The Tudor Dynasty
The Middle English period produced a multitude of great works of literature, as reflected in the reigns of the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties. Following the War of the Roses, Henry VII began his reign on the English throne. This introduced the Tudor Dynasty to power in England from 1485 to 1603. Referenced as being a “business man,” King Henry VII ran England with economics in mind and avoided costly wars, focusing primarily on trade agreements. When Henry VII died in 1509 however, he left the throne to his eighteen-year-old son, Henry VIII.
King Henry VIII is infamous for having multiple wives during his reign. In the span of his lifetime, he had six wives. His first marriage was to Catherine of Aragon, the woman who birthed his daughter Mary. A few years after their consecration, the King is said to have fallen madly in love with Anne Boleyn. The events surrounding his divorce with Catherine are complexly controversial. The King claimed that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was illegitimate from the start. He was also perplexed and disgruntled with her inability to produce a male heir. Eventually fraught with desire for Anne Boleyn, he petitioned the Pope for a divorce from Catherine.
However, the Pope refused his wish for a divorce, stating that this would be a sin against the Catholic Church of Rome. Dissatisfied with the Pope’s refusal, King Henry VIII broke his ties with Rome and declared himself to be head of the Anglican Church of England. This marks one of the most momentous moments in the development of Church History as well as the English language. The break with the Catholic Church compounded the power of the Monarchy.
Anne Boleyn and the King were married shortly after. In 1533, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth I who later became one of the greatest rulers in all of English history. Just three years later Anne Boleyn was executed, and Henry VIII married Jane Seymore. This marriage finally produced an heir to the throne, being Edward VI. Henry soon divorced Jane, however, and married Catherine Howard. When Henry VIII died in 1547, the throne was given to Edward, followed by Mary, and finally to Elizabeth I. Under King Edward, England was still firmly Protestant, but when Mary took the throne she returned the country to Roman Catholic. Her reign is marked by a great persecution of Protestant dissenters. Finally under the unifying Protestant Elizabeth I, however, Catholicism and Protestantism were both accepted in the country. Under Queen Elizabeth’s rule, England saw a period of peace and prosperity again. Elizabeth, “The Virgin Queen,” never married or bore a successor. When she died in 1603, Mary’s son James I of Scotland succeeded the throne, which marked the end of the Tudor Dynasty and began the Stuart Dynasty.
Despite the severe upheaval during the reign of the Tudors and the subsequent peace of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, there were many brilliant authors whose works of literature are still read to this day. A mosaic of new genres was first included into English Literature. For instance, the Italian poetic forms, especially the sonnet, came into authorship. The English poets attempted to manipulate language and create the same flexibility as seen in Italian. One of the most highly acclaimed English poets was Sir Thomas Wyatt during the early Tudor Period. The poem below is representative of his achievements as a poet.
"Whoso list to hunt"
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, hélas, I may no more.
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about:
Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
Another seminal sonneteer and poet was Edmund Spencer. He produced the unfinished, epic poem The Faerie Queen in 1596. The ideas in this work reflect the English sentiments of the time—romance, patriotism, religious devotion, escapade, allegory, and Neo-platonic ideas. Along with William Shakespeare, his sonnet form provided a model for other poets. His greatest contribution to literature can be seen in this Spenserian sonnet pattern (a b a b b c b c c). The "abab" pattern separates the poem into four distinct line groups. Each one develops an overlapping, specific idea. The final couplet is typically a concluding statement. For instance, note the quatrains and couplet in Sonnet 75 (lineation emphasized with the breaks between quatrains):
Sonnet 75
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue,
Out love shall live, and later life renew.
Another influential Renaissance man was Sir Philip Sydney, being a scholar, poet, literary critic, diplomat, courtier, and soldier. He died in battle at the age of 32, but not before writing some of the greatest contributions to literature and literary criticism. His best poetry is a collection of sonnets titled Astrophel and Stella in 1591. His greatest piece of literary criticism is the Defence of Poesie. Queen Elizabeth also wrote and published works of literature, introducing a new patriotism to England after the distress marked by King Henry VIII's reign of terror. These works of literature great as they are paved the way for the Renaissance and Romantic writers. One of the most influential kings of the Stuart Dynast was King James I of England, who had the Bible revised and collected to form the King James Bible in 1611.
King Henry VIII is infamous for having multiple wives during his reign. In the span of his lifetime, he had six wives. His first marriage was to Catherine of Aragon, the woman who birthed his daughter Mary. A few years after their consecration, the King is said to have fallen madly in love with Anne Boleyn. The events surrounding his divorce with Catherine are complexly controversial. The King claimed that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was illegitimate from the start. He was also perplexed and disgruntled with her inability to produce a male heir. Eventually fraught with desire for Anne Boleyn, he petitioned the Pope for a divorce from Catherine.
However, the Pope refused his wish for a divorce, stating that this would be a sin against the Catholic Church of Rome. Dissatisfied with the Pope’s refusal, King Henry VIII broke his ties with Rome and declared himself to be head of the Anglican Church of England. This marks one of the most momentous moments in the development of Church History as well as the English language. The break with the Catholic Church compounded the power of the Monarchy.
Anne Boleyn and the King were married shortly after. In 1533, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth I who later became one of the greatest rulers in all of English history. Just three years later Anne Boleyn was executed, and Henry VIII married Jane Seymore. This marriage finally produced an heir to the throne, being Edward VI. Henry soon divorced Jane, however, and married Catherine Howard. When Henry VIII died in 1547, the throne was given to Edward, followed by Mary, and finally to Elizabeth I. Under King Edward, England was still firmly Protestant, but when Mary took the throne she returned the country to Roman Catholic. Her reign is marked by a great persecution of Protestant dissenters. Finally under the unifying Protestant Elizabeth I, however, Catholicism and Protestantism were both accepted in the country. Under Queen Elizabeth’s rule, England saw a period of peace and prosperity again. Elizabeth, “The Virgin Queen,” never married or bore a successor. When she died in 1603, Mary’s son James I of Scotland succeeded the throne, which marked the end of the Tudor Dynasty and began the Stuart Dynasty.
Despite the severe upheaval during the reign of the Tudors and the subsequent peace of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, there were many brilliant authors whose works of literature are still read to this day. A mosaic of new genres was first included into English Literature. For instance, the Italian poetic forms, especially the sonnet, came into authorship. The English poets attempted to manipulate language and create the same flexibility as seen in Italian. One of the most highly acclaimed English poets was Sir Thomas Wyatt during the early Tudor Period. The poem below is representative of his achievements as a poet.
"Whoso list to hunt"
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, hélas, I may no more.
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about:
Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
Another seminal sonneteer and poet was Edmund Spencer. He produced the unfinished, epic poem The Faerie Queen in 1596. The ideas in this work reflect the English sentiments of the time—romance, patriotism, religious devotion, escapade, allegory, and Neo-platonic ideas. Along with William Shakespeare, his sonnet form provided a model for other poets. His greatest contribution to literature can be seen in this Spenserian sonnet pattern (a b a b b c b c c). The "abab" pattern separates the poem into four distinct line groups. Each one develops an overlapping, specific idea. The final couplet is typically a concluding statement. For instance, note the quatrains and couplet in Sonnet 75 (lineation emphasized with the breaks between quatrains):
Sonnet 75
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue,
Out love shall live, and later life renew.
Another influential Renaissance man was Sir Philip Sydney, being a scholar, poet, literary critic, diplomat, courtier, and soldier. He died in battle at the age of 32, but not before writing some of the greatest contributions to literature and literary criticism. His best poetry is a collection of sonnets titled Astrophel and Stella in 1591. His greatest piece of literary criticism is the Defence of Poesie. Queen Elizabeth also wrote and published works of literature, introducing a new patriotism to England after the distress marked by King Henry VIII's reign of terror. These works of literature great as they are paved the way for the Renaissance and Romantic writers. One of the most influential kings of the Stuart Dynast was King James I of England, who had the Bible revised and collected to form the King James Bible in 1611.