Shakespearean Drama & The Rise of Humanism

Shakespearean Drama

1. Elizabethan drama came from three sources:

• medieval plays, 16th century interludes, and Greek and Latin classics

2. Plays focused mainly on human complexities rather
than religious themes
3. The Globe: most successful English theater
4. Shakespeare contributed 37 plays to the theater
including tragedies, comedies, and
histories

• ex: Macbeth [tragedy]
  
• Othello [tragedy]
  
• A Midsummer Night's Dream [comedy]

5. Christopher Marlowe: wrote tragedies

• 1st playwright to explore potential of English language as dramatic medium

6. Ben Jonson: wrote comedies

• writing included satire and cynical commentary

7. After 1649: Puritans closed theater




The Rise of Humanism

1. Humanists studied humanities

• art, history, philosophy, & literature

2. Humanists criticized society
3. Sir Thomas Moore: believed humans could run the world best
4. 1516: Sir Thomas Moore published Utopia

• perfect society on imaginary island

5. Humanists were concerned with classical learning
6. Reverence for classics combined with a pride in English language led to distinguished
translations

• ex: Earl of Surrey's "Aeneid" translation
• George Chapman's "Iliad & Odyssey" translation
  

7. Humanists disagreed on religious issues.