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.) 66 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). 1622), a poem in thirty books England. DRAMA. Author of "Polyolbion" (1613descriptive of the topography of Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). Author of “Tam burlaine the Great," "The Rich Jew of Malta," and "Doctor John 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 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.) 66 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. 66 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; 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." 66 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 35 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 form; and men of high civil and ecclesiastical rank had in. veighed against existing abuses. Though Henry VIII. at first remained faithful to the Roman Catholic church, and even wrote a book against the German reformer, he afterward, for personal and selfish reasons, withdrew his support, and encouraged the reformatory work of his ministers and of parliament. In 1534 the Act of Supremacy was passed, by which the king was made the supreme head of the Church of England, and empowered to repress and amend all such errors and heresies as, by any manner of spiritual jurisdiction, might and ought to be lawfully reformed.” 66 53. Relation to Literature. Without attempting to trace the general effects of the Reformation in England - a factor that enters with a molding influence into all the subsequent history of the country- some of its immediate results upon English literature are briefly indicated. In 1526 Tyndale published his translation of the New Testament, which was followed soon afterward by other portions of the Bible. Nearly every year, for half a century, saw a new edition issue from the press. Tyndale's translation was made with great ability, and served as the basis of subsequent versions until, in 1611, King James's version, embodying all the excellences of previous efforts, gained general acceptance. Latimer, whose vigorous sermons advanced the cause of the Reformation in different parts of England, is a type of the unbroken line of able preachers whose influence since upon the social, moral, and intellectual life of the English people cannot be estimated. Religious services were conducted in English; and in 1549 the "Book of Common Prayer," which has been absorbed into the life of succeeding generations, was published, and its use, to the exclusion of all other forms, prescribed by law. 54. Old English Ballads. There are a few productions and a few writers prior to the accession of Elizabeth that well deserve mention. It was during the period between Chaucer and the "Virgin Queen that the most famous of the old English ballads were written. In their simplicity, directness, and often crudeness of style, they possess a charm that a more |