From 13 and 14 centuries, the British wool industry developed rapidly, and cities and citizens appeared. Serfdom actually ceased to exist at the end of14th century. After the peasant uprising of 138 1, the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France (1337~ 1453) and the feudal "red and white wars of the roses", the influence of British feudal nobles has been greatly weakened. Some feudal nobles were eliminated, while others were bourgeois and became new noble. /kloc-In the 5th century, the British monarchy established a temporary alliance with the bourgeoisie and new noble, making Britain a centralized and unified nation-state. After entering the16th century, British capitalist industry and commerce developed further.
1588, the British navy defeated Spain's "Armada", gained maritime hegemony, and the whole country became prosperous. From the end of16th century to the beginning of17th century, the class contradiction in China deepened day by day. 17 in the 1940s, the bourgeois revolution finally broke out.
British humanistic literature is produced on the basis of the gradual development of capitalist economy.
1the end of the 6th century1the beginning of the 7th century is the golden age of English humanistic literature. Drama has achieved the greatest success.
During the Renaissance, a series of important writers appeared in England. Shakespeare occupies a very prominent position in it.
Geoffrey Jowham (1340~ 1400) is the earliest humanist writer in Britain. He is the son of a rich citizen. He was sent to France and Italy for many times, contacted the works of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, and accepted humanistic thoughts. He knows Latin and is familiar with the works of Ovid and Virgil. He reflected real life from the standpoint of the emerging bourgeoisie and expressed anti-feudal and anti-church thoughts. His major works include the long poem Troy and Criside and the fable poem Hall of Fame. Canterbury tales. The latter is his masterpiece and the masterpiece of realism.
Canterbury Tales (1387~ 1400) contains 24 short stories, most of which are written in poetic style. The preface in front of the work is the essence of the book. The author vividly described 29 pilgrims who made a pilgrimage to Canterbury. These pilgrims belong to different social classes. Among them, there are rich citizens such as hat dealers and furniture dealers, skilled craftsmen, hardworking and kind farmers, lawyers who are proficient in business, scholars who strive to pursue knowledge, housekeepers who steal teachers, doctors who cheat money, priests, nuns and sailors. All-encompassing. These characters are the epitome of14th century British society.
The characters created by the author are distinctive, close to spoken English and humorous. Influenced by decameron, Tales Collection reflects the essence of society through the stories told by pilgrims, and can be called the cornerstone of English humanistic literature.
Thomas Moore (1478~ 1335) was a famous British humanist thinker and writer during the Renaissance and the first utopian socialist in Europe. He is the son of a British royal judge. Accept humanistic ideas when studying at Oxford University. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons and Supreme Judge. He was killed because he opposed Henry VIII of England. His famous work is Utopia.
The work depicts the blueprint of utopian socialist ideal kingdom. This book is written in the form of a dialogue between the author and a traveler. The author opposes private ownership and yearns for a utopia in which everyone works, products belong to the public and each takes what he needs.
Green and Marlowe are famous English dramatists except Shakespeare in the Renaissance.
Robert green (1558~ 1592) started his literary creation when he was studying at Cambridge university. His plays clearly reflect the humanitarian thought. His masterpieces are The Monk Bacon and the Monk wilfred bungei (1590) and The Ranger of wakefield (1592). He belongs to the list of "University Talents". "University Talents" are a group of playwrights in England before Shakespeare. They received a good education in the university, accepted advanced humanistic ideas and were very talented. These people have made great contributions to English drama and promoted its development. Christopher marlowe (1564~ 1593) is the best among the "university talents". He is the son of a shoemaker and graduated from Cambridge University. He was radical, propagated atheism and * * * and political power, and was later killed. In his tragedy Timur (1587~ 1588), he created an ambitious oriental monarch who wanted to dominate the world.
The Tragedy of Dr. Faust (1592~ 1593) is adapted from a German folk story and tells the story of Dr. Faust selling his soul to the devil. From the standpoint of humanism, the author affirmed the great power of knowledge. Advocate the conquest of nature with knowledge, oppose feudal obscurantism and realize social ideals. Marlowe also wrote plays such as Jews in Malta and Edward II. His script style is bold, which not only describes the external conflicts of the characters, but also shows the internal contradictions of the characters. His creation has a great influence on Shakespeare.
During this period, Candiman Spencer (1552~ 1599) made the greatest achievement in English poetry. His famous poem The Fairy Queen (1589~ 1596) is the first national epic of the British bourgeoisie. The most famous writer of prose is Francis Bacon (156 1~ 1626). His masterpiece is a collection of essays (1597, 16 12, 1625). He is also a materialist philosopher and has written many philosophical works.