresy. Ironically, the King James Bible, considered the official translation, borrowed heavily from Tyndale’s work.

Religious conflict was at the forefront for poet John Donne, who grew up as a Catholic in Protestant England. However, in his youth, he wrote poems about romantic love. Donne was the most notable of a group of writers later known as the metaphysical poets. They understood and wrote about life’s contradictions, such as that between sensual beauty and old age.

In 1625 King James I was succeeded by his son Charles I, who, unlike his father, sought pleasurable pursuits. His courtiers, called cavaliers, aspired to be gallant knights but did not embrace seriousness or Christian chivalry. The Cavalier Poets celebrated earthly pleasures and wrote poetry known for its lyricism, sophistication, wit, and raciness.

Web Resources

Renaissance: Renaissance Sites
http://renaissance.dm.net/sites.html
This Web site provides links to sites about the Renaissance, including information about the period’s clothing, food, literature, music, games, and typography.

La Renaissance
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/renaissance/
This Web site explains the history of the Renaissance and contains links to information about the Renaissance in Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

Sixteenth Century Renaissance English Literature (1485–1603)
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/
This Web site contains links to biographies, essays and articles about William Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII, and Sir Walter Raleigh, and other sixteenth century figures.

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