ILLUMINATIONS from

the MAJESTIC AGE of

ENGLAND

By:

OMAR M. BADAWY

1
 ILLUMINATIONS from
the MAJESTIC AGE of
ENGLAND

A summarized study about the

16th century (the Elizabethan
Age) from its different
political, religious, social &
literary sides.

By:

OMAR M. BADAWY

2
 “ DEDICATION ”

I DEDICATE THIS WORK TO MY

BELOVED YOUNGER BROTHER

YASSER

WITH ALL MY LOVE & MY SINCERE

WISHES TO HIM.

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DEAR READER,

Every time I read about the 16th century I feel how that
century was a great age that was full of important
historical events and great characters in different fields.
These events and characters have remarkable effects not
only in England’s history but in the human history. This
feeling of the greatness of the age stimulated me to write
this summarized study about its different sides.

This work’s aim is to give a general idea about the age

and its different sides, events and major characters, but in
a simple way without complications.

I hope that you will enjoy reading this modest work and
get benefits from it.

Omar M. Badawy

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Preface:

- The 16th century in England followed a dangerous

and a critic period of conflicts and civil war (the War
of Roses) to posses the Majestic throne in the period
of 1422 - 1461 between the two struggling powers;
the House of York and the House of Lancaster that
was ended by the victory of the House of Lancaster
and king Henry VII possessed the throne and
became the English king.

- In the 16th century many political and religious

conflicts happened such as; the Reformation of the
English Church which resulted from the struggle
between King Henry VIII and the Pope of the Roman
Catholic Church.

- The Conflict between Henry‘s two daughters; Mary

and her half sister Elizabeth took place and caused
indirectly the religious conflict between the the
Protestants and the Catholics.

- King Philip II of Spain tried to invade England (1588)

with his famous destructive Armada during the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, but he was bitterly defeated.

- Two main elements affected the literal life in the

16th century; the political conflicts and Queen

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 Elizabeth‘s support to the writers. Many great works
appeared in this age in every literal branch; poetry,
prose and drama.

- Among the greatest poets of the century were

Sidney, Spencer and Shakespeare. In the prose were
Lyly, Sidney and Thomas More. As for the dramatists
there were Shakespeare and Marlowe.

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 The 16th Century‘s Political & Religious
Background

Introduction:

The 16th century was an age of political and religious

conflicts and unrest. It was full of struggles such as;
the reformation of the church during the reign of king
Henry VIII, the conflict between Queen Mary and her
half sister Elizabeth which indirectly led to the
religious conflict between Catholicism and
Protestantism.

In the 16th century King Philip II tried to invade

England by his huge destructive navy (The Armada),
but he was defeated by the English army.

The War of Roses:

The 16th century followed a dangerous period of inner

political conflicts and civil war or as it was named The
WAR of ROSES which broke out between the House of
York and the House of Lancaster. This war started in
1455G and ended in 1485G so it lasted for 30 years
and ended with the victory of the House of Lancaster
and Henry VII was crowned to be the English King, his
marriage to a princess from the York family put an
end to this feud. This war was called the War of

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Roses, because the warriors of both sides were
putting roses as a mark to their belonging identity.

This war was the greatest motive to Henry VIII to do

any thing in order to have a son to be his heir of the
throne, so no wonder to know that Henry VIII married
six times to have this son. He was like the imaginary
King Shahriar who used to behead his wives till Jane
Seymour gave him his desired son (Edward VI) who
became the king after his father‘s death, but unluckily
he died young and the throne was left to his two
sisters Mary and Elizabeth to be the cause of the
hatred between them.

Henry VIII became the Head of the English

Church:

Henry VIII who possessed the English throne in 1509

at the age of eighteenth; was handsome, athletic and
scholar ruler, so he quickly became very popular. The
Pope was so much pleased by Henry‘s pamphlets that
was attacking Luther‘s ideas which were against the
Pope and the church. The Pope called the young king
the Defender of the Faith (The English rulers still have
the title, although the faith that they defend is that of
the Church of England, not the Roman Catholicism).

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 * Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546)
was a German priest and professor of theology who
initiated the Protestant Reformation. Strongly disputing
the claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin
could be purchased with money.

Soon a great dispute arose between Henry and the

Pope. More than anything else, Henry wanted a son
who could inherit his throne. In twenty years of
marriage, Henry‘s wife Catherine of Aragon had given
him only one child, a daughter (Mary), in the
meantime, Henry had fallen in love with a beautiful
young lady named Anne Boleyn. he asked the Pope to
annul his marriage so that he could legally marry
Anne. When the Pope refused, Henry arranged for the
appointment of an archbishop of Canterbury, who
married him to Anne and declared his previous
marriage invalid.

Shortly afterwards, Henry persuaded the parliament to

pass a series of laws which denied the authority of the
pope to control the English Church and the parliament
declared Henry to be the the Supreme Head of the
English Church. Under this arrangement, the church of
England kept the traditional catholic doctrine and form
of worship, but the king appointed the bishops.
A short time later, Henry closed the English
monasteries and seized their lands. He gave much of

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the land to his friends or sold it to small landowners.
The rest he used to build schools or kept for himself.

(History of Nations)

The Religious Conflict between Catholicism and

Protestantism:

Henry had six wives, but only the third one gave him
the son he desired (Edward VI) who inherited his
throne and became the king of England. During
Henry‘s reign, the doctrine and form of worship in the
church were remained virtually unchanged. But under
Edward, the church of England became much more
protestant in its beliefs, because his advisors were
influenced by the Lutheran ideas from the continent.
After six years Edward died and Henry’s eldest
daughter, Mary had remained loyal to the catholic
church and to her mother Catherine of Aragon, whom
Henry had divorced. Mary did every thing possible to
bring the church of England back under the authority
of the Pope. She persecuted the protestants
vigorously and had put so many to death, that she
was given the deserved nick name (Bloody Mary).
Mary committed the unforgiven mistake that
prevented her from reaching the required target, the
mistake that pushed her to the well of failure, she
married prince Philip of Spain, her marriage frustrated

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all the English people because Spain was England’s
great rival. As a result of all these elements and
circumstances, Mary’s efforts to restore the catholic
faith failed.

Elizabeth’s compromise gave the church of

England its present form:

“When Henry’s only surviving heir, Elizabeth I (1558 -

1603), came to the throne, everyone wondered which
side of the religious question she would support.
Wisely she chose a middle ground, unlike her brother
and her sister, she was little concerned with the details
of her subjects’ beliefs as long as they joined the
church of England and she controlled that church.
Although she appointed her own bishops and demand
that all clergymen swear allegiance to her, she was
willing to compromise on matters pertaining to the
forms of worship. To make it easier for every one to
accept he English church, she instructed her
protestant bishops to make certain changes in the
church service. the result was a compromise between
the Roman catholic and the Lutheran (the German
Reformer Martin Luther) and Calvinist (the French
reformer John Calvin) Points of view. By making these
compromises, Elizabeth won the gratitude and loyalty
of most English men”
(History of Nations - page 268)

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Spanish Armada:

In this famous historical naval battle England defeated

the terrifying Spanish Armada and emerged as a great
power not only in Europe, but in the whole world.
Here are the sequences that led to this great victory.
Philip II was determined not only to make England a
Roman catholic state, but also to stop her from
interfering with the Spanish trade with the New World
(America). Daring English adventurers like Hawkins,
Morgan and Drake used to smuggle goods from the
Spanish colonies and later turned to attack the
Spanish ships that were loaded by gold and silver and
other treasures. On one occasion the famous pirate
Francis Drake sailed to Cadiz, one of Spain’s largest
harbors and burned the spanish fleet stationed there.
This bold unexpected stroke was carried out while
England and Spain were in peace, in fact the only
motive of this attack was Drake’s personal hatred to
Spain. Elizabeth claimed that she was helpless to
control the piracy of the English “Sea Dogs”, but
secretly she gave them her support and shared their
booty. Moreover she sent Dudley (Earl of Leicester) to
Netherlands to fight the Spanish with the Dutch. The
change of the doctrines was a very important reason,
as Philip was a catholic and Elizabeth was a protestant
and each was aiming at the domination of his
doctrine.

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As a result of all these reasons King Philip decided
that he would invade England, restore the Roman
catholic faith and put an end to the piracy. Philip’s plan
was to to send his fleet to Netherlands, pick up his
army there and transport them across the English
Channel for a ground invasion. He sent a fleet of 130
armed ships, that was called the Invincible Armada, to
crush the English. In July 1588G; the Spanish Armada
sailed into the English Channel. Queen Elizabeth after
she had discussed it with her consultants, she decided
to use Drake against the Spanish because he wes the
best person for this mission. Drake and his fellow
commanders waited in their smaller more seaworthy
ships for the huge manageable armada after they had
put their plan that depended on fighting the Spanish
vessels separately. The battle lasted intermittently for
more than a week. Finally the English bolted the
Spanish fleet by blocking the escape route to the
south. When the Spaniards retreated and tried to
escape by going north towards the Scottish coast, a
terrible storm, that was called by the English people
“the Protestant Wind”, attacked and destroyed their
ships. Less than half of the mighty Armada turned
back to Spain in defeat.

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 The English Rulers "The Royal Family"

The House of Lancaster

Tudors Stuarts

Tudors

Henry VII

Henry VIII

Edward VI Mary Elizabeth

Stuarts

Mary of Scots

James I

Charles I the execution of the king

Charles II

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 Queen Elizabeth
(1558 - 1603)

Her Character:
Queen Elizabeth was a perfect example of the
intelligent woman who ruled a great nation so she
deserved to give the whole age her name (the
Elizabethan Age) . Her intelligence was so apparent to
her tutors who often admired her way of thinking and
behaving. She was speaking Latin, French, Spanish
and Italian. Queen Elizabeth was able to possess the
love of the common people so she was very popular.
She was protestant like her father, she also had her
father’s facial features, she had the color of his hair
and eyes.

Mary I ‘s Reign & Elizabeth’s Succession:

Mary’s mother was treated badly and was humiliated,

because her father wanted to marry Anne Boleyn
(Elizabeth’s mother) and this was the basic reason for
Mary’s hatred to her half sister Elizabeth.

After the death of King Edward VI, Mary was crowned

as the queen and she married the Spanish prince
Philip II and this angered the people not only because
Philip was catholic but because of being a Spanish as

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well. Mary as a very conservative catholic who has a
deep hatred to the protestants, she used to execute
and burn the protestants so she was entitled “Bloody
Mary” .

Mary accused her half sister Elizabeth to be a member

in the rebellion against her - Sir Thomas Wyatt “the
Younger’s Rebellion” the rebellion failed and Mary sent
for her sister in order t punish her, so Elizabeth tried
to be late as possible in order to give her sister the
chance to think and to relax. Elizabeth pretended to
be sick and asked for doctors to check her, she did her
best in order to let everyone in London to see her
taken to the queen to increase her popularity, but
Mary spoiled her plan by putting her directly in the
great ancient Tower of London without even reading
Elizabeth’s letters that she sent to Mary begging her to
have mercy and reminding her that they are sisters.

In the 17th of November, 1558 Mary died because of

an ovarian fatal disease and it was Elizabeth’s legal
right to rule so she became the queen of England. As
a first step, Elizabeth tried to calm down the religious
conflict between the catholics and the protestants. the
husband of late Mary, the Spanish King Philip II
supported Elizabeth when she became the queen
because he desired to ally with England. Although
Philip was catholic and Elizabeth was protestant, but
Philip tried to make an alliance with England not with

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the catholic Scotland, because the Scottish queen
(Mary of Scots) allied with France. Philip II tried to
marry Elizabeth in Mary’s last days, but she refused so
he returned with the marriage proposal, but not to
marry him, he desired to marry Elizabeth to on of his
Hapsburg cousins.

Elizabeth’s Early Reign:

After the death of Mary and after crowning Elizabeth

the Queen of England, Elizabeth tried to control the
country which was full of mess and conflicts. Elizabeth
was a lucky queen, she was surrounded by honest
men that helped her in managing and ruling the
country such as:

William Cecil; her Secretary of State. Elizabeth gave

him the title (Earl of Burghley). Cecil was an old man
who loved Elizabeth as his daughter and he helped
her in everything and he saved her for many times
from poisoning attempts.

Robert Dudley; she met him in the Tower of London

while she was imprisoned there. He was a famous
young horseman and a talented dancer, so she
admired his dashing character. When she became the
queen, Elizabeth announced Dudley as the Master of
Horses and gave him the title (Earl of Leicester).

Dr. John Dee; he was a famous astrologer who chose

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January 15, 1559 to be the date of coronation.
Elizabeth had a deep belief in astrology.

As an effective trial to settle the religious conflict

between the catholics and the protestants, Elizabeth
made the “Acts of Supremacy & Uniformity”. The Act
of Supremacy made Elizabeth the “Supreme
Governor” of the English church. The Act of Uniformity
restored the English Prayer Book that was banned by
queen Mary, but several lines that would be offensive
to catholics were removed.

Elizabeth’s Personality & Appearance:

Elizabeth’s appearance reminded everyone of her

father Henry VIII. She had a reddish gold hair, aquiline
nose and a golden brown eyes. She loved to ride her
horse at a gallop, she was an expert horsewoman.
Alone she was walking quickly, but with the others
quietly. Elizabeth was a wise character in most of her
behaviors, she was preferring to wait and see what
would happen in everything. Elizabeth tried by all the
possible means to avoid entering wars with other
countries.

She didn’t interfere with the clergy’s work even in the

Protestant-Catholic Spiritual Debates. Elizabeth always
had a special weakness for gifts especially jewels.
Elizabeth was actually miser when she come to spend
her own money on someone or to spend England’s

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money. There was a historical rumor that says when
Elizabeth became old, she treated both catholics and
married woman cruelty.

A Virgin Queen:

As a motive of astonishment is that the great queen

Elizabeth never married, the Privacy Council and her
advisors egged her to marry, but she didn’t obey
them. Her status as a lifelong virgin was under
considerable doubt. Sex was far from a polite
discussion topic at that time and her affairs were not
recorded. There were evidences that the queen had
several affairs. The queen’s relations with men were
considered as romantic term, she had romantic
friendships with Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Christopher
Hatton and in her old age with the much younger
Robert Devereux.

Elizabeth had a very certain relation with her Master

of Horses, Lord Robert Dudley. She met him while she
was imprisoned in the Tower of London and she fell in
love with him. Elizabeth kept a picture of Dudley in
her room. When Dudley’s wife fell down some stairs
and died many English People suspected Dudley that
he had pushed her in order to be near the queen,
moreover Dudley left his wife while she was dying and
went to the queen. Although Dudley married to Lettice

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Knollys, Elizabeth’s cousin, she continued to love him.
When Dudley died, Elizabeth was so depressed that
she locked herself in her room and refused to eat, but
loyal Cecil broke the door and forced her to eat.

When Catherine Grey (a relative to the queen) who

many considered to be the future heiress to the
throne; married in secret, Elizabeth was so upset
because she thought that people might prefer a
married woman, so the queen imprisoned her in the
Tower of London. Many English people suspected that
Elizabeth had many bastard children. There was also a
suspicion that Elizabeth didn’t marry because she was
infertile or had some sort of sexual deformity.

Elizabeth’s Advisors:

- William Cecil “Lord Burghley”

He was an old man who loved and treated Elizabeth
as his daughter, the main motive for all his efforts
and behaviors was, in the first degree, his care to
push her to success .He was the Secretary of State
and then he became Lord Treasurer. He believed in
the importance of having a heir so, he advised the
queen to marry for the sake of the kingdom, but in
fact Elizabeth used Cecil’s desires to achieve her own
desires. Cecil was a man who valued caution, but in
the decisive actions he was not able to put his
decisions in action especially with the queen. He was

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 quiet when Elizabeth was nervous, he preferred
simplicity in manner while she preferred elegance.
He had that deep fear of war. Cecil after his honest
service period to the queen, was banished by her,
because he helped Walsingham to push Mary of
Scots to the execution.

- Francis Walsingham “the Master of Espionage”

He was a fanatical protestant as he had a powerful
sense of duty, he was a man who loved his country
from the bottom of his loyal heart. Unlike Lord
Burghley, he didn’t like the queen so much. he
became the Secretary of Sate after Cecil became the
Lord Treasurer. Walsingham was specialist in
organizing and making spies, he was the master of
espionage in that age in whole Europe. Walsingham
didn’t agree with Elizabeth’s policy of mildness and
conciliation towards English catholics, he desired to
make a protestant alliance against catholicism.
Walsingham had that idea of creating an English
French alliance that would protect the protestant
Netherlands from the bloody rule of the Spanish king
Philip II, Walsingham even managed to get Dudley
on his side. Walsingham’s spy network discovered
the famous conspiracy “Babington Plot - 1585G” that
was organized by the Scottish queen Mary of Scots
and was aiming at banishing Elizabeth and
possessing the English throne. Walsingham with the

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 help of the old wise William Cecil pushed Mary of
Scots to the actual execution before the queen had a
chance to change her mind.

Conflict with Mary of Scots:

There was an old religious and political conflict

between Elizabeth and Mary’s mother “Mary of Guise”.
The cause of this conflict was that a group of the
Scottish protestants that were protesting against the
Scottish queen Mary of Guise, sent to Elizabeth and
asked for her help. First, Elizabeth hesitated to
support them, because France was helping Mary, but
Cecil encouraged her, so she sent the the English fleet
to prevent the French supplies from reaching
Scotland, so the conflict between Elizabeth and Mary
of Scots had a historical side.

Most of the catholics in Europe believed in Mary of

Scots to be the right heiress of the English crown and
they considered Elizabeth as an illegal child because
the Roman Pope refused her father’s marriage to her
mother, and this worried and annoyed Elizabeth.

In 1580, Pope Gregory XIII announced that killing

Elizabeth wouldn’t be considered as a sin, nor the
murderer of William the Silent (a leader of a Dutch
resistance against the Spanish occupation). When
William was killed in 1584, Elizabeth and her advisors
became so afraid. A rebellion was raised in scotland

22
against Mary, so Elizabeth was afraid that the catholics
would stand by Mary and help her to possess the
English throne. Elizabeth without losing time, sent
troops that arrested Mary and imprisoned her in
Lochleven Castle from where she planned for her
escape.

Several plots against Elizabeth were discovered such

as; Ridolfi Plot 1571, the Duke de Guise Plot 1582…etc.
Walsingham’s spy network discovered that Mary of
Scots participated in a plot against the queen
“Babington Plot - 1586G” so the English parliament
signed Mary’s death, but Walsingham and Cecil
pushed her life to end without giving Elizabeth he
chance to think and to change her mind. As a result of
all these plots against queen Elizabeth, the Parliament
asked all English people to sign the Bond of
Association and they promised to hunt down any one
that might murder the queen and they signed the Act
for Preservation of the Queen’s Safety.

Elizabeth’s Last Years:

After 1588, Elizabeth became associated with
supernatural issues and imaginary things and most of
Europe regarded her as a mocked queen with
profound awe. She had a romantic affair with the so
young Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex) who was a
step son of the late Robert Dudley. Her relation with

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Devereux was her favorite one, she sent him to
Ireland to control a rebellion raised by an Irish Earl,
but Devereux raised a rebellion against her. Devereux
was executed in 1601 for is attempt to rebel against
the queen.

In her late years, Elizabeth became very afraid of the

catholic conspiracies against her, so this period was a
period of catholic persecution. With the ending of her
life. Near the end of her life, England’s economy
started to go down, Elizabeth started to lose money as
her royal funds ran low, she was forced to sell some
property.

In 1603, Elizabeth was dying and she knew her status,

so English people asked about the heir who will rule
after her death. Elizabeth announced King James I of
Scotland the rightful heir of the English throne. On
March 24, 1603 the great Queen Elizabeth released
her last breathes, she died as a great queen who ruled
a great country and affected not only her nation, but
whole Europe. Elizabeth will be remembered forever
as one of the greatest women in the human history.

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 The Elizabethan Literature

Introduction:

In 1453, Constantinople fell in the hands of the Turks,

so many scholars in different fields escaped to Rome
and to the European Western countries, bringing with
them their classical culture and learning. This period
was called the Age of Renaissance, because
knowledge, science and culture were prevailed in
many European countries. The Renaissance took
different forms in different countries; in Italy the main
stress was in painting and in sculpture, in England the
emphasis laid on literature. This great age witnessed
many great explorations that started in the 15th
century and continued into the early 17th century (the
Age of Exploration). The Portuguese Vasco da Gama
explored (the Cape of Good Hope) and Columbus
reached the New World (America) and the Spanish
colonies grew up.

People of the middle ages regarded the authority of

the church as a supreme power and they thought that
life was just a preparing stage to the next permanent
life. The idea of Individualism spread in England in
that age, no clearer example of individualism than
Marlowe’s play “Doctor Faustus”, a play about a man
who sold his soul to the devil.

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English literature had been flourished in the second
half of the 16th century (queen Elizabeth reign). Many
great dramatists like Marlowe and Shakespeare, poets
like Spencer and men of science like Francis Bacon
appeared in the age. Most of the literal works were
about the queen herself. In 1560, the first blank verse
tragedy appeared. Although there was a literal
renaissance in England in that age, there was a
serious conflict and objection against producing plays,
because the puritanical Elizabethan middle class tried
to shut down the London theaters, they believed in
the prohibition of this art.

The mayor of London attempted to close all of the

city’s theaters in 1580, but Elizabeth the talented
dancer and musician who liked and encouraged
playwrights and invited them to her palace, prevented
the shutting down of the theaters, so the art of writing
plays (drama) became more socially respectable. The
playwrights wrote for two classes; lower-class
(commoners) and the aristocratic class. The real
reason for the depth and the complexity of the
Elizabethan plays was the complexity of the audience
itself as it consisted of different classes.

The Elizabethan middle class and their religious

spokespeople thought that the violence and the
inappropriate behaviors seen in the plays of Marlowe

26
and Shakespeare would twist the minds and behaviors
of the people, leading them to violence and vice.

Poetry

Elizabeth was interested in poetry and she encouraged

poets, so it was a wish to every courtier to be an
author and for every author to be a poet. As for the
courtiers, they used to write in their leisure time
because writing was not their basic profession. This
relationship between literature and life gave the
writers large experience. Many poets continued to
imitate the Italian French forms such as Wyatt and
Surrey. Many critics thought that the writers were
imitators, but it was completely false.

The Main Poets:

1) Sir Philip Sidney (1554 – 1586)

He was always considered as a representative to

the Elizabethan poetry, queen Elizabeth herself said
that Sidney is one of the jewels of her crown. He
travelled widely and studied many subjects such as
astronomy, music, history and literature, so he had
a large experience in life. He wrote in prose and in
poetry; he wrote many great works in prose such as
“Arcadia” and “Apology for Poesie”. Sidney is the
writer of the great poetical work “Astrophel and

27
 Stella” . These sonnets celebrate the history of his
love for the sister of the Earl of Essex. In these
sonnets we have vividness of feelings and truth.

2) Edmund Spencer (1552 - 1599)

He was born in London in 1552 of a middle class

family; he studied at cambridge and there he read
the classics and the French and the Italien poetry.

His first great work is (The Shepherd Calendar) a

series of pastoral eclogues for every month of the
year. He used the pastoral forms as a vehicle for
satire and allegory, made it carry political and social
allusions. He is the writer of the great literal work
“The Faerie Queen”; he wrote it while he was in
Ireland as a secretary to the Governor and he
dedicated it to Queen Elizabeth. Spencer in his work
designed to celebrate the character, the qualities
and the features of the English gentleman and he
used in his great work an allegory which is very
difficult.

Gloria’ the heroine of the Faerie Queene

represented Queen Elizabeth and it represented
Protestantism. The Faerie Queene occupies an
important place in the history of English poetry.

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3) William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

He was born in Stratford and he lived there before

leaving to London. He is the writer and the inventor
of the English Sonnet so that it was named by his
name “the Shakespearean Sonnet”. The English
Sonnest consists of three Quatrains followed by a
Couplet and its rhyme scheme is
(a b a b)
(c d c d)
(e f e f)
(g g)

* A quatrain is a stanza or poem consisting of four lines.

* A couplet is a pair of lines of poetry that are usually rhymed.

((He wrote154 poems, each a sonnet, written by

Shakespeare over an unknown periode of time,
probably around 1592 to 1598. The sonnets are
love poems; they describe aspects of two different
loves experienced by a poet, one for a young man
and the other for a woman. Some of the sonnets
are great poems (sonnet 18, 29, 55, 116 and 138
are among the most praised) while a few are poor,
but it is as a sonnet sequences - a new genre at the
time - that are particularly fascinating, offering an
extraordinary range of love poems. They
encompass several distinct points of view in love.

29
 Unified by a several series of delightful observation
on the power of poetry to record them.))

(Shakespeare A to Z - page 608 - by Charles Boyce)

The language of the early sonnets is smooth and

the imagery is clear and unsurprising. Ideas are few
and simple. The poems show an increasing
complexity, although the subject remains the young
friend. The poems become intensely pessimistic
and there is concentration on the sense of
disappointment. The general tone is that of self
reproach. The poetic output of Shakespeare is pale
when it is compared with his work as a poet
dramatist.

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 The Shakespearean Sonnet (18)
(in old English)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

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 The Shakespearean Sonnet (18)
(in modern English)

Shall I compare you to a summer’s day?

You are more lovely and more constant
Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May
And summer is far too short:
At times the sun is too hot,
Or often goes behind the clouds;
And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty,
By misfortune or by nature’s planned out course.
But your youth shall not fade,
Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess;
Nor will death claim you for his own,
Because in my eternal verse you will live forever.
So long as there are people on this earth,
So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.

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 The Shakespearean Sonnet (18)
(in Arabic language)

<;:9 8‫ـ‬7 65‫ـ‬43 ‫ى‬1‫ـ‬0/‫ ا‬.-,+ ‫&ـ(رن‬% ‫!" ذا‬

<;H‫< وأ‬G@‫ى أ‬1E(D <> ‫ت‬83 87 ‫ك‬1A@ ‫?ن‬->‫و‬

<IQ‫ـ‬P <O‫ و‬NL‫ا‬1MI‫;< ا‬L ‫(ت‬59(KI‫(ح ا‬%1I‫< ا‬-:9

<I‫ود و‬8A/‫ه ا‬8&L ‫( اذ‬L1,! <‫ـ‬R‫ـ‬G% 65‫ـ‬4I‫وا‬

\[Z;9 (O1A3 ‫(ء‬G,I‫ ا‬XL W‫ـ‬71‫ـ‬V‫ أ‬N‫ـ‬U

‫ب‬1‫ـ‬0% ‫?ر‬D <MOQI‫[[( ا‬P‫( >< و‬M^ N]I‫و‬

\OQ5@ a5G:I‫" ا‬L <[MI‫" ا‬,A;I 83`

\‫ـ&ـ;ـ‬9 dK‫ـ‬5‫ـ‬McI‫ـ?ار ا‬b‫ وا‬1509 1‫ـ‬O8‫ـ‬I(‫>ـ‬

‫ــ?ل‬3‫اه ذ‬1‫ـ‬Z‫ـ‬L‫ى !( ا‬8‫!ـ‬1‫ @ـ‬.‫ـ‬f5e "‫]ـ‬I

a5i3 h5> W];‫ى !ـ‬QI‫" ا‬,AI‫ ا‬8‫ـ&ـ‬f‫ـ‬% "‫ـ‬I

‫ـ?ل‬:‫ـ‬% ‫ـ(ه‬G+ <> .;‫ـ‬k3 ?Oj% "‫ـ‬I ‫ـ?ت‬/‫وا‬

:‫?ل‬7‫ أ‬h5>‫ى و‬1KV <> 1O8I‫" ا‬%1e(KZ@

‫ق‬8A9 ‫?ن‬5KI‫ وا‬8K49 ‫(س‬fDl‫ ا‬W!‫!( دا‬

‫ق‬8‫ـ‬0% ً ‫ا‬1GL .5;L‫ا ً و‬8I(^ ‫ى‬1KV ak5@

(Art of Translation “1986” - by Dr. Safaa Khelosi)

33
 Prose

The writers and authors of the Elizabethan age

concentrated on language and its vocabulary. The
Elizabethans liked highly decorative modes of
expression in prose, they used to borrow some
vocabularies from the ancient works.

The Main Prose Writers:

1) John Lyly (1554 – 1606)

John Lyly was the first author who wrote the

Elizabethan prose and the other followed his steps,
he was also the first one who used to borrow some
vocabularies from the ancient works. Lyly was the
one who wrote the famous book “Euphues”, in it we
can find heaps of images and many classical
references, so the word “Euphuism” always meant
“Artificial”.

2) Sir Thomas More (1478 - 1535)

Thomas More was not just an ordinary prose writer,

he was a phenomena in this literal field, who helped
in the spread of the classical learning in England.
Sir Thomas More is the writer of the great work
“Utopia” that was inspired from “Plato’s Republic”.

34
 Drama

With the coming of Renaissance; it was the fashion to

read the classics. We couldn’t define the exact date at
which the true comedy and tragedy came into
existence. In Comedy; the English dramatists were
influenced by two latin authors (Plautus and Terence),
they learned from them how to make a plot and how to
draw character. “Ralph Roister Doister - by Nicholas
Udall” was the first complete English comedy.

As for Tragedy; the writers were much influenced by

the Roman philosopher Seneca and his translated
works which appeared in 1559. “Gorboduc” was the
first English Tragedy (with a Senecan style) that was
performed before queen Elizabeth, it was
characterized by the melodramatic nature.

Chronicle plays were an attempt to present the lives

and deaths of the kings and the great men.

The Main Dramatists:

1) The University Wits

They were a group of dramatists that appeared in

the Elizabethan age; they were seven Bohemian
scholars that led a careless and violent life. They
were (John Lyly - Robert Greene - George Peele -
Thomas Nashe - Thomas Lodge - Thomas Kyd -

35
 Christopher Marlowe). They combined the classical
sense of form with the popular enthusiasm for
drama. They influenced Shakespeare in his comic
and tragic works.

Lodge, Kyd and Marlowe were famous of their

tragic works. As for the great dramatist Christopher
Marlowe; he had an effect on William Shakespeare.
Marlowe reflected the thoughts of his age in his
works and he raised blank verse in a very high
level.

* Blank verse is a type of poetry, distinguished by having

a regular meter, but no rhyme.

Marlowe’s idea of tragedy were influenced by

Machiavelli and the Renaissance idea of
Individualism. Another new thing that Marlowe
added and introduced was the description of the
struggle within the mind of the chief character in the
plays, so the character of Dr. Faustus “one of
Marlowe’s plays” is considered as the greatest tragic
hero in the 16th century excluding Shakespeare’s
plays. Christopher Marlowe was the greatest
dramatist amongst the predecessors of
Shakespeare.

* Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

(3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian philosopher
and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance.
He is one of the main founders of modern political

36
 science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher,
musician, and a playwright.

* Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy,

ideology, or social outlook that stresses on "the moral
worth of the individual".

2) William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

We have mentioned Shakespeare as a poet, but

here we tell about Shakespeare as a great
dramatist, we can say that Shakespeare is the
greatest dramatist in the history of English drama.
In comedy; Shakespeare was influenced by Lyly,
Peele and Greene, but in tragedy he was influenced
by Kyd, Marlowe, Benjamin Jonson and Fletcher.
Shakespeare didn’t save efforts to satisfy the needs
of the Elizabethan audience, he based his plays on
universal and eternal themes such as crime,
ambition, jealousy, love, hatred, revenge... etc.

Shakespeare’s different characters are totally

imbued with vitality; they seem to be characters that
we know in real life. In addition to Shakespeare’s
eternal themes and his amazing characters; we can
feel his deep insight into the realities of world, his
wisdom is clearly appeared in all his plays.

Shakespeare wrote 38 plays; 16 comedies, 10

historical and 12 tragedies. Shakespeare’s early
style was more poetic than dramatic, so you could

37
 find unnecessary poetic passages in his famous
play “Romeo & Juliet”, but as he grew; his style
developed and his poetic and dramatic talents were
fully blended.

In technique; the early comedies centered around

mistakes of identity as in “Midsummer Night’s
Dream”. The Shakespearean tragedies were
developed from tragedies of circumstances to
tragedies of character in which the characters are in
conflict.

List of Shakespeare’s comedies:

• All's Well That Ends Well

• As You Like It
• The Comedy of Errors
• Cymbeline
• Love's Labour's Lost
• Measure for Measure
• The Merchant of Venice
• The Merry Wives of Windsor
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Pericles Prince of Tyre
• Taming of the Shrew
• The Tempest
• Twelfth Night
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Winter's Tale

38
 List of Shakespeare’s historical plays:

• King John
• Edward III
• Richard II
• Henry IV, Part 1
• Henry IV, Part 2
• Henry V
• Henry VI, Part 1
• Henry VI, Part 2
• Henry VI, Part 3
• Richard III (also considered a tragedy)
• Henry VIII
• Sir Thomas More

List of Shakespeare’s tragedies:

• Romeo and Juliet

• Macbeth
• King Lear
• Hamlet
• Othello
• Titus Andronicus
• The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Coriolanus
• The History of Troilus and Cressida
• The Life of Timon of Athens
• Cymbeline

39
 The Gallery

Henry VII

Henry VIII

40
 Edward VI

Mary I

41
 Elizabeth I

William Cecil

42
 Francis Walsingham

Robert Dudley

43
 Philip II

James I

44
 Robert Devereux

Francis Drake

45
 William Shakespeare

Philip Sidney

46
 Edmund Spenser

Christopher Marlowe

47
 Bibliography:

1) “Lectures in English Culture and Literature”

By: Dr. Mohammed Dawoud
Faculty of Arts
Alexandria University, Egypt

2) “History of Nations”

3) “Shakespeare A to Z”
By: Charles Boyce

4) “History of Western Civilization”

By: Dr. E.L. Skip Knox
Boise State University

5) www.wikipedia.org

48
 Index

Title Page

- Preface

- The 16th Century‘s Political & Religious

Background.

- The War of Roses.

- Henry VIII became the Head of the

English Church.

- The Religious Conflict between

Catholicism and Protestantism.

- Elizabeth’s compromise gave the

church of England its present form.

- Spanish Armada.

- The English Rulers “the English Royal

Family”.

- Queen Elizabeth.

- Her Character.

- Mary I ‘s Reign & Elizabeth’s Succession.

49
 - Elizabeth’s Early Reign.

- Elizabeth’s Personality & Appearance.

- A Virgin Queen.

- Elizabeth’s Advisors.

- Conflict with Mary of Scots.

- Elizabeth’s Last Years.

- The Elizabethan Literature.

- Poetry.

- The Main Poets.

- Prose.

- The Main Prose Writers.

- Drama.

- The Main Dramatists.

- The Gallery.

- Bibliography.

50
 OMAR M. BADAWY

51