The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth

 The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth

This age embraces more time than the reign of Elizabeth (1558-1603), but as certain literary characteristics which developed during her reign continued for some years after her death in1603, we call Elizabethan all the years from the beginning of the Queen’s reign to the death of Jonson in 1637. It is not every generation that gives to the world even one great poet or great philosopher, but the age of Elizabeth produced such figures as Shakespeare, Jonson, Bacon, and others. The invention of printing, the of letters, the rise of the middle class, and the great voyages of discovery, all combined to bring about a great intellectual awakening.

Taking all things into consideration we find this one of the most glorious periods in English history. During this time Sir Walter Raleigh planted the first English colony in America; Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world, and the whole English nation rose like one man to fight the Spanish fleet called the Armada. Wealthy nobles were generous patrons of letters. Elizabeth, herself a scholar, looked upon the stage with favor, and Shakespeare began to write his great plays.

This whole period was strongly influenced by Italy. It was common for young men of fashion to travel to Italy in quest of amusement and polish. Not only were imitations of Italian verse popular now, but the works of Italian writers as well were much read. In this period some of the best Italian books were translated into English.

This age was notably an age of translation. Numerous translations were made not only from Italian but from Greek and Latin. Added to these foreign influences was the natural gladness of the English heart, full of interest in adventure and exploration, and bubbling over with the new life which everyone felt. Under these conditions, the English nation burst into song. Everybody made poetry, some bad, some good, and some so exquisitely beautiful that all the ages since have paused to listen.

Thus the age was rich in literature, so rich that it would take many years to read it all. We shall speak of only a few great writers. In poetry we have Edmund Spenser; in romance, John Lyly and Sir Philip Sidney; in prose of various kinds, Richard Hooker and Francis Bacon; and in drama, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.