ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE

Main Focus:
•Imagery and Themes

•Structure
Structure of the
Presentation
1. Imagery and Themes of literature
common to the time of the Elizabethan
period.

2. Structure of Literature such as

 The Elizabethan 5 act Structure
 Sonnets
 Prose
Introduction
The Elizabethan period saw a great flourishing
of literature, especially in the field of drama.
Plays became more socially acceptable and
respectable as Queen Elizabeth herself enjoyed
them and was against the shutting down of
theatres. It was often called the "young" age. It
was full of boundless vigor, re-awakened
intellectual earnestness, and unfettered, soaring
imagination. The best fruits of the age are
enshrined in poetry in which all these elements
can be befittingly contained.
Complexity and depth of Elizabethan
plays
 Playwrights had to work with a unique audience with
which to contend- they wrote for people with a
continuous spectrum of backgrounds- 2 groups
separated by a huge gulf, the lower class commons
and the aristocracy.

 The plots were able to be appreciated by relatively

unschooled ‘groundlings’ but are also filled with
allusions and literary references to delight the well
educated aristocracy of the Elizabethan court.

 The complexity of the audience is reflected in the

depth and complexity of the Elizabethan plays.
Characteristics of Elizabethan Literature

 Elizabethan works uphold a great variety

in almost unlimited creative focus; They
include works of many kinds in both
verse and prose, and ranges in spirit-
from the loftiest platonic idealism or the
most delightful romance to the level of
very repulsive realism.
 Elizabethan drama broke away from the
religious domination, which was the
major focus of the medieval mystery and
morality plays.
 Elizabethan literature Is mainly
dominated by the Spirit of Romance.
 Spirit of Dramatic Action- as befitted
an age whose restless enterprise was
eagerly extending itself to every quarter
of the globe.
 It was the Period of Experimentation,
when the proper material limits if literary
forms were being determined, often by
means of false starts and grandiose
failures.
 Influenced greatly by Italian Literature
 Latin was the medium of expression all
throughout the fifteenth century, and all
the important prose was written in Latin.
However, came about the English
language particularly in the later half of
the 16th century, English prose was
indulged upon.
 The age," says G. H. Mair, "was intoxicated
with language. It went mad of a mere delight
in words. Its writers were using a new tongue,
for English was enriched beyond all
recognition with borrowings from the ancient
authors, and like all artists who become
possessed of a new medium, they used it to
excess. The early Elizabethans' use of the new
prose was very like the use some educated
Indians make of English. It was rich, gaudy
and overflowing, though, in the main, correct."
 I am not able to scrutinize all of the
literature in the Elizabethan period and give
analysis their use of imagery, but from the
extract before, I am able to conclude that
imagery must have been rich and romantic
along with the use of language. Late 16th
century poetry was characterized by
elaboration of language of extensive
allusion to classical myths. Shakespeare
especially used countless language
techniques ( such as metaphor, simile,
personification) to re-inforce strong visual
images of Romance and drama the main
themes in his plays.
The Significance of the
Queen
 Works of Literature from the Elizabethan
era often included references to the
Queen, for example Playwrights like
Christopher Marlowe and Edmund
Spencer. She was THE symbol of those
days. Elizabeth’s specific actions, her
image and the court atmosphere she
nurtured significantly influenced- even
inspired great works of literature.
Examples of rich imagery in
texts
 Light imagery in Romeo and Juliet :
"Juliet is the sun [and he calls her to]
Arise . . . and kill the envious moon." The
clever use of metaphor here is just a
teaspoon if the imagery Shakespeare
has used in Romeo and Juliet to illustrate
the ying-yang / light-dark attraction
between Romeo and Juliet. The 2 lovers
are born to families that are enemies to
each other, Romeo thus think of Juliet as
the ‘sun’ and ‘light’ while he is the
 Shakespeare, through imagery, also illustrated
darkness as a safe haven for the lovers. "More
light and light it grows, more dark and dark
our woes!" (3.5.35-36) He is saying here, that
In the light of day the conflicting families could
discover the secrets of the lovers much more
easily than they could at night. So the lovers,
these brilliant sparks of light, find life for their
love in the darkness and semi-darkness which
is all the better for their illumination.
Sonnets
 Shakespeare popularized the English Sonnet,
which was introduced into English by Thomas
Wyatt in the early 16th Century
 Structure
* 14 lines
* Iambic Pentameter
* static rhyme scheme

 Three quatrains and a couplet.

 He wrote his plays largely in blank verse that is, in
lines of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is
when there is 10 beats in each line. In such a
pattern, each line is divided into five units called
feet, with the accent falling on every second
syllable. Of all English patterns, blank verse
particularly when occasionally varied comes closest
to the rhythms of everyday speech. In his earliest
plays, much of Shakespeare's blank verse was stiff
and fake. But it soon developed into a completely
flexible dramatic instrument. Through his verse,
Shakespeare could create a feeling of speed and
excitement or a sense of calm dignity.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as man can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
 The scenes of the plays are carefully woven
together in order to create tension and humor,
also to foreshadow what is going to happen.
Fragments of important information is woven in
throughout the play so that when the complex
plot unfolds the plot is able to be understood it
by piecing together all the information given in
previous scenes. The structure in which many
subplots run through the play can be described
as 'River Action'; actions not closely linked are
moving in parallel to be intertwined at the end of
the play for a tense or humorous effect.
Structure of Plays
 Shakespeare used the Elizabethan five-act
structure, which evolved from the Greek form
and remains an often used starting point for
contemporary films and plays.

 Act I: Inciting Action

 Act II: Turning Point(s)
 Act III: Climax
 Act IV: Falling Action
 Act V: Resolution
 Act I: Inciting Action
 This is where the plot begins. The rest of
the story unfolds from this incident. The
first act also contains exposition that
explains the setting, characters and
background of the drama.
 Act II: Turning Point(s)
 A Shakespearean play may have several
turning points. Act II generally has at
least one turning point for the
protagonist.
 Act III: Climax
 The climax is encountered within this act and a
action must be taken relating to the climax.

 Act IV: Falling Action

 The falling action in a Shakespearean drama
contains further turning points. As the consequences
of the action in Act III begins to unfold, tension builds,
and often further character development occurs. In a
tragedy the reader or viewer is led to believe that
there is still hope for the protagonist. In a comedy,
things go from bad to worse for the hero or heroine.
 Act V: Resolution
 In the final act, the conflict is resolved, either
through ruination or triumph. The resolution in
a tragedy is the catastrophe resulting from the
climactic actions, usually focusing on the
downfall of the protagonist. In a comedy, the
resolution usually involves the marriage of all
principal characters in a happy ending.

 Within acts there are multiple scenes which all

have a different idea or sub plot