English-Renaissance-and-the-sonnets.pptx

English Renaıssance Sonnet

1. The English Renaissance and the sonnet . Compact Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2015

2. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature The English Renaissance (1509 – 1660) . It developed later than in Europe and was influenced by the Protestant religion . It tried to set free from the Italian influence ( because of the contrasts with Rome and the Pope), and was less linked to the visual arts . The intellectuals studied classical literatures ( following the e xample of Erasmus of Rotterdam), and believed in the power of human reason to interpret man and nature. Humanism in England was called “New Learning ”.

3. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature 2. The Sonnet Derived from Dante and Petrarch Main themes : love, friendship , beauty, time , the power of poetry to immortalize the beloved , to freeze a moment. The sonnet was introduced in England by a group of court poets during the reign of Henry VIII, who translated or adapted from Petrarch . Two types of sonnet Petrarchan Elizabethan

4. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature Amor, che nel penser mio vive e regna a e ’l suo seggio maggior nel mio cor tene , b talor armato ne la fronte vene; b ivi si loca et ivi pon sua insegna. a Quella ch’amare e sofferir ne ’ nsegna , a e vol che’ l gran desio, l’accesa spene , b ragion, vergogna, e reverenza affrene , b di nostro ardir fra se stessa si sdegna. a Onde Amor paventoso fugge al core , c lasciando ogni sua impresa, e piange e trema;d ivi s’asconde e non appar piu fore . c Che poss ’io far, temendo il mio signore, c se non star seco infin a l’ora estrema? d che bel fin fa chi ben amando more. c Here is an example of an adaptation from Petrarch , by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey . Love, that doth reign and live within my thought a And built his seat within my captive breast, b Clad in the arms wherein with me he fought, a Oft in my face he doth his banner rest. b But she that taught me love and suffer pain, c My doubtful hope and eke my hot desire d With shamefast look to shadow and refrain, c Her smiling grace converteth straight to ire. d And coward Love, then, to the heart apace e Taketh his flight, where he doth lurk and plain, f His purpose lost, and dare not show his face. e For my lord's guilt thus faultless bide I pain f Yet from my lord shall not my foot remove: g Sweet is the death that taketh end by love. g

5. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature 3. Table of comparison Petrarchan sonnet Elizabethan sonnet 14 lines of iambic pentameter 14 lines of iambic pentameter Division into 2 sections : the two quatrains present a problem or situation and the two tercets solve or clarifies the situation Division into 4 sections :  3 quatrains that present a problem or situation and a couplet that solves or summarises the problem Turning point usually at the end of the eighth line , often introduced by and, if , so, but , then , when . Turning point often at the end of the ninth or of the twelfth line , introduced by and, if , so, but , then , when , yet . Rhyme scheme of  ABABABAB or ABBAABBA for the quatrains ; CDECDE or CDCDEE for the tercets Rhyme scheme of  ABAB quatrain I CDCD quatrain II EFEF quatrain III GG couplet

6. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature The idealised woman in poetry The idealisation of the woman has been present in western literature since the ancient Greeks and Latins . During the middle Ages , especially in Provencal poetry , love for an ideal woman was linked to the ideals of loyalty , sacrifice and reward . In the Renaissance , the Italian Dolce Stil Novo portayed the woman as an angel who led man closer to God . Shakespeare moved away from this tradition and separated the two aspects of love (spiritual love vs passionate , irrational love), that had previously been fused by Petrarch .

7. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature Shakespeare’s sonnets : he wrote 154 sonnets , that can be divided into two sections : 126 sonnets are dedicated to a “ fair youth ”, probably his patron , the earl of Southampton. They encourage the young man to get married and have children , because this is a way to preserve his virtues and beauty. He also believes that the man’s beauty can be preserved in his poetry . So poetry is a way to defeat the effects of time . The remaining 28 sonnets are dedicated to the dark lady and express passionate love. They reject the conventions of courtly love: the woman is not idealised but is a real , flesh-and-blood woman . The dark lady is fascinating because she ’s unique and natural (“beauty is in the eye of the beholder ”). His experience as a dramatist made him more aware of the complexity and range of human feelings , so his sonnets are original and break with the Petrarchan tradition .

8. Compact Performer - Culture & Literature My mistress ’ eyes ( sonnet 130 ), dedicated to “the dark lady” Layout: Elizabethan sonnet (3 quatrains + 1 couplet) In the first 12 lines Shakespeare describes the beloved woman through comparisons , but they are all negative. This creates some mystery about her . He moves away from the idealising tendency of love poetry : the lady described in his sonnet doesn ’t correspond to the ideal standards of beauty but she ’s real . In the final couplet there is a turning point : he says that he loves his woman because she ’s unique and she prefers her to any other woman described with false comparisons .