The word “Renaissance” means rebirth in French, which, in turn, is derived from the Latin “renascentia”. The Renaissance is a period in European history that started in the 14th century and lasted till the 17th century. The movement originated in the highly urbanized Italian city states (where it was known as “la Rinascita”) and then spread to other parts of continental Europe and the English isles. The Renaissance witnessed a resurgence of learning based on European pre-Christian classical sources (particularly those of ancient Greece and Rome) and the flowering of both Latin and vernacular literatures. Great strides were also made in the spheres of mathematics, different sciences, art, and philosophy during this period.
The most popular genres in the English drama of the 1580s were histories and tragedies, oftentimes, both together. The revenge-tragedy tradition gained currency after the wild success of Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (also known as Hieronimo is Mad Again). Revenge-tragedies illustrated the railing of the individual against an often corrupt system.
As stated previously, many times, history was married with tragedy, with much dramatic success. All kinds of history was dramatized – English, Roman, Spanish, and even exotic (from the playwright’s and then audience’s point of view), faraway lands such as Asia. A case in point was Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great, a play loosely based on the life and times of the Turkic ruler, Timur the Lame.
The 16th century saw comedies, especially romantic comedies, take centre stage. Key examples of this genre are some of Shakespeare’s finest handiwork – Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, etc. This was followed by a period when wit, satire, and irony gained the upper hand in English drama, particularly urban-themed comedies that focused on cities’ ugly underbellies. The comedies by Benjamin “Ben” Jonson are prime examples of this genre – comical and savage, all at once.
Some of the themes that dominated English Renaissance drama were ambition, class mobility, avarice and excessive consumption, love and religion, and sex and gender. These themes were often genre agnostic. Most English Renaissance drama depicted more than one of these themes, often in the same play. Noteworthy is the fact that the same theme could be played out to tragic or comic ends. Thus, while greed in Ben Jonson’s Volpone results in a comic and enjoyable dénouement, Edmund’s greed in Shakespeare’s King Lear leads to only death and destruction.
Class mobility was frowned upon, as demonstrated by plays such as the macabre, gruesome play by John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi. English Renaissance playwrights were majorly preoccupied with chastity, especially women’s. They had similar obsessions with women-oriented themes such as obedience and submission to their respective families’ menfolk. These themes are brought out in vivid detail in both Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew as well as in Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.
Finally, the divinely-determined roles of individuals within relationships and in their social station was another preoccupation of the playwrights. What might seem a virtue in one character becomes a liability in another. Marlowe portrays Edward II as faithful and loving in his personal relationships, but these very traits become his undoing in his role as a king. Shakespeare, on the other hand, illustrates how faithfulness and self-sacrifice are not prerequisites to be a great leader.
The most popular genres in the English drama of the 1580s were histories and tragedies, oftentimes, both together. The revenge-tragedy tradition gained currency after the wild success of Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (also known as Hieronimo is Mad Again). Revenge-tragedies illustrated the railing of the individual against an often corrupt system.
As stated previously, many times, history was married with tragedy, with much dramatic success. All kinds of history was dramatized – English, Roman, Spanish, and even exotic (from the playwright’s and then audience’s point of view), faraway lands such as Asia. A case in point was Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great, a play loosely based on the life and times of the Turkic ruler, Timur the Lame.
The 16th century saw comedies, especially romantic comedies, take centre stage. Key examples of this genre are some of Shakespeare’s finest handiwork – Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, etc. This was followed by a period when wit, satire, and irony gained the upper hand in English drama, particularly urban-themed comedies that focused on cities’ ugly underbellies. The comedies by Benjamin “Ben” Jonson are prime examples of this genre – comical and savage, all at once.
Some of the themes that dominated English Renaissance drama were ambition, class mobility, avarice and excessive consumption, love and religion, and sex and gender. These themes were often genre agnostic. Most English Renaissance drama depicted more than one of these themes, often in the same play. Noteworthy is the fact that the same theme could be played out to tragic or comic ends. Thus, while greed in Ben Jonson’s Volpone results in a comic and enjoyable dénouement, Edmund’s greed in Shakespeare’s King Lear leads to only death and destruction.
Class mobility was frowned upon, as demonstrated by plays such as the macabre, gruesome play by John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi. English Renaissance playwrights were majorly preoccupied with chastity, especially women’s. They had similar obsessions with women-oriented themes such as obedience and submission to their respective families’ menfolk. These themes are brought out in vivid detail in both Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew as well as in Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.
Finally, the divinely-determined roles of individuals within relationships and in their social station was another preoccupation of the playwrights. What might seem a virtue in one character becomes a liability in another. Marlowe portrays Edward II as faithful and loving in his personal relationships, but these very traits become his undoing in his role as a king. Shakespeare, on the other hand, illustrates how faithfulness and self-sacrifice are not prerequisites to be a great leader.
1 comment:
It's precisely described.
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