A brief Introduction of English Literature.

We as humans are constantly looking for ways of entertainment in our lives. One such way of entertainment is literature. Literature in any form is many times considered as a good source of entertainment and education at the same time. There are innumerous benefits of studying and being part of literature, such as, it gives one an insight and it enlightens the darkest corners of your mind. Before we get much deeper into the poet's/author's/ ages of literature, let us first understand what literature is?

What is literature?

In general term literature is considered to be anything in a written format, be it a magazine, a newspaper, article or a column, all of this in a way is literature and has some literature in it. But for students who study literature, for them it roots down to a source of aesthetic delight and something that has a strong artistic merit and value. Literature focuses more on poetries, fiction, satire, drama, prose. Literature many times can be oral as well, and in ancient times it was more of oral literature than written. Many times literature is also considered as the reflection of the society. English literature widely consists of prolific poets and authors that have a renowned name and reputation in the literary field.

Q1.Write in brief about Chaucer or Edmund Spencer or Ben Jonson or Francis Bacon or on any one of their works.

As English language is flourished by authors and poets, Edmund Spenser is one such poet who is very famous and has been entitled as "The poet of poet's". His writing style is quite unique as well. He had introduced the distinctive verse form known as Spenserian stanza. His famous work The Faery Queen also includes the Spenserian stanza. His each poetry has specific characteristics, some of those are listed below

1.A perfect melody

2.A rare sense of beauty

3.A splendid imagination

4.Thronging ideal of Renaissance

5.A lofty moral purity and seriousness

6.A delicate idealism.

Edmund Spenser: He is one of the most important literary figures, an English poet best known for his work The Faery Queen, which is an epic poem. He was born in 1552 in London, United Kingdom and died on 13 January 1599 in London, United Kingdom. He was born poor. He did his studies from Cambridge University, where he read classics and made acquaintance with Italian poets, and wrote innumerous poems. Sooner he started working for Shepherd's Calender and it became his first major, official literary work. 

He is considered as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse and is often recognised as a great poet in the history of English language.Spenser's masterpiece is the epic poem The Faerie Queene. The first three books of The Faerie Queene were published in 1590, and the second set of three books were published in 1596. Spenser originally indicated that he intended the poem to consist of twelve books, so the version of the poem we have today is incomplete. Despite this, it remains one of the longest poems in the English language.It is an allegorical work, and can be read (as Spenser presumably intended) on several levels of allegory, including as praise of Queen Elizabeth I. In a completely allegorical context, the poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues. In Spenser's "A Letter of the Authors", he states that the entire epic poem is "cloudily enwrapped in allegorical devises", and that the aim behind The Faerie Queene was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline". He also used his own rhyme scheme for the sonnet. In a Spenserian sonnet, the last line of every quatrain is linked with the first line of the next one, yielding the rhyme scheme ababbcbccdcdee. Men Call you Fayre" is a fine Sonnet from Amoretti. He addresses the sonnet to his beloved, Elizabeth Boyle, and presents his courtship. Like all Renaissance writers, even he believed that love is an inexhaustible source of beauty. In this Sonnet, the poet expresses his idea of true beauty. The physical beauty will finish after a few days; it is not a permanent beauty. He emphasises beauty of mind and beauty of intellect. He considers his beloved is not simply flesh but is also a spiritual being. At the end, the poet praises her spiritual beauty and he worships her because of her Divine Soul and not for the external beauty she possesses.

In the year 1594 he got married to Elizabeth and wrote a wedding hymn titled "Epithalamion". Because of Tyrone's rebellion in the year 1595, he had to escape the castle in which some parts of The Faery Queen burnt down, this incident shattered him and he never recovered from this experience which was dreadful for him. He soon returned to England and died in the year 1599. According to Ben Jonson, he died "for the want of bread". He was buried beside his master Chaucer in Westminster Abbey.

Q2. Differentiation between literature of Renaissance and Age of Chaucer and Age of Revival  

Literary features of Elizabethan age or Renaissance : The word Renaissance itself means rebirth. Hence, once can understand that during this period the literature was reborn. Renaissance was a revival of classical learning and a flowering of arts and culture starting in Italy and spreading throughout Europe in the 14th through early 17th centuries. “Classical learning” refers to the study of ancient Greek and Latin writers, mathematicians, and philosophers. Scholars began to focus less on Christian-related writings and more on pre-Christian art and thought.Both writers and readers of the Renaissance marveled at the world. Writers strove to be as creative as the creator of the world. People of the Renaissance loved design and valued beauty and elaboration.

During this period there were no wars and hence people started working for various art forms, one such art was literature. Also during this time the printing press came to England which led to a huge amount of publication and people reading books. This Renaissance era in England from about 1485-1660, is freighted with famous writers and treasured texts. Spenser, Marlowe, Jonson, Milton, Donne, and the incomparable William Shakespeare are just a few names that appear on the Renaissance Writer Roll of Honor. 

As the renaissance movement flourished in England and with religious tolerance , interest in art , economical strength and diverse society, literature produced in England was the most impactful and marked as the beginning of a new era or the golden age for English literature.

A new kind of romanticism was seen in the literature during the reign of Elizabeth as writers produced works that were prolific and had a great sense of romance. The emergence of theatre was a significant step towards making Elizabethan drama the most glorious form of drama till date. Elizabethan drama used the traditional Aristotelian plot structure but there were some experiments which were made as for example , Shakespeare mixed some comic elements into tragic plays which became tragicomedy and is not known to the Greek philosophers.The literature produced in the age of Chaucer and Renaissance had a reflection of Bible and it's preachings in it while Elizabethan literature revolved around the human psychology , the circumstances faced in human life and various emotions.In the age of Chaucer, epic poems were the most produced as well as most popular form of literature while Elizabethan literature was the most popular for plays or dramas and poetries (especially sonnets).As dramatists like Shakespeare were experimenting with the structure of drama , poets like Spencer experimented with the traditional Petrarchan sonnet style where he made his own style of poetry which is known today as Spencerian style and we cannot see these kind of experiments in literary genres in revival or Chaucer's age. Bacon produced essays related to scientific theories like Novum Organum or Instauratio Magna which was not produced during the previous ages and thus called as the father of English Essays. 

This age is also known as the golden period in the history of English literature.

Age of Chaucer or Revival of Learning: During the Age of Chaucer, two great movements have been witnessed, the first is political, and culminates in the reign of Edward-III which depicts the victories of Edward and the Black Prince on the French soil. The French Language lost it's prestige and English became the official speech and a language for common people as well. The second movement is social,it falls largely within the reign of Edward's successor, Richard-II and marks a contradiction between luxury and poverty, between the wealthy upper class and over taxed peasants. The reason that medieval ages are also known as dark ages in the history of English literature is that the rulers of that time were not able to make peace with the people in the society which also led to production of literature with a tensed historical background. During this age epic poems were published the most and besides that pamphlets, essays and epics were published only a few. Due to the impact of French Language during that time, it is also reflected in the literature of the particular time. Geoffery's "Canterbury Tales" is the most noted work of the Age of Chaucer.

Drama was most produced during the Age of revival and it had a sense of mystery, miracle and morality plays can also be perceived as the foundation of drama in the Age of Elizabeth. Interludes, which were short dramas based on political and religious topics, were another form of literature which was another most produced literary form. John Heywood was a prominent name for producing interludes. 

People who were influenced and inspired by Chaucer were known as Chaucerians. Some Scottish Chaucerians like William Dunbar , Robert Henryson and Gavin Douglas contributed immensely towards literature. We can say that literary foundation of this age leads us to the golden period of the English history, i.e. Elizabethan age.

Comparison: If we compare any Age with the Age of Elizabeth, we can clearly witness the scale favouring the Age of Elizabeth, as the literature of that particular time was more lively and romanticised which also focused on humanity and emotions of the race. While it is clearly observed that during the Age of Chaucer the rulers were not at peace with the society, which led to some historically complex literature. To recapitulate, it can be said that Elizabethan age is known as the golden period in the history of English literature for a good reason.