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★ The Renaissance Renaissance means rebirth or revival.It is the combination of Christian and Greek traditions.It is a movement that marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world. It aims to get rid of those old feudalist ideas and introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie. I. Historical background: 1. political: a. 1337-1453: war between England and France b. 1455-1485: war of the Roses (Lancaster---York) c. 1485: Henry VII. Tudor Dynasty 2. religious: a. Henry VIII Reformation → Protestantism b.1553: Queen Mary, Anti-Reformation c. 1558-1603: Queen Elizabeth d. 1611: King James Bible 3. economical: a. The Enclosure Movement b. colonies 4. military: 1588, the defeat of Spanish “Armada” 5. The Elizabethan Age Social order and political stabilityGreat development of national economyExpansion of foreign trade and marketsEstablishment of nationalistic consciousness Improvement of peoples life Introduction of printingReligious tolerance and intellectual libertyAge of dreams, of adventures, of unbounded enthusiasmAge of translation and literature New social and economic conditions brought about great changes in the development of science and art. There was the growing interest in man and in the infinite capabilities of man as against implicit faith in God. 6. Literary giants Edmund Spenser Philip Sidney Christopher Marlowe William Shakespeare Francis Bacon Ben Jonson and John Donne II. Renaissance: an intellectual movement sprung first in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe. Two features are striking of this movement. The one is a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature. Another is the humanism, which means the new feeling of admiration for human beauty and human achievement. III. Humanism 1. To exalt human elements or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the supernatural, divin