Characteristics of this Period. "Als1 that folk that ever was free, And in freedom wont for to be, Through their great mischance and folly, Wor treated then sa wickedly, He lives at ease that freely lives! May nought knaw well the propertie, Then all perquer 8 he suld it wit; Than all the gold in warld that is." We may note of the literature of this period that Chaucer expressed the ideas of the courtly society of the feudal régime in artistic verse form and also transmitted to his country the first influence from the Italian Renaissance. Langland expressed the deep human sympathies of the thoughtful poet for suffering and toiling humanity. Wycklif struck the first blow for religious independence and prepared the way for freedom of conscience. Malory recast the 1 Also, or but. 2 Foes. 3 Makes. * Content, happiness. 5 Is desired more than. The quality or effect. 7 That is joined to slavery or subjection. 8 Certainly, beyond doubt. ancient legends in a form which has become permanent, and showed that prose might be a vehicle of poetic narration. The group of scholarly and cultured men of whom Sir Thomas More has been taken as a type, are truly "men of letters," loving ancient literature for its beauty and assimilating its content in a humanistic spirit. Poetry, generous, democratic sympathy, religious philosophy, and literary and appreciative scholarship are all illustrated in the works of the age. The introduction of Greek at the University of Oxford in 1491 was perhaps the most important event of the period in its influence on the progress of ideas; for humanism-intelligent study of classical literature and art was one of the chief causes of the English Renaissance. QUESTIONS Compare Chaucer's "Prologue" with the opening of Longfellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn." Explain the character of Griselda ("Clerkes Tale") with reference to the peculiar conception held in Chaucer's time of the character of the ideal woman. Compare the humor of the "Nonne Preestes Tale" with that of any other metrical fable, e.g. Burns's "Twa Dogs." Write out the metrical scheme of Chaucer's ballades, and compare their structure with that of the modern French ballade. What points of likeness and of difference have More's "Utopia," Bacon's "New Atlantis," and Bellamy's "Looking Backward"? What two great works, one of translation and one of poetry, exhibit the religious movement of the fourteenth century? Who were the leaders in the revival of classical learning in England, and by what European scholar were they assisted? Compare the passing of King Arthur as treated by Sir Thomas Malory and by Tennyson. Name the principal "humanists" of England and of Italy, and discuss their relation to Renaissance art and literature. LITERARY REFERENCES 1360-1525 GENERAL REFERENCES BRINK, B. TEN. History of English Literature, v. 2, Wyclif to the Renaissance. MORLEY, H. English Writers, v. 6. SNELL, F. J. The Fourteenth Century. (Periods of European Literature.) TAINE, H. History of English Literature, bk. i, c. 3. CHAUCER, G *BRINK, B. TEN. Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst. BROWNE, M. Chaucer's England. LOUNSBURY, T. R. History of the English Language. (Indispensable.) * LOUNSBURY, T. R. Studies in Chaucer, 3 vols. LOWELL, J. R. Chaucer. In his My Study Windows. MORRIS, R. (Ed.) The Prologue, Knightes Tale, Nonne Preestes Tale. Clarendon Press Series. (Serves excellently for an introductory text-book.) *SKEAT, W. W. (Ed.) Complete Works of G. Chaucer, 6 vols. Clarendon Press Series. (The standard and best edition.) SKEAT, W. W. (Ed.) Student's Chaucer. Complete in one volume and contains all that is necessary for class use. WARD, A. W. Life of Chaucer. English Men of Letters Series. CHAPTER IV THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD (1525 to 1634) FROUDE, J. A. GREEN, J. R. CREIGHTON, M. Historical References History of England. (To be used with caution.) Short History of the English People. Age of Elizabeth. 1879. CREIGHTON, M. Tudors and the Reformation, 1485-1603. RYE, W. B. England as seen by Foreigners in the Days of Elizabeth 1865. and James I. CHURCH, R. W. FROUDE, J. A. FROUDE, J. A. Life of Bacon and Life of Spenser. (E. M. L.) Divorce of Catharine of Aragon. PROTHERO, G. W. (Ed.) Select Statutes and Other Constitutional Documents illustrative of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I. 2d ed. HINDS, A. B. BEESLEY, E. S. Historical The Making of the England of Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth. 1892. HENRY VIII. died in 1547. The short reigns of his son Edward VI. and his daughter Mary were followed by the long reign of his daughter Elizabeth (1558Sketch. 1603). The Scotch Stuart, James I., occupied the throne from 1603 to 1625, and his son Charles I. succeeded him. From the literary point of view the culmination of the period lies between the years 1590 and 1610, as Shakespeare's greatest works were produced then. But the preceding years were preparatory, the forces were gathering, and their influence was continued after the death of the preeminent genius who gave them the full est expression. Milton's "Comus" was presented in 1634, and may be regarded as the last great literary production of the age. The later years of the reign of Charles I. may fairly be put in the Puritan age because the Puritan spirit became dominant before the execution of the king and the establishment of the Commonwealth. During this period England became Protestant, and, although historically the working of the Reformation in England seems to have been entirely political and little more than the transference of the authority over the Church machinery from the Pope to the king, it resulted not only in the establishment of ecclesiastical independence, but, by arousing the sense of the individual relation to the Supreme Ruler, it had great power in broadening the scope of intellectual activity and exciting emotional faculties that lie dormant when an official priesthood assumes control of individual conscience. The "New Learning " flourished in the universities, and the establishment of grammar schools increased the opportunities for middleclass education. The multiplication of printed Bibles, and especially the publication of the Authorized Version, made men familiar with the simple yet sublime narrative of the gospels. The destruction of the great Spanish fleet which had so long been preparing to invade England roused patriotism to passionate fervor. Early in this period the monasteries were broken up, and the wealth of the crown and of the great nobles was largely increased by confiscations which in some cases were little better than robbery. The political power of the king, however, was broadened at the expense of that of the nobles. Although there was at times great suffering among the agricultural laborers, far less indeed than they had endured in the latter part of the fourteenth |