𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑰𝑺𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑶𝑵𝑰

c3

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑺 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑶𝑪𝑰𝑬𝑻𝒀

SCIENCE

we can divide this span of time in three periods :

1485-1558 : the Beginning of the Renaissance 1558-1603 : the Flowering of the Renaissance (also called Elizabethan Era) 1603-1625 : the Decline of the Renaissance (also known as Jacobean Age)

two of the events that changed this period are:

TUDOR DYNASTY

Henry Tudor also known as Henry VII: he started the dynasty and he defeated king Richard III

his son, Henry VIII, became indipendent from the influencies of the Pope by dividing the Church of England from the one of Rome

Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII, started the Flowering of Renaissance and re-stablished the anglican religion. In her period the english naval power became stronger

THE PRINTING PRESS

it was introduced by WILLIAM CAXTON

before this the books were written out in longhand

more people could learn to read and write

new discoveries; we have new methods of research; everything needs to be experimented

study of human values and potential; it is based on axiomatic truths

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

RELIGION

PHILOSOPHY

artists inspired by the classical style in fact they follow the Greek and Latin culture

passage from the Roman Church to the Reformation of Luther and Calvin

we have the human body as the representation of the universe

LEONARDO DA VINCI : VITRUVIAN MAN

so one of the most important thing in this time is the difference between :

MICROCOSM

MACROCOSM

earthly world with the King

supernatural world with God

REBIRTH OF LEARNING

PERIOD OF : -PEACE -ECONOMIC POSPERTY -STABILITY

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE OF THE TIME

THOMAS MORE

he wrote, UTOPIA, a book that talks about an Island where everything is perfect and where happiness reigns

it is considereted a microcosm living in harmony with the macrocosm all around

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑰𝑺𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑴𝑨

the drama in this period takes inspiration from medieval and classical genres.

MEDIEVAL

it takes from it the moralities and the interludes

this type of theatre was for the middle and poor classes

CLASSICAL

while it takes from the classical the elegance : the authors follow the Greek and Latin culture

this theatre was more difficult to understand, in fact, it wasn't for everyone

now the important change is that the theatre is for everyone and for all the social classes, because it is a mix of popular entertaiment and refined culture

here, we have the tragedy, namely an imitation of a seroius action. This performance is without narration, because we only have people that talk and make dialogue.

𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑫𝑼𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑴

in this period is very important the individual personality

the masque : representation characterised by music, dance and song. This was very popular in the Elizabethan court.

the interlude : a dramatic entertainment used to relieve the tension between dramatic acts

this type of acting actually includes the catharsis : the purification from all the emotions

the tragedy theatre follows a pattern of five acts :

introduction

development

crisis

decline

final outcome with catastrophe

the hero has different features from the medieval's one, now :

he is a person from a privileged social position

he is a person from high moral qualites

he accepts the inevitable consequences of his action with courage

in the Elizabethan court the model used in the theatre was Seneca whose features were : -revenge theme- bloody scenes- use of ghosts- long speeches

the English authors don't follow anymore the ‘𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔’ of Aristotle

now they mix tragic and comic elements, they use conventional costumes and they have conventional acting

the themes of the tragedies actually are political messages for the audience

after the Elizabethan tragedies we have the Jacobean's one that broked the order of the universe. In fact in the scene we find cynism and disillusionment

1642-1660 these types of theatres were closed

AGE OF SHAKESPEARE AND GOLDEN AGE OF LITERATURE

when everything was restored, new innovations were added in the theatre

characteristics of the drama

MAN AT THE CENTRE OF EVERYTHING

THE OTHER

OTHERNESS

NATURE AND SUPERNATURAL

UNIVERSE

POWER AND SOCIETY