Shakespeare’s poems are the monument of a remarkable genius but they are also the monuments of a remarkable age. The greatness of Shakespeare’s achievement was largely made possible by the work of his immediate predecessors, Sidney and Spenser. Shakespeare’s sonnets are intensely personal and are records of his hopes and fears, love and friendships, infatuations and disillusions that in turn acquire a universal quality through their intensity. The vogue of the sonnet in the Elizabethan age was brief but was very intense. Sir Thomas Wyatt and The Earl of Surrey brought the Petrarchan sonnet to England and with that an admiration for lyrical poetry.
That English should rise and attain the status of national language is not surprising in view of the fact that the spread of literacy and the introduction of printing, along with the increasingly strong nationalist feeling, did account for its consolidation.1 There was not only a steady progression towards developing a language of their own; English humanists also felt a peremptory need for constructing and shaping literary modes which were akin to their own set of values and culture. As The Norton Anthology of English Literature's introduction to the sixteenth century puts it: "Literary conventions challenged Elizabethan poets to find fit forms for their experiences, to show their learning and virtuosity by the ingenious elaboration of [...] well-known patterns, and to create from these patterns something fresh and new. "2 Be it a pastoral poem or a sonnet, the Elizabethan poet would set out to follow the path of 'ingenious invention'. He would sometimes draw on the conventions and modes of the classics or, as the case may be, he could also seek out to emulate the patterns of foreign poets (mainly Italian and French), in order to recreate their poetic utterances. In Phillip Sidney's sonnets, for instance, the old Petrarchan rhetoric is still at work.
Dramatic Monologue is the greatest innovation of ‘Robert Browning’ and he used it in his novel ‘The Ring and the Book’. Matthew Arnold’s poem ‘Dover Beach’ was considered as the precursor of the modernist revolution. Hopkins’s unusual style left a considerable impact on the poets of the 1940s. English Poets began to take an interest in French symbolism towards the end of the century. ‘Charles Swinburne’, ‘Oscar Wilde’, ‘Arthur Symons’, ‘Ernest Dowson’, ‘Lionel Johnson’ and ‘William Butler Yeats’ were the important poets towards the end of the
The Life and Works of Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson, a prominent English writer of the early eighteenth century, brought vivid life to the literary realm of that era. He is known by many to be a writer of great intellect, thought, and positive influence in the writings of literary to follow. Johnson has been hailed as a literary giant in his day, as well as in present times. Samuel Johnson is a great writer because of the critical approval of specific elements, namely satire, the moral romance, and the biography. The first element for which the critics have praised Johnson is his powerful satire.
Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe: what did he contribute to English literature and how is his writing reflective of the style of the times? Christopher Marlowe contributed greatly to English literature. He developed a new metre which has become one of the most popular in English literary history, and he revitalised a dying form of English drama. His short life was apparently violent and the man himself was supposedly of a volatile temperament, yet he managed to write some of the most delicate and beautiful works on record. His writing is representative of the spirit of the Elizabethan literature in his attitude towards religion, his choice of writing style and in the metre that he used.
The Elizabethan Era was known as the Golden Age in England’s history when literature flourished under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. Many different things contributed to the growth of literature during this era. The first thing was the Renaissance which changed peoples views on literature and influence them to invent new techniques for literature. The Protestant Revolution and the defeat of the Spanish Armada influenced what the authors during this time period were writing about. Lastly, the Elizabethan Era gave birth to three of the most renowned and remembered authors William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and Christopher Marlowe.
Political and social reform produced a variety of reading among all classes. The lower-class became more self-conscious, the middle class more powerful and the rich became more vulnerable. The novels of Charles Dickens, the poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning, the dramatic plays of Oscar Wilde, the scientific discoveries of the Darwins, and the religious revolt of Newman all helped to enhance learning and literacy in the Victorian society. Of all of the Literary eras, the Victorian age gave a new meaning to the word controversy. Writers of that time challenged the ideas of religion, crime, sexuality, chauvinism and over all social controversies.
Mr. Novak British Literature H 22 March 2014 The English Renaissance The English Renaissance is one of the most important time periods in literature history due to its historical background, stunning authors, inspirational literature, and its use of literary devices. The English Renaissance dated from the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century. The English Renaissance was a cultural movement that affected all forms of art such as literature, painting, and music. The later sixteenth century is known as the Elizabethan era and is known as the height if the English Renaissance. During this time literature in England was gradually becoming more and more popular due to inventions such as the printing press.
In English literature, the content and the story of a piece are undoubtedly important, but correct use of literary devices is invaluable. And maybe this is what separates many other writers of the Early Modern period from the infamous Shakespeare. And maybe this is why King James I adored many of the Bard’s works. And maybe this is why Shakespeare is still a part of our English curriculum centuries after his glory days.
His huge success with dramatic monologues served as inspiration for Eliot years later. Based on his work, Eliot was clearly influenced by the dramatic monologue style used by Browning. However, despite their similarities there are stark differences between the poems by Browning and Eliot. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” shows a clear movement away from the Victorian style found in “My Last Duchess” and goes towards Modernism. Browning’s works were the primary model for the basic form of the standard Victorian dramatic monologue which was based around a speaker, listener, and a reader.