The Elizabethan Age

THE ELIZABETHAN AGE

The Elizabethan Age is considered one of the flowering ages of English literature. this age is named after Elizabeth 1, the queen of England. the thought and literature of this age were deeply influenced by the Renaissance. in fact, the Queen Elizabeth was also a product of Renaissance. she was well-read in Greek, Latin, French and Italian .during her reign, many artists and writers, including Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare, thrived under her patronage.

Some of the important literary forms of this period are drama, poetry, and prose. in drama, Shakespeare and university wits, in poetry Spenser, Shakespeare and others. in prose Francis Bacon and others were the popular Elizabethan writers.

1. The Elizabethan poetry: sonnets 

in Elizabethan poetry, the most popular form was the "lyric". over the centuries, it had acquired many forms such as the 'Madrigal', the 'song', the 'ode', the 'ballot', the 'elegy' and the 'sonnet'.

sonnet, a famous lyrical verse form of the Elizabethan age, was popularized by a number of sonneteers namely, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Philip Sydney, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, the Earl of Surrey, Daniel, etc.

2. The Elizabethan prose: Essays

In Elizabethan prose, the most popular form was the "Essay". the origin of the essay has been attributed to Roman writes, Cicero and Seneca. they wrote epistles which have been now considered as essays. then, Montaigne a French writer of the 16th century, wrote "volume of essays" as a systematic ar form. but Francis Bacon has the credit of transplanting the essay into England.

3. The Elizabethan Theatre: Drama

The fame of the Elizabethan age rests on the heights of drama. it was this period in which drama was popularized by many dramatists including John Lyly, Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Thomas Lodge, William Shakespeare, John Webster, and others