Artists of the Renaissance

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(1)European History Mr. Donnelly Chad Raines, Graeme Earle, Chandler Zande, Sayre Weir. Featured in this Edition… •Christopher Marlowe. •Ben Jonson. •John Milton. •Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Artists of the Renaissance This Week’s Edition: Literature of the Renaissance. Ben Jonson By Graeme Earle Born on June 11, 1572 in Westminster, London, Ben Jonson lived to be one of the greatest playwrights of his era. He is known primarily for his comedies, which make up the greater portion of his work, the majority of which concern greed and materialism; though as a contemporary of Shakespeare, he is greatly eclipsed by the legendary writer. His writing style is highly satirical, he often disclaims certain ideals, such as greed, by crafting the most intelligent greedy individual possible and showing his efforts to be useless. In terms of structure, he writes in a classical. manner using admittedly scholarly and prescribed techniques rather than natural skill. His longest run play, Volpone, possesses all of these attributes. The main character, after whom the play is named (a word literally meaning, the Fox) is a greedy Venetian gentleman, fakes mortal illness in an attempt to receive gifts from those who wish to inherit from him. Over the course of the play, Volpone and his servant dupe the other characters on multiple occasions, yet eventually circumstances drive him to fake his own death. By. the end, his servant attempts to take the money for himself, and Volpone, in an attempt to exact revenge, reveals everything, thus condemning his servant as well as himself.. John Milton By Chad Raines John Milton was an English poet, born around 1608, who is best known for penning Paradise Lost, which is considered by many today to be one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. He was brilliant in his development of religious-artistic ideals, and for his portrayal of God’s foresight versus Man’s Free Will - a subject which has caused schisms of faith in many. Milton exhibited an admiration for Petrarch, Dante and Ovid in his youth, but as he matured as a writer and as a human, he began to write in a philosophical and dense manner. The dialogues of Plato served as reference material for Milton, as well as the Book of Revelation, which. Milton held as the pinnacle of human literary achievement. The overall tone of Milton’s works are tragedy and remorse. He wrote of themes which are dense and philosophically based. Some of Milton’s earliest pieces were metric psalms such as “An Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatic Poet William Shakespeare,” "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity" and "Il Penseroso" with its companion piece "L'Allegro.” In an age of humanism, Milton was a voice for religion - his Paradise Lost describes and retells the story of Adam and Eve, as well as the Fall from Grace. Furthermore, it told the story of the war of Heaven and showed God in a. strange role - attempting to temper God’s omniscience with Man’s free will. Indeed, the entire story was anachronistically kind towards humanity - this put it both in sync and at odds with the rest of literature around the Renaissance. While Milton wrote about religion, he did it from a unique mindset: the view of the humanist. The admiration for Petrarch that he exhibited in his youth resurfaced in Milton’s later works..

(2) Artists of the Renaissance. Page 2. Christopher Marlowe By Chandler Zande. "And, to be short, when all the world dissolves, And every creature shall be purified, All places shall be hell that are not heaven.". Christopher Marlowe was born around February 6, 1564 in Canterbury, England to a shoemaker (John Marlowe) and Catherine Marlowe. Marlowe's youth if undocumented, but what is known is that he graduated from Benet College in 1584, he got his M.A three years later in 1587. In 1589, a friend of Marlowe's, named Francis Kett was burnt for heresy, this forever changed Marlowe's views of religion, making him a “devout” Atheist. Some of Marlowe's plays clearly depicted that, leading to a warrant for his arrest issued May 18th 1593. He was stabbed to death May 30th 1593, it is unknown if this had anything to do with the warrant for his arrest on the charges of Blasphemy and “Vile Heretical Concepts”. "And, to be short, when all the world dissolves, And every creature shall be purified, All places shall be hell that are not heaven." Christopher Marlowe was one of the, if not the originator, of the Elizabethan. Tragedy. He is known for implementing mysterious and untimely deaths into his tragedies, something that is carried on by Shakespeare's Elizabethan Tragedies. Marlowe's first play was Dido, Queen of Carthage, but was never performed on stage during his rather short lifetime. His first play to be performed on stage was Tamburlaine (1587). It was also the first English play to contain Blank Verse (A writing style in which regular meter is used, but no rhyme is used). Tamburlaine is often considered the first Elizabethan Tragedy written. Marlowe also portrayed his personal opinions in his dramas. In The Jew of Malta, he has a prologue delivered by a character representing Machiavelli. Infinite riches in a little room. The Jew of Malta. Act i. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the untimely death of Christopher Marlowe. It is often theorized that Marlowe faked his death and began writing under the assumed name “William Shakespeare”. There is no proof. either way other than the very similar writing styles and that Shakespeare often had direct copies of lines found in some of Marlowe's plays. As with most Renaissance artists, little is known of his life, his birth date is often disputed along with the date of his death, which allows more wiggle room for people to say he may have faked his death. Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool. The Jew of Malta. Act ii. Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. William Shakespeare Overall, Christopher Marlowe contributed an entire genre of play writing. He was the originator of the Elizabethan Tragedy and died in a way that fit his writing, suddenly and mysteriously. What little we know of Marlowe's life contributes that he was a great playwright and a true renaissance artist..

(3) Page 3. Artists of the Renaissance. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra By Sayre Weir Destined to become a great novelist, playwright, and poet, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born the fourth of seven children on September 29, 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Although little is known about Cervantes’ early life, it is known that as he grew up he enjoyed studying philosophy and literature. Also, at an early age, Cervantes studied in the school of Juan Lopez de Hoyos, where he first began to cultivate his passion for writing when the wife of Philip II died in the 1560s. In 1570, Cervantes joined the Spanish army in Naples, Italy where he lost the use of his left hand in the Battle of Lepanto. On his return home Cervantes was captured and imprisoned by Barbary pirates in Algiers. Influenced by his experiences in battle and enslavement, Cervantes commonly references themes of captivity and freedom in his literature. After his family paid for his ransom, Cervantes returned to Spain and found himself to be in a large sum of debt. He moved to Madrid where he published his first piece of prose, La Galatea, and multiple other poems and plays. Unfortunately, this occupation did not fulfill his family’s. financial needs, so Cervantes began to work as a tax collector for the Spanish Armada. In 1605, Cervantes published the first part of Don Quijote de la Mancha. Don Quijote brought Cervantes much success and a strong reputation, and he was henceforth able to publish more and more literature including the second part of Don Quijote in 1615. After he finished Don Quijote, Cervantes continued to write theatre, poetry, and novels that soon became commonly known throughout the world and that helped build his long lasting legacy. When Cervantes published Don Quijote de la Mancha, it was an immediate success. It was almost instantly translated into English and French, and then soon after it was translated into nearly every modern language. Within its first year of publication, it was already published in six different editions. It is arguably the world’s most commonly read book besides the Bible. But why did and does it captivate the attention of the world? Cervantes writes, “Every man is how Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse” (http://www.onlineliterature.com/cervantes/). The. novel, considered by many to be the first modern novel, discusses the theme of human nature. It is also celebrated for Cervantes’ use of satire to portray chivalry, mischief, and adventure. Cervantes creates Don Quijote as a character who can either be seen as an idealist or as a complete madman. Also, Cervantes incorporates themes such as freedom and enslavement into his work, which were influenced from his personal experience of imprisonment. Part of what makes Don Quijote so captivating, according to BBC News, is that Don Quijote represents a universal character that can be identified with people of all sorts of backgrounds, and that he can be understood within any cultural context. In conclusion, Cervantes’ discussions of human nature and idealism versus madness and his use of satire and universality led to his distinctive style as a writer. This style was considered ahead of his time, and his innovations in themes and style are still evident in literature today..

(4) MOLIÉRE By: Erin Johnson Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, best known by the stage name Moliére, is most famous for his work as an esteemed playwright and actor. A few of Moliere’s plays, often performed for royalty or the higher classes of society, include Tartuffe, The School For Wives, The Miser, and Don Juan. He was born into fortune, a very prosperous family, and was able to afford the best education in acting from Collège de Clermont. After thirteen years of acting in known plays, he developed a real talent for Commedia dell'arte (Comedy of the Artists), which was improvising, usually less serious comedy. He combined this talent and his knowledge of the classier, more refined, comedy to write and perform in his own plays. Moliere is often considered the creator of modern French comedy. His plays exemplified a new kind of comedy for the people, the people enjoyed. Many of the words, phrases, and terms, used and created by Moliere, are still used today in modern French. A “Tartuffe” is a hypocrite,. specifically a hypocrite portraying affected morality or religious piety, a term directly from his play Tartuffe. A “Harpagon,” the main character’s name in his play The Miser, is and excessively greedy or cheap man. Most of his critics criticize him for never sticking to a distinct style and writing his play too carelessly. He would often misspell words, use incorrect grammar, or use many “filler” words in his dialogue. Though there was criticism, overall his work was very popular. Romanticists admired his plays for their unique and unconventional individualism. Modern day scholars continue study in Moliere’s work, studying the philosophical, religious, and morals of his comedies, as well as the genius of his comic technique..

(5) BIBLIOGRAPHY:. "Moliére (1622-1673)." Imagi-nation: Moliére. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. <http://www.imagination.com/moonstruck/clsc35.html>. Bermel, Albert. "Moliére-French Dramatist." Discover France! Web. 26 Oct. 2009. <http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Moliere/moliere.shtml>..

(6) Bibliography: Ben Jonson: Jokien, Anniina. “Ben Jonson.” Luminarium. 1996. Luminarium. May, 2, 2007. http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/ Holt, Henry. “Ben Jonson.” Theatrehistory. 2002. Theatrehistory.com. March, 14, 2006. http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/jonson001.html John Milton: Life and Writings of John Milton, the Teaching Company, http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=305 Milton, John, New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Milton John Milton, “Books and Writers,” http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jmilton.htm John Milton - Biography and Works, The Literary Network, http://www.online-literature.com/milton/# Christopher Marlowe Swinburne, Charles. "Life of Christopher Marlowe." Christopher Marlowe. Anniina Jokinen, 16 Feb. 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/marlowebio.htm>. Baskerville, Charles R. "Christopher Marlowe." TheatreHistory.com. Henry Holt and Company, 13 May 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. <http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/marlowe001.html>. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra "BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Don Quixote: A surreal success." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. BBC News, 10 Feb. 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4254511.stm> Knox, Brenda. "Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra." The Don Quixote Exhibit. Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University, 26 May 1996. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://quixote.mse.jhu.edu/Cervantes.html>. Merriman, C.D. "Miguel de Cervantes - Biography and Works." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. The Literature Network, 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.online-literature.com/cervantes/>..

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