logue" the whole number was never completed are admirably adapted to the character of the narrators. They include the whole circle of medieval literature, the romance of chivalry, the legends of saints, the apologue and allegorical story, the theological treatise, and the coarse tale of immorality and cunning. The tales are told with ease, rapidity, and grace. They abound in humor and pathos; and among all the works composed on the same general plan, the "Canterbury Tales " is greatest. FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY. (See introductory note under this heading at the close of the preceding period.) 66 66 The battle of Hastings, "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" under the year 1066 (included in Bede's Ecclesiastical History"), and Green, "History of the English People." vol. 1, ch. 4; Relation of Norman and Saxon, Hallam, "Middle Ages," ch. 7, Scott, "Ivanhoe," particularly ch. 1; Formation of the new language, Lounsbury, History of the English Language" or Emerson, 'History of the English Language"; A review of the Fifth Passus of "Piers the Plowman "; A story from Gower's "Confessio Amantis"; Chaucer's love of nature as exhibited in his poems; The England of Chaucer's day, Ward, "Chaucer," ch. 1 (English Men of Letters Series), Jenks, "In the Days of Chaucer"; Social conditions in England as represented in the Prologue; Instances of the poet's keen observation; A collection of the finest poetic passages in the Prologue; An outline of the "Knight's Tale"; A character study of Palamon and Arcite; A description of the tournament in the "Knight's Tale"; The character of Griselda in the Clerk's Tale"; A synopsis of the "Nun's Priest's Tale"; the characteristics of Chaucer as a poet, Ward, Chaucer," ch. 3, Lowell, “My Study Windows," Lounsbury, Chaucer," Green, History of the English People," vol. I, p. 503. 66 Chaucer's "Prologue" to the "Canterbury Tales" will be found in the selections of Part II. FIRST CREATIVE PERIOD. PRINCIPAL WRITERS. PRE-ELIZABETHAN. - William Caxton (1422-1491). First English printer, edited and printed ninety-nine works. Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Lord Chancellor, author of “Utopia” (1516) and “History of King Edward V.” (1513). (See Text.) Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516-1547). Poet who introduced blank verse and the sonnet into English poetry. (See Text.) Sir Thomas Wyat (1503-1542). Poet, satirist, sonneteer, strictly following Italian models. (See Text.) ELIZABETHAN PROSE. Roger Ascham (1515-1568). Tutor to Queen Elizabeth, author of “Toxophilus" (1545) and the Scholemaster" (1570). John Lyly (1553-1606). Author of "Euphues" (1580), and dramatist. Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586). Author of "Arcadia" (1590) and "The Defense of Poesie" (1595). (See Text.) Richard Hooker (1553-1600). Clergyman, and author of "Ecclesiastical Polity" (1592). Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). Soldier, sailor, courtier, statesman, historian, poet. Author of "Discovery of Guiana" (1596) and History of the World' (1614). (See Text.) POETRY.-Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset (1536-1608). Author of Mirror for Magistrates" (1563) and of first English tragedy, "Gorboduc," acted before Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall in 1561. Samuel Daniel (1562-1619). Author of "Civil Wars" (15951604), a poetical history of the Wars of the Roses. Michael Drayton (1563-1631). Author of "Polyolbion" (16131622), a poem in thirty books descriptive of the topography of England. DRAMA. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). Author of “Tamburlaine the Great," "The Rich Jew of Malta," and Doctor John 66 Faustus"; a dramatist of great power, who has been called "a second Shakespeare." Robert Greene (1560-1592). Author of “ Alphonsus, King of Aragon," and other plays. In a pamphlet entitled "A Groat's Worth of Wit," he rails at Shakespeare as an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." 66 Ben Jonson (1573-1637). Friend of Shakespeare, and author of many dramas, among which are "Every Man in his Humor,” “Cynthia's Revels," "Sejanus," and "The Alchemist." (See Text.) Philip Massinger (1584-1640). Author of thirty-eight dramas, among which are "The City Madam," "The Fatal Dowry," and "A New Way to Pay Old Debts." The last still keeps its place upon the stage. John Webster (date of birth and death unknown) was strong in handling terrible subjects. Among his plays are "The Duchess of Malfi" and "The White Devil," which Hazlitt says come near to Shakespeare. Thomas Dekker (1570–1637). Author of twenty-eight plays. His Satiromastix" satirizes Ben Jonson. In another of his plays occur the oft-quoted lines, "The best of men That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer; The first true gentleman that ever breathed." Francis Beaumont (1586–1615) and John Fletcher (1579–1625) were joint authors of fifty-two plays, among the best of which are "The Maid's Tragedy," "Cupid's Revenge," and Philaster." GREAT REPRESENTATIVE AUTHORS. EDMUND SPENSER. FRANCIS BACON WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. III. FIRST CREATIVE PERIOD. (1558-1625.) 49. Preceding Barrenness. The century and a half lying between the death of Chaucer and the accession of Elizabeth was an era of preparation. The potential forces that had called the father of English poetry into being seemed to subside, and not a single writer in either prose or poetry attained to the first or even to the second rank. The cause of this literary barrenness is to be found partly in the repression of free inquiry by the church and parliament, partly in the social disorders connected with the Wars of the Roses, and partly in the varied and important interests that engaged general attention. 50. Intellectual Awakening. The century preceding the accession of Elizabeth was an era of awakened mind and intellectual acquisition. The revival of learning was an event of vast importance, not only in the intellectual life of England, but also of all Europe. It had its central point in the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, which caused many Greek scholars to seek refuge in Italy. As ancient learning had already begun to receive attention there, these scholarly fugitives were warmly welcomed. Noble and wealthy patronage was not wanting; and soon the classic literature of Greece and Rome was studied with almost incredible enthusiasm. The popes received the new learning under their protection; libraries were founded, manuscripts collected, and academies established. Eager scholars from England, France, and Germany sat at the feet of Italian masters, in order afterward to bear beyond the Alps the precious seed of the new culture. Its beneficent effects soon became apparent. Greek was introduced into the great universities of England. Erasmus, the most brilliant scholar of his time, taught at Oxford. It became the fashion to study the ancient classics, and Elizabeth, Jane Grey, and other noble ladies are said to have been conversant with Plato, Xenophon, and Cicero in the original. The taste, the eloquence, the refined literary culture, of Athens and pagan Rome were restored to the world; and gradually, by an insensible change, men were raised to the level of the great and healthy minds which had freely handled ideas of all kinds fifteen centuries before." 51. Inventions and Discoveries. The remarkable inventions and discoveries of the fifteenth century contributed, in a noteworthy degree, to awaken intellect, and lift men to a higher plane of knowledge. The printing-press was invented about the middle of the century, and in less than a decade it was brought to such perfection that the whole Bible appeared in type in 1456. It became a powerful aid in the revival of learning. It at once supplanted the tedious and costly process of copying books by hand, and brought the repositories of learning within reach of the common people. Gunpowder, which had been invented the previous century, came into common use, and wrought a salutary change in the organization of society. It destroyed the military prestige of the knightly order, brought the lower classes into greater prominence, and contributed to the abolition of serfdom. The mariner's compass greatly furthered navigation. Instead of creeping along the shores of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, seamen boldly ventured upon unknown waters. In 1492 Columbus discovered America; and six years later Vasca da Gama, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, sailed across the Indian Ocean to Calcutta. Voyages of discovery followed in rapid succession, new continents were added to the map, and the general store of knowledge was greatly increased. 52. The Reformation.— When the reformatory movement, which began with Martin Luther in Germany in 1517, extended to England, it found a receptive soil. Traditions of Wycliffe still survived; the new learning was friendly to re |