THE RENAISSANCE SARA RICCIARDI

it can be divided in three different periods

1485-1558 : the beginning of the Renaissance

1558-1603 : the flowering of the Renaissance also known as the ELIZABETHAN ERA

1603-1625 : the decline of the Renaissance also called JACOBEAN AGE

this time is also called AGE OF SHAKESPEARE; it is the golden age of literature because it is a time of ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, PEACE AND STABILTY

we have changes in:

PHILOSOPHY

SCIENCE

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

RELIGION

the most important thing of this time is the

INDIVIDUALISM

it is based on axiomatic truths.

we have new methods of research and a new view of the universe

the artists get inspiration from the classical style and from Greek and Latin culture

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

so now the human body is at the centre of the universe

two important events that happend in this period and really changed it, are :

TUDOR DYNASTY

THE PRINTING PRESS

introduced by William Caxton

1) Henry Tudor also called Henry VII. 2) Henry VIII : division of the Church of England from the Church of Rome 3) Elizabeth I

man is at the centre of everything

POWER AND SOCIETY

UNIVERSE

NATURE AND SUPERNATURAL

OTHERNESS

THE OTHER

one of the greatest humanists is

THOMAS MORE

this man is known for his book UTOPIA that talks about a perfect Island where happiness reigns

the world is ruled by a sense of order, everything is in HARMONY

MACROCOSM

MICROCOSM

earthly world with the king

supernatural world with God

RENAISSANCE DRAMA

the classical theatre was a difficult theatre to understand

it was a theatre for the middle class

the important thing now is that this type of theatre is for EVERYONE

features of the drama theatre : we have the masque that is a representation with the help of music, danse and song. Then we have the interlude that is a drammatic enternaiment

TRAGEDY

IS AN IMITATION OF A SERIOUS ACTION

we don't have the narration, because we only have characters that speak and consequently we have the catharsis that is the purification from all the emotions

the tragedy follows a structure of five acts :

introduction

development

crisis

decline

final outcome with catastrophe

the tragic HERO is

a person from a privileged social position

a pesrson of high moral qualites

the hero accepts his inevitable consequences with courage

the theatre takes inspiration from the medieval and classical genres

it takes from the medieval the moralities and the interludes

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

the most used model in the theatre is SENECA

Seneca's features are : Revenge theme, bloody scenes, use of ghosts and division of the play into five acts

now, the english authors don't follow anymore the classic tradition because

they don't follow anymore the Aristotle's Poetics. They mix tragic and comic elements.

in this time, the themes of the tragedies revolve around the basic dualism order/disorder

ELIZABETHAN TRAGEDIES ARE OFTEN POLITICAL MESSAGES FOR THE AUDIENCE

after this period we have uncertaintly.The order of the universe is broken and consequently in the scene we have disillusionment and cynicisms

in 1660 everything was restored and the atmosphere of the scene was better especially for the fact that even women were introduced in the theatre

Renaissance actually means REBIRTH

now it is very important the individual personality

important innovation for the society