Renaissance me te Reformation; Te Wa Maramatanga
“Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”
– Oprah Winfrey
te ao Māori principles
There are five key principals that we, as an English Department, consider important as part of a holistic study at school. Please read through these and know that we will come back to them as we begin looking at texts.
- Mana – The prestige and authority of the writer. Writers can build mana through impactful stories that uplift readers.
- Whanaungatanga – The connections and relationships between characters, writers, and readers. Literature brings people together.
- Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship and protection of stories, language, and knowledge. Writers have a duty to share stories responsibly.
- Wairuatanga – The spirituality and deeper meanings conveyed through literature. Stories can be profound and moving.
- Mauri – The essential life force or vitality of the writer coming through in their work. Writing with purpose and energy.
- Aroha – The empathy, compassion, and love writers show through their words. Literature builds understanding between people.
- Tikanga – The customs, protocols and values upheld through storytelling. Writers adhere to cultural principles.
Key Terms
| Renaissance | the revival of European art and literature under the influence of classical models in the 14th–16th centuries. |
| Reformation | a major movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church |
| Enlightenment | a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. |
| Literature | written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit. |
| Era | a long and distinct period of history. |
| Period | belonging to or characteristic of a past historical time, especially in style or design. |
| Canon | the list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality. |
Learning Objectives
- To identify the key conventions of the era.
- To recognise the major literary works attributed to this time frame.
Exercises
Spelling
| their | they’re | there | to | two |
| too | be | be | bye | buy |
| weight | wait | week | weak | lead |
| led | flour | flower | blue | blew |
Summary Builder
Below is a piece of writing that you should attempt to summarise into around 100 words.
Only a handful have been found before. But none like her. Her name is Lyuba. A one-monthold baby mammoth, she walked the tundra about 40 000 years ago, then died mysteriously. Discovered on a riverbank in Siberia, she’s the most perfectly preserved woolly mammoth ever discovered. Lyuba has mesmerised the scientific world with her arrival – creating headlines across the globe.
‘Waking the Baby Mammoth’, a new television programme, tells the tale of this single accidental discovery of a frozen baby mammoth in the Siberian tundra and how the discovery has enriched our understanding of these extinct magnificent beasts.
The programme begins with the incredibly fortunate discovery of Lyuba by a reindeer herder who feared that disturbing the remains of the dead might lead to a curse. Too often with such findings, the preserved creature would be dug up and sold, leading to irreversible decomposition and the loss of a treasure trove of valuable information. However, the herder had enough foresight to contact authorities, and scientists began the careful retrieval process. Everyone wanted to know how Lyuba had died. What could she tell us about life during the Ice Age and the Earth’s changing climate?
The programme follows the scientific process and the hurdles in understanding where Lyuba came from and what she can tell us about her Pleistocene** life. That being said, apart from specific experiments involving high-tech bone scans, tissue extraction and dental examinations, the programme does not delve too far into the intricate data. We are left wondering whether scientists will be able to extract her DNA, and what secrets that might uncover. It’s impossible to watch the work on Lyuba without sharing the anxiety the scientists must have felt to get it right.
The programme succeeds brilliantly in bringing drama to a quite amazing story. We are presented with stunning 3D animations of Lyuba and her mother. In cinematic form, Lyuba is brought to life as an active furry baby mammoth, bouncing along next to scientists as they contemplate the frozen carcass’s secrets. The visuals are beautiful – light shines off the baby’s fur and her shadows dance in just the right way to really make her come alive.
The programme has truly woken the baby mammoth within our minds and hearts.
**Pleistocene: the Ice Age, which lasted over 2.5 million years and ended about 12 000 years ago
Eras of the English Literary Canon
era o te pukapuka reo Ingarihi canon
Moving on to the next phase in the journey through literature. Now we have key political implications that led to change in the writing style.
Up to this point, much of what has been written was grounded in religion. Namely, Christian. A lot of the stories and poems told the stories of the history of the tribe, the society, and the world. Centred within this was the connection with a creator.
There are some key elements within this particular time frame. Two most worthy of note are contemporaries (they were alive at the same time)
- King James I: The new King following the turmoil of Queen Elizabeth I who died without an heir. For a significant length of time the people of Britain were terribly afraid of a Catholic King returning to the throne after the political and religious upheaval of the post King Henry VIII era. James turned out to be a moderate and welcoming King to the English and even had the bible translated by the great writers of the time. Analytically, taking away the religiosity of the language, the King James Bible remains as one of the most important texts in the spread of the English language.
- William Shakespeare: It is difficult to consider the English language without the individual to contributed more to its production and understanding than any other. Shakespeare truly is the father of all modern literature. From him stems an incredible body of knowledge and understanding of English. Prior to his ascent to success, English was seen as fairly basic and functional to everyday work and life. Beauty was seen as a French attribute; intellect was the realm of Latin, and English was a more thuggish, transactional language. Shakespeare and his generation of writers changed that.
The Reaissance and Reformation Period
(1485-1660 CE)
(The Renaissance took place in the late 15th, 16th, and early 17th century in Britain, but somewhat earlier in Italy and southern Europe and somewhat later in northern Europe.)
I. Early Tudor Period
(1485-1558)
The War of the Roses ended in England with Henry Tudor (Henry VII) claiming the throne. Martin Luther’s split with Rome marks the emergence of Protestantism, followed by Henry VIII’s Anglican schism, which created the first Protestant church in England. Edmund Spenser is a sample poet.
Examples
Look at the language and style of the following extract of ‘My Lute Awake’, a poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1535)
II. Elizabethan Period
(1558-1603)
Queen Elizabeth saved England from both Spanish invasion and internal squabbles at home. Her reign is marked by the early works of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and Sidney.
Examples
Look at the language and style of the following extract of a speech by King Henry from ‘Henry IV’, a history play by Shakespeare (1600)
Yea, there thou makest me sad and makest me sin
In envy that my Lord Northumberland
Should be the father to so blest a son,
A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue;
Amongst a grove, the very straightest plant;
Who is sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride:
Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him,
See riot and dishonour stain the brow
Of my young Harry. O that it could be proved
That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged
In cradle-clothes our children where they lay,
And call’d mine Percy, his Plantagenet!
Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.
But let him from my thoughts. What think you, coz,
Of this young Percy’s pride? the prisoners,
Which he in this adventure hath surprised,
To his own use he keeps; and sends me word,
I shall have none but Mordake Earl of Fife.
III. Jacobean Period
(1603-1625)
Under the reign of King James I, this era featured Shakespeare’s later work but also brough in writers like Æmilia Lanyer, Ben Jonson, and John Donne.
Examples
Look at the language and style of the following poem ‘The Description of Cooke-ham’ by Æmilia Lanyer. This was written around 1606.
Grace from that grace where perfect grace remained;
And where the muses gave their full consent,
I should have power the virtuous to content;
Where princely palace willed me to indite,
The sacred story of the soul’s delight.
Farewell (sweet place) where virtue then did rest,
And all delights did harbor in her breast;
Never shall my sad eyes again behold
Those pleasures which my thoughts did then unfold.
Yet you (great Lady) Mistress of that place,
From whose desires did spring this work of grace;
Vouchsafe to think upon those pleasures past,
As fleeting worldly joys that could not last,
Or, as dim shadows of celestial pleasures,
Which are desired above all earthly treasures.
Oh how (methought) against you thither came,
Each part did seem some new delight to frame!
The house received all ornaments to grace it,
And would endure no foulness to deface it.
And walks put on their summer liveries,
And all things else did hold like similes.
IV. Caroline Age
(1625-1649)
John Milton, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, the “Sons of Ben” and others wrote during the reign of Charles I and his Cavaliers.
Examples
Look at the language and style of the following poem ‘Paradise Lost’ by John Milton. This was written around 1667.
Stand still in bright array, ye Saints; here stand,
Ye Angels armed; this day from battle rest:
Faithful hath been your warfare, and of God
Accepted, fearless in his righteous cause;
And as ye have received, so have ye done,
Invincibly: But of this cursed crew
The punishment to other hand belongs;
Vengeance is his, or whose he sole appoints:
Number to this day’s work is not ordained,
Nor multitude; stand only, and behold
God’s indignation on these godless poured
By me; not you, but me, they have despised,
Yet envied; against me is all their rage,
Because the Father, to whom in Heaven supreme
Kingdom, and power, and glory appertains,
Hath honoured me, according to his will.
Therefore to me their doom he hath assigned;
That they may have their wish, to try with me
In battle which the stronger proves; they all,
Or I alone against them; since by strength
They measure all, of other excellence
Not emulous, nor care who them excels;
Nor other strife with them do I vouchsafe.
So spake the Son, and into terrour changed
His countenance too severe to be beheld,
And full of wrath bent on his enemies.
V. Commonwealth Period/Puritan Interregnum
(1649-1660)
Under Cromwell’s Puritan dictatorship, John Milton continued to write, but we also find writers like Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Browne.
Examples
Look at the language and style of the following poem ‘Paradise Lost’ by John Milton. This was written around 1667.
Stand still in bright array, ye Saints; here stand,
Ye Angels armed; this day from battle rest:
Faithful hath been your warfare, and of God
Accepted, fearless in his righteous cause;
And as ye have received, so have ye done,
Invincibly: But of this cursed crew
The punishment to other hand belongs;
Vengeance is his, or whose he sole appoints:
Number to this day’s work is not ordained,
Nor multitude; stand only, and behold
God’s indignation on these godless poured
By me; not you, but me, they have despised,
Yet envied; against me is all their rage,
Because the Father, to whom in Heaven supreme
Kingdom, and power, and glory appertains,
Hath honoured me, according to his will.
Therefore to me their doom he hath assigned;
That they may have their wish, to try with me
In battle which the stronger proves; they all,
Or I alone against them; since by strength
They measure all, of other excellence
Not emulous, nor care who them excels;
Nor other strife with them do I vouchsafe.
So spake the Son, and into terrour changed
His countenance too severe to be beheld,
And full of wrath bent on his enemies.
Neoclassical Period
(1660 – 1790s CE)
Neoclassical literature was written between 1660 and 1798. This time period is broken down into three parts: the Restoration period, the Augustan period, and the Age of Johnson. Literature and poetry at this time became more formally strict and moralistic, with many writers engaging in criticisms of social norms and hierarchies. This approach to literature varied significantly from the Renaissance that came before. One of the most important elements of neo-classicism was that writers borrowed from the ideas and practices of the Ancient Roman and Greek eras.
Neo-classicism was prevalent across Europe, with some of the biggest literary strides occurring in England. Neo-classicism focused on taking aspects of Ancient Greek and Roman art and literature and imitating them. These original Ancient Greek and Roman texts were called classical works. Neo-classicism reworked these forms from antiquity for the modern day. Much of this was inspired by Grand Tours* that were common across Europe at the time. Young artists and writers became increasingly more aware of the artistic cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome and then used them in their own art.
Neo-classicism differed from the previous Renaissance period significantly. Renaissance literature often focused on the importance of the individual, particularly on humanity’s inherent moral good. Neo-classical literature instead focused on more universal issues and portrayed humans as much more nuanced and flawed.
*Grand Tours: Grand Tours: a common practice for young people of the upper classes, particularly young men, in the 1600s and 1700s. It involved travelling around the continent of mainland Europe and engaging in cultural education. Grand Tours were typically focused on Italy, France, and Greece.
The following video is a great help to assist in your understanding of this time frame. One thing you will notice straight away is that there are some differences in dates – don’t be too worried about this, there are always overlaps between eras as society tends to be more grey than black and white with dates.
Ko te reo te tuakiri | Language is my identity.
Ko te reo tōku ahurei | Language is my uniqueness.
Ko te reo te ora. | Language is life.