The Literature of the 15th century. Ballads. The Renaissance. Sir Walter Ralleigh

1. THE LITERATURE OF THE 15TH CENTURY. BALLADS. THE RENAISSANCE. SIR WALTER RALEIGH

Lecture 5
Трякина Светлана Анатольевна,
ГОУ СОШ №1232, г. Москва

2. After Geoffrey Chaucer’s death in 1400 for two centuries there was no name in English literature which could be placed next to

his.
There were historical reasons for this.
England was faced with a great misfortune:
a feudal war between the descendants of
King Edward III began.

3. It started in 1455 between the houses of Lancaster and York, and is known as the War of the Roses. A red rose was the symbol of

the Lancasters, and a white rose
was the symbol of the Yorks.

4. It was the war of aristocracy in which common people took little part. In the situation of war, destruction and ignorance of

the people it was
impossible to continue what Geoffrey Chaucer had started.

5. Nevertheless, the name of William Caxton is worth remembering, because he set up the first printing press in London and later

in Oxford.

6. Though there were no original authors in the 15th century, folklore could not stop developing.

That century is famous for another genre of
folklore - ballad. Ballads became popular
in England and Scotland.
They were lyrical poems, which were recited
or sung to the lute or the bagpipe.
Ballads and songs expressed the feelings and
thoughts of people.
They were handed down from generation to
generation by word of mouth.

7. The art of printing helped to preserve them. Ballads continued to develop till the 18th century.

BALLADS
Historical
(based on
a historical
fact)
Heroic
(about the people
persecuted by law
and their families)
Romantic
(telling of
love and
noble deeds)

8. The most popular ballad cycle is “The Robin Hood Ballads”, which consists of about 40 heroic ballads with the element of

romance.
Robin Hood is a legendary
hero who lived in the 12th
century in Sherwood
forest not far from
Nottingham. He lived
during the reign of
Henry II and his son
Richard I the Lion Heart.
Robin Hood was known as
the enemy of the Norman
barons and sheriffs and
protector of the poor and
oppressed.

9. The ballads about Robin Hood consist of four-line stanzas, usually in the form of a dialogue between Robin Hood and other

characters.
Repetition of sounds is quite common in these ballads
.
Then bold Robin Hood for Nottingham goes,
For Nottingham town goes he,
There did he meet with a poor beggar-man,
He came creeping along the highway.
“What news, what news, thou old beggar-man?
What news, come tell into me.”
“ O, there is weeping and wailing in fair Nottingham
For the death of the squires all three”.

10.

During the following centuries the name of Robin
Hood became proverbial for an outlaw who
robbed the rich to help the poor.
One of the best-known treatments of Robin Hood
is in Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe”, where he is
depicted under the name of Locksley.
Films and television have made his story wellknown in the 20th century.

11. THE RENAISSANCE ( the Revival of Learning)

The 15th century in Europe was the beginning of
the Renaissance. It was the period when
European culture was at its height. New social
and economic conditions demanded that new
ideology should appear.
This ideology was to be opposed to the Catholic
dogmas of the Middle Ages.
This new ideology proclaimed the value of
human individuality, the value of Man as such,
whatever his birth or social status.

12. This new outlook was called Humanism. The time demanded positive, rational knowledge, that’s why intellect, experience,

scientific experiment
were of vital importance. It was the time of great discoveries in science and
geography. The time was glorified by the names of Copernicus, Columbus,
Magellan, Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Thomas More, Montaigne, Francis Bacon
and many other giants of mind.

13. Sir Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh was a typical man
of the Renaissance. He was a
statesman, courtier, soldier, sailor,
explorer, pirate, colonizer,
historian, philosopher, poet.
He was born in1552 and entered
military service when he was a very
young man. He was very brave, and
Queen Elizabeth I dubbed him a
knight. He fought with Spaniards at
sea, he founded the colony of
Virginia in North America and
brought potatoes and tobacco to
Europe. After Queen Elizabeth’s
death Sir Walter Raleigh was
imprisoned and spent 13 years in
the Tower of London.
He was executed in 1618 on a
charge of conspiracy.

14. In the Tower of London Sir Walter Raleigh turned to writing poetry and wrote “ A History of the World”.

Unfortunately, much of
his poetry is lost, but
even what is left can
prove that he was an
outstanding poet. His
poems are deeply
philosophical and
quite sad, as many of
them very composed
during his
imprisonment.

15. Источники:

1.
Волосова Т.Д., Геккер М.Ю., “English Literature”, ч.1., М., изд-во «Просвещение», 1977г.
2.
Кукурян И.Л. “An Outline of English Literature”,М., изд-во МГУ ,1997г.
Иллюстрации:
http://www.canarvzoo.com/British History Medieval Britain War Roses htm.
http:// aeroparkingmurcia.com/yixe/re-roses-clipart
http://club.itdrom.com./gallery/gal_photo/macro/11880 html/
http://www.artchive.com/web_gallery/D/Daniel-Maclise/Caxtons-Printing-press-1651.html
http://hesternic.tripad.com/equinxbattle.htm
http.www.izvestia.ru/news/350767
http://www.epochtimes.com ua/ru/travels/world-wonders/hrystofor kolumb/t22171.html
http:commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/category Ferdinand Magellan?uselang=ru
http:www.dyslexia-dysgraphia.ru/genius.htm/
http:publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/M/
http:www.ec-dejavu.net/e-2/michel_de_montaigne.htm/
http://subscribe.ru/archive/culture/people.biograpedia/201104/24173136.html
http:www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/tudor_9htm
http://ithaca-66.livejournal.com/11319.html