Ans: Elizabethan Age (1558-1603) is an epoch-making period in the annals of English literature. This very age is often considered the “Golden Age” of English literature as it was a time of immense progress, stability, and national pride. This golden age represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and the flowering of poetry, music, splendid prose, and literature. The era is most famous for its theatre.
Under the rule of Queen Elizabeth 1 then England prospered unprecedentedly in all the major sectors of life. Eventually, a sort of genuine inspiration influenced the creative world of the time. Consequently, literature flourished immensely and it flourished in such a way that it touched the peak of excellence. Its height is still unsurpassed and for this reason, this era is often called the golden age of English literature.
The literature of any country grows out of social conditions. It also happened in England in the latter half of the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth 1 opened up many vistas of social and national development. Under her rule, England expanded its empire almost all over the world. By that time Renaissance reached England and new learning started. All these factors had tremendous effects on the intellectual group among the people and consequently, a flood of thoughts came out in the form of literature which has so far remained unsurpassable.
The Renaissance helped kindle the fires of knowledge and a rare reawakening took place. As a result, an unparalleled inspiration started for literary pursuits.
Let us consider the different areas of literature one by one to judge their excellence in this period. Let us begin with poetry. In this respect, the names of Wyatt and Spenser are often remembered. They introduced sonnets, romance, and epic in English and developed them in thought and language to the optimum level. We may take the publication of Edmund Spenser’s “Shepherds Calender” in 1579 as marking the opening of the golden age of English literature. It is a pastoral poem in which the poet followed the models set by Theocritus and Virgil and by French and Italian writers of the Renaissance. Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”, “Epithalamion” and “Prothalamion” may be cited for their charming versification, grand rhymes, and rhythms. The Great national thoughts imbibed in “The Faerie Queene” are indeed rare in English literature.
William Shakespeare is one of the greatest sonnet writers of all time. His sonnets are the lyrical expressions of his perception of friendship and devotion to his love and of his experience and ideals. Moreover, they contain his love for natural beauty, vastness, and plenty.
In the history of British drama, no other period is as golden as the Elizabethan Age. This age witnessed a galaxy of original and creative masters of drama. By that time Renaissance brought knowledge of Greek and Roman drama to England, and Seneca’s revenge tragedies became a popular model. Though there were a few attempts before the Elizabethan age, English drama found its real shape in this age. Theatre houses were built to accommodate the increasing audience. All these factors contributed to the unprecedented development of drama. In the hands of the University wits, drama first began to realize its latent potentialities, and the exuberance and vitality which typify Elizabethan drama first made themselves felt.
Shakespeare along with Christopher Marlowe made blank verse supreme in the drama. Its energy, splendor, resonance, lucidity, and sensitivity to the demands of varying emotions are unrivaled. In the field of tragedy comedy, Shakespeare left the stamp of his genius. In the post-Shakespearean period, Ben Johnson innovated a new type of comedy which is known as a comedy of humor.
The term ‘metaphysical’ has come to be applied to Donne and the group of poets who followed him. Metaphysical poetry is characterized by a depth of philosophy, a subtlety of reasoning, a blend of thought and devotion, a mingling of the homely and the sublime, and startling comparisons
In the Elizabethan age, prose rises to a position of first-ranging importance. The essay develops from the works of Francis Bacon. The style of prose enjoys a steady development throughout this age. There is an increase in the raw material of prose in the shape of many foreign words that are imported. The novel has some meager but significant beginnings in Thomas More’s Utopia, Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, and most of all in Thomas Nash’s “The Unfortunate Traveller”. The Elizabethan age witnessed the birth of literary criticism. There is a glowing expertness in sentence and paragraph construction. These were romances in nature that bore the seeds of future English novels.
As has been detailed above, English literature especially English drama excelled in quality and quantity in the Elizabethan age. The never aging wisdom, the unparalleled eloquence of language, the unsurpassable characterization, and the innovative dramatic techniques have raised the drama of this age above the drama of all other ages. Similarly, the ease and grace of verses, the grandeur of thoughts, and the innovations of new poetic forms made this age memorable. For these reasons, the Elizabethan age is called the golden age of English literature.
