RENAISSANCE
radical change involving all cultural field
philosophy (from scholasticism to a new scientific philosophy)
science (the new discoveries led to a new interpretation of the world)
art and architecture (the humanists get inspiration by the classical style)
religion (gradual passage from the influence of Roman church yo the reformation influence)
England lives a "golden age" that led to a lot of discoveries
one of the most important was the copernican cosmology
under his influence there is a new vision of the world
the real world is a mirror of the supernatural
microcosm
macrocosm
the man is now at the centre of the world
HUMANISM
Thomas More (1480-1535)
wrote "Utopia" that means nowhere in Greek
talked about an island that couldn't exist and where everything is perfect, like a dream
new spirit of adventure and new geographical discoveries
two main events
the printing press
introduced in England by William Caxton
the raise of Tudor Dynasty
in 1485 Henry Tudor defeated king Richard VI and was declared new king
he established the Tudor Dynasty that made England became a European political power and a centre of literacy culture
THEATRE
drama
was inspired by medieval genres and classic models
interlude
interval between the acts of a tragedy
masque
type of entertainment common at the Elizabethan court
tragedy
take inspiration by Aristotels poetic
achieve chatarsis
structure
introduction
developement
crisis
decline
final catastrophe of the hero
person from a privileged social position
High moral quality but commits a final mistake
accepts the consequences of his actions and his final destination
two different periods
Jacobean era
the scene is dominated by
disillusionement
cynism
cruelty against all rule of classical decorum
Elizabethan times
the main theme is the dualism order-disorder
Seneca is the most used model
there are some commons features like bloody scenes, long speeches and the revenge theme