The Sixteenth Century
Things to Consider:
History of Tudor Dynasty
Protestant Reformation
Military History
Theater History
Terms to Know:
humanism (400-1)
cult of Elizabeth (408)
octavo (414)
quarto (414)
folio (414)
Euphuism (417)
sonnet (418)
volta (418)
pastoral mode (421)
heroic mode (421)
elegiac mode (421)
mystery play (422)
morality play (423)
blank verse (425)
Discussion Questions:
398:
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, how many people outside of England spoke English? Why?
399:
Describe the royal court in the 16th century.
400:
What
, according to the editors, did the Renaissance involve?
407:
Explain the theory of royal absolutism.
409:
Explain the significance of the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
411:
When were the Jews expelled from England? Why?
412:
Describe the status of blacks in Elizabethan England.
415:
Why
, according to the editors, was a career as a professional writer virtually impossible at this time?
What did literary patronage involve?
421:
What were the seven major literary modes in the sixteenth century?
Other Discussion Questions:
398:
Who was Owen Tudor?
What was the Battle of Bosworth Field?
399:
Who was Machiavelli?
400:
What was the "stigma of print" (400)? (cf.
Sundiata
)
401:
How, according to the editors, did the perceived purpose of education shift due to the rise of humanism?
402:
Why, according to the editors, do pagan gods and goddesses flourish in devoutly Christian texts of the period?
404:
What
, according to the editors, were the common watchwords of the Reformation?
405:
Who was Thomas Cromwell?
When was the
Book of Common Prayer
officially adapted?
406:
Why was Queen Mary nicknamed "Bloody Mary"?
Why was there a lack of assurance regarding Elizabeth's ascension to the throne?
What did the Puritans seek?
407:
Explain the theory of the "king's two bodies" (407).
411:
When were the Jews able to return to England?
412-13:
Explain Cartwright's case (1569).
Who was Francis Drake?
419:
Explain: "Elizabethans had a taste for elaborate, intricate but perfectly regular designs" (419).
421:
What is the argument of Sidney's "Defense of Poesy"?
422:
What irony, according to the editors, is associated with Sidney's critique of contemporary theater?
423:
Why did Elizabethan theater companies need patrons?
425:
Which of Aristotle's rules for tragedy does Shakespeare violate?
428:
Why were London authorities hostile to plays?
