THE RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND

RENAISSANCE
(1485 – 1660)

 Depicted as a cultural movement that started in Italy and spread all over Europe
 Considered to be the division between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era
 Referred particularly to a renewed interest in classical learning – the writings of ancient Greece and Rome

Two Major Divisions of the Renaissance

 Italian Renaissance
 Focused on the city states of Italy and Rome
 Emphasized secular pursuits, the humanities, and the arts
 Northern Renaissance
 Encompassed the regions of Northern Europe, England, Spain, France, Germanic regions
(Holy Roman Empire), and The Netherlands

Major Themes of the Renaissance

 Humanism – a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human
beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism
and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition.
 Secularism – the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to
represent the state from religious institution and religious dignitaries; asserting the right to be free from
religious rule and teachings, or, in a state declared to be neutral on matters of belief, from the
imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people.
 Individualism – the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes
the moral worth of the individual; makes the individual its focus and so starts "with the fundamental
premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation".

TIMELINE

Pre-1400 (The Black Death and the Rise of Florence)

 In 1347, the Black Death began ravaging Europe. Ironically, by killing a large percentage of the
population, the plague improved the economy, allowing wealthy people to invest in art and display,
and engage in secular scholarly study.
 By the end of the century, Florence became the center of the Renaissance in 1396. It has been said
that Florence became the birthplace of the Renaissance as a result of luck, i.e. because “Great
Men” were born there by chance.

1400-1450 (The Rise of Rome and the de Medici Family)

 The beginning of the 15th century (probably 1403) saw Leonardo Bruni offer his Panegyric to the City
of Florence, describing a city where freedom of speech, self-government, and equality reigned.
 Leonardo Bruni is an Italian humanist, historian, and statesman; he is also considered as the
first modern historian.
 In 1401, Italian / Florentine artist Lorenzo Ghiberti was awarded a commission to create bronze doors
for the baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence.
 Filippo Brunelleschi (the first modern engineer, planner, and sole construction supervisor) together
with Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi or Donatello (an Italian sculptor) traveled to Rome to begin
their 13-year stay sketching, studying, and analyzing the ruins there.
 The first painter of the early Renaissance, Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone and better known as
Masaccio, was born.
 During the 1420s, the Papacy of the Catholic Church united and returned to Rome, to begin the vast
art and architectural spending there; a custom which saw major rebuilding when Pope Nicholas V
was appointed in 1447.
 Lorenzo de’ Medici became the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging
his countrymen to commission works from the leading artists in Florence.
 The de Medici family of Florence became the most powerful family in the Renaissance due to their
business dealings and banking.

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1451-1475 (Leonardo da Vinci and the Gutenburg Bible)

 The Italian Renaissance polymath (a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different
subject areas—such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific
problems), Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly known as da Vinci, was born.
 The first printing press was invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenburg in 1450.
 William Caxton, an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer, is thought to be the first person to
introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and was the first English retailer of printed books.
 The Gutenburg Bible (42-line Bible) was the first major book printed using the mass-produced
movable metal type printing press in Europe (1456).

1476-1500 (The Age of Exploration)

 The War of the Roses (a series of dynastic civil wars between the supporters of the rival houses of
Lancaster and York for the throne of England) ended in 1485.
 The war ended with the victory of the Earl of Richmond, Henry Tudor.
 He was declared as the new king given the title of Henry VII.
 He also established the Tudor dynasty, an absolute monarchy which ruled Britain for 117 years.
 The last quarter of the 16th century witnessed an explosion of important sailing discoveries in the Age
of Exploration: Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488; Columbus reached the
Bahamas in 1492; and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498. In 1485, Italian master architects
traveled to Russia to aid in the rebuilding of the Kremlin in Moscow.
 Artistic works of this period include Botticelli's "Primavera" (1480), Michelangelo Buonarroti's relief "Battles
of the Centaurs" (1492) and painting "La Pieta" (1500); and Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" (1498).

1501-1550 (Politics and Reformation)

 Julius II was appointed pope in 1503.

 Henry VIII came to power in 1509.
 He is the descendant to his father’s throne, Henry VII.
 He became famous for beheading his many wives and breaking with the Catholic Church
to create the Church of England.
 Reformation stated in the year 1517.
 Reformation is a religious schism which permanently divided Europe spiritually (heavily
influenced by humanist thinking).
 Renaissance art completed in this period includes:
 Michelangelo's sculpture "David" (1504), as well as his paintings of the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel (1508–1512) and "The Last Judgement" (1541).
 Da Vinci painted the "Mona Lisa" (1505); and died in 1519.
 Raphael painted the "Donation of Constantine" (1524).
 Desiderius Erasmus, a scholar and theologian, wrote the Praise of Folly (1511), De Copia (1512), and
the New Testament.
 Niccolo Machiavelli wrote “The Prince”.
 Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, humanist and writer of the
Renaissance period, often called as the “father of modern political science”.
 Thomas More wrote “Utopia” in 1516.
 Sir Thomas More was the Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of King Henry VIII, the
highest office in England.
 Baldassare Castiglione, count of Casatico and an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent
Renaissance author, who wrote “The Book of Courtier” in 1516.

1550 and Beyond (The Peace of Augsburg)

 England’s Golden Age began when Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England in 1558.
 Isabella Whitney, the first English woman ever to have written non-religious verses, published “The
Copy of a Letter” in 1567.

GREAT WRITERS OF THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD

 William Shakespeare
 An English poet, playwright, and actor; widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English
language; often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon”; his works include
Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Much Ado About
Nothing, and others.

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  Francis Bacon
 An English philosopher, orator, and author; known as the father of empiricism; his popular
work “Of Studies”.

 Ben Johnson
 An English playwright, poet, actor, and literary critic; his works include Every Man in His
Humour, Volpone, or the Fox, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair.

 John Milton
 An English poet, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under
Oliver Cromwell; his best work is the epic poem “Paradise Lost” (1667), written in blank verse.

 Francesco Petrarca
 An Italian scholar and poet, known as the father or founder of humanism; his famous pieces
include Canzoniere (Song Book), Trionfi (Triumphs), and Sonnet 227.

 Christopher Marlowe
 An English playwright and poet who was considered as the foremost Elizabethan tragedian
of his day; his works include The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Edward II, The Massacre
at Paris, and The Passionate Shepherd to his Love.

SHAKESPEARE AND MACBETH

Shakespeare’s Inspiration for Macbeth

 Shakespeare got his idea of Macbeth from Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicles”, the most popular book
of British history of Shakespeare’s days
 Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606, during King James’ reign
 King James I’s superstitious beliefs of witchcraft also inspired Shakespeare in writing a piece with
elements of witchcraft and evil
 Macbeth is written as a tribute to King James I

MACBETH is a story about the murder of a king by his cousin, the revenge of a son, the three witches who
plot against Macbeth, and Macbeth’s rise and fall

MACBETH
The Rise and Fall of a Great Man

Setting: Northern Scotland and England

Characters:

 Macbeth – the protagonist of the story; an ambitious army general in Scotland

 Lady Macbeth – wife of Macbeth
 King Duncan – King of Scotland
 Malcolm – oldest son of King Duncan; Prince of Cumberland
 Donalbain – youngest son of King Duncan
 Banquo – an army general; a good and loyal friend of Macbeth
 Macduff – Scottish nobleman and Lord of Fife; known for his wisdom and integrity
 Three Witches – three weird sisters who gave prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo

Macbeth’s Storyline

 The Scottish armies defeated their enemies in battle led by Macbeth and Banquo.
 King Duncan, due to his army’s victory, bestowed Macbeth a noble title of “Thane of Cawdor”
(though Macbeth is still unaware of such bestowment).
 On their way back, Macbeth and Banquo met Three Witches who gave them prophecies:
 Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor
 Banquo will produce a line of kings
 Macbeth will be King of Scotland
 Macbeth was told by a messenger that King Duncan has made him “Thane of Cawdor”.
 Macbeth told his wife about the prophecies and that King Duncan will visit the castle.
 Lady Macbeth told his husband, Macbeth, that it’s their chance to kill the king that night.
 While King Duncan is asleep, Macbeth killed him. Lady Macbeth then frames King Duncan’s sleeping
servants for the murder by placing bloody daggers on them.
 For fear that they might be the next persons to be killed, Malcom and Donalbain, ran away to
England and Ireland respectively.

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  Macbeth was crowned King of Scotland.
 Macbeth was reminded of Banquo’s prophecy so he hired men to kill Banquo and Fleance. Banquo
dies, Fleance escapes.
 Macbeth was then haunted by Banquo’s ghost so he decided to visit the witches.
 The Three Witches again prophesized:
 He should be careful of Macduff
 No one born of woman could kill him
 He is safe until the woods move
 Macbeth then orders to kill Macduff but when he is nowhere to be found, they killed his entire family.
 Macduff persuades Malcolm to take back the throne. He agreed and they returned to Scotland
with 10,000 soldiers. When they came, they cut down and carry tree limbs as camouflage to
Dunsinane Hill.
 Lady Macbeth was overwhelmed with guilt that she committed suicide.
 Macbeth then sinks into despair. He’s losing soldiers and some of them joined the English army.
 Macbeth and Macduff then faced each other. Macbeth telling him that he cannot be harmed for
‘no one born of woman could kill him’. Macduff replied that he was not born from his mother’s womb
but ripped from it (i.e. caesarean section).
 Macbeth died from Macduff’s hand by beheading him.
 Malcolm became the new King of Scotland.

Places to note in Macbeth

 Forres is a castle in Scotland where Duncan lives. They are battling near his castle to ward off the
Norwegian invaders. When Macbeth becomes king, he will live at Forres and Banquo will be
murdered only a mile from the castle.
 Inverness is where Macbeth's castle is before he becomes king. This is where Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth kill Duncan.
 Fife is where Macduff and his family live. When Macduff leaves for England, he leaves his family
unprotected at his castle in Fife, and Macbeth's hired thugs kill all of Macduff's kin there.
 Birnam Wood is a forest near Dunsinane Hill. Malcolm's men disguise themselves with tree branches
so that when they approach Macbeth's castle at Dunsinane, it looks as if the forest itself is moving
and their numbers are concealed.
 Dunsinane Hill is a hill on which Macbeth has a castle. This is where he stays to await Malcolm's troops.

Literary Device Used

Foreshadowing plays an important role in Macbeth because most of the action of the play is hinted at before
it happens. The three witches have a heavy hand in the foreshadowing because their prophecies are the
motivation for Macbeth's actions. Furthermore, Banquo remembers the witches' prophecy, and so he
suspects that Macbeth has killed the king to get the throne. Banquo also knows that the witches said that his
descendants would be king. This serves to remind that audience that Macbeth is not finished securing the
throne, and we know that Banquo is now in danger.

Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition

The main theme of Macbeth—the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral
constraints—finds its most powerful expression in the play’s two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous
Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and
advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia.
Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other
hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions
of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare’s most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband
mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder’s aftermath, but she is eventually driven
to distraction by the effect of Macbeth’s repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition—
helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches—is what drives the couple to ever more terrible
atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one’s quest for
power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne—Banquo, Fleance, Macduff—
and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.

The Relationship between Cruelty and Masculinity

Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her
husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could be “unsexed,” and does not contradict
Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same manner that Lady
Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Macbeth provokes the murderers he hires to kill Banquo by
questioning their manhood. Such acts show that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth equate masculinity with

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naked aggression, and whenever they converse about manhood, violence soon follows. Their understanding
of manhood allows the political order depicted in the play to descend into chaos.

At the same time, however, the audience cannot help noticing that women are also sources of
violence and evil. The witches’ prophecies spark Macbeth’s ambitions and then encourage his violent
behavior; Lady Macbeth provides the brains and the will behind her husband’s plotting; and the only divine
being to appear is Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft.

Arguably, Macbeth traces the root of chaos and evil to women, which has led some critics to argue
that this is Shakespeare’s most misogynistic play. While the male characters are just as violent and prone to
evil as the women, the aggression of the female characters is more striking because it goes against prevailing
expectations of how women ought to behave. Lady Macbeth’s behavior certainly shows that women can
be as ambitious and cruel as men. Whether because of the constraints of her society or because she is not
fearless enough to kill, Lady Macbeth relies on deception and manipulation rather than violence to achieve
her ends.

Ultimately, the play does put forth a revised and less destructive definition of manhood. In the scene
where Macduff learns of the murders of his wife and child, Malcolm consoles him by encouraging him to
take the news in “manly” fashion, by seeking revenge upon Macbeth. Macduff shows the young heir
apparent that he has a mistaken understanding of masculinity. To Malcolm’s suggestion, “Dispute it like a
man,” Macduff replies, “I shall do so. But I must also feel it as a man” (4.3.221–223). At the end of the play,
Siward receives news of his son’s death rather complacently. Malcolm responds: “He’s worth more sorrow
[than you have expressed] / And that I’ll spend for him” (5.11.16–17). Malcolm’s comment shows that he has
learned the lesson Macduff gave him on the sentient nature of true masculinity. It also suggests that, with
Malcolm’s coronation, order will be restored to the Kingdom of Scotland.

The Difference between Kingship and Tyranny

In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a “king,” while Macbeth soon becomes known as the
“tyrant.” The difference between the two types of rulers seems to be expressed in a conversation that occurs
in Act 4, scene 3, when Macduff meets Malcolm in England. In order to test Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland,
Malcolm pretends that he would make an even worse king than Macbeth. He tells Macduff of his
reproachable qualities—among them a thirst for personal power and a violent temperament, both of which
seem to characterize Macbeth perfectly. On the other hand, Malcolm says, “The king-becoming graces /
[are] justice, verity, temp’rance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, [and] lowliness” (4.3.92–93).

The model king, then, offers the kingdom an embodiment of order and justice, but also comfort and
affection. Under him, subjects are rewarded according to their merits, as when Duncan makes Macbeth
thane of Cawdor after Macbeth’s victory over the invaders. Most important, the king must be loyal to
Scotland above his own interests. Macbeth, by contrast, brings only chaos to Scotland—symbolized in the
bad weather and bizarre supernatural events—and offers no real justice, only a habit of capriciously
murdering those he sees as a threat. As the embodiment of tyranny, he must be overcome by Malcolm so
that Scotland can have a true king once more.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s
major themes.

 Visions and hallucinations recur throughout the play and serve as reminders of Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth’s joint culpability for the growing body count. When he is about to kill Duncan, Macbeth
sees a dagger floating in the air. Covered with blood and pointed toward the king’s chamber, the
dagger represents the bloody course on which Macbeth is about to embark. Later, he sees Banquo’s
ghost sitting in a chair at a feast, pricking his conscience by mutely reminding him that he murdered
his former friend. The seemingly hardheaded Lady Macbeth also eventually gives way to visions, as
she sleepwalks and believes that her hands are stained with blood that cannot be washed away by
any amount of water. In each case, it is ambiguous whether the vision is real or purely hallucinatory;
but, in both cases, the Macbeths read them uniformly as supernatural signs of their guilt.

 Violence is one of the controlling elements of the story; and therefore, Macbeth has been classified
as a famously violent play. Interestingly, most of the killings take place offstage, but throughout the
play the characters provide the audience with gory descriptions of the carnage, from the opening
scene where the captain describes Macbeth and Banquo wading in blood on the battlefield, to the
endless references to the bloodstained hands of Macbeth and his wife. The action is bookended by
a pair of bloody battles: in the first, Macbeth defeats the invaders; in the second, he is slain and
beheaded by Macduff. In between is a series of murders: Duncan, Duncan’s chamberlains, Banquo,
Lady Macduff, and Macduff’s son all come to bloody ends. By the end of the action, blood seems
to be everywhere.

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  Prophecy sets Macbeth’s plot in motion—the witches’ prophecy that Macbeth will become first
thane of Cawdor and then king. The weird sisters make a number of other prophecies: they tell us
that Banquo’s heirs will be kings that Macbeth should beware Macduff that Macbeth is safe till
Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane, and that no man born of woman can harm Macbeth. Save for
the prophecy about Banquo’s heirs, all of these predictions are fulfilled within the course of the play.
Still, it is left deliberately ambiguous whether some of them are self-fulfilling—for example, whether
Macbeth wills himself to be king or is fated to be king. Additionally, as the Birnam Wood and “born
of woman” prophecies make clear, the prophecies is interpreted as riddles, since they do not always
mean what they seem to mean.

Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

 Blood – Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the opening battle between the Scots and
the Norwegian invaders, which is described in harrowing terms by the wounded captain in Act 1,
scene 2. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to
symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot
be washed clean. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” Macbeth
cries after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job
(2.2.58–59). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained: “Out, damned
spot; out, I say . . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” she
asks as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play (5.1.30–34). Blood
symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves.

 Weather – As in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth’s grotesque murder spree is accompanied

by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm. From the thunder and lightning that
accompany the witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan’s
murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.

KEY FACTS:

Full title: The Tragedy of Macbeth

Author: William Shakespeare
Type of work: Play
Genre: Tragedy
Language: English
Time and place written: 1606, England
Date of first publication: First Folio edition, 1623
Publisher: John Heminges and Henry Condell, two senior members of Shakespeare’s theatrical company
Tone: Dark and ominous, suggestive of a world turned topsy-turvy by foul and unnatural crimes
Tense: Not applicable (drama)
Setting (time): The Middle Ages, specifically the eleventh century
Setting (place): Various locations in Scotland; also England, briefly
Protagonist: Macbeth
Major conflicts: The struggle within Macbeth between his ambition and his sense of right and wrong; the
struggle between the murderous evil represented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the best interests of
the nation, represented by Malcolm and Macduff
Themes: The corrupting nature of unchecked ambition; the relationship between cruelty and masculinity; the
difference between kingship and tyranny
Motifs: The supernatural, hallucinations, violence, prophecy
Symbols: Blood; the dagger that Macbeth sees just before he kills Duncan in Act 2; the weather
Foreshadowing: The bloody battle in Act 1 foreshadows the bloody murders later on; when Macbeth thinks
he hears a voice while killing Duncan, it foreshadows the insomnia that plagues Macbeth and his wife;
Macduff’s suspicions of Macbeth after Duncan’s murder foreshadow his later opposition to Macbeth; all of
the witches’ prophecies foreshadow later events.

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