4103225
Description
Flashcards by Alex Nguyen, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Alex Nguyen
over 8 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| What are the basis for English grammar | * Miracle plays: 14th C. * Morality plays: 15th C. |
| What are miracle plays | * Go back to pre-Christian festivals * Grammatization of biblical stories & events * Usually played in town, courtyards of inns, on wagons (each showing a different scene) |
| What are morality plays | * More or less original dramas * Usually about struggle between vice/virtues (always personified) for a man's soul * Virtues always win |
| What were the first English tragedies of the 1560's called and what were their characteristics | Senecan tragedy: * Poorly written * Badly characterized * Powerful in their own way |
| Who refined Senecan tragedy, what kind of plays did he write and give an example | * Thomas Kyd * He wrote revenge plays Ex: /The Spanish Tragedy/ |
| Edmond Spenser (1552-1599): What did he invent | * His own stanzas * Rhyme schemes |
| What did Spencer write, when, what is it | * During Elizabeth's reign, he wrote /The Faerie Queene/ * Unfinished epic: only 6/12 books completed |
| What are its characteristics | * "Courtesy book" = meant to fashion gentlemen by showing traits he should have * Elizabethans believed that moral lessons were taught through entertainment => poem filled w/ adventures & marvels |
| How can it be read | Could be read on various levels => as a romantic narrative (about a series of chivalric adventures => as a spiritual allegory (about a Christian struggle for salvation) |
| Christophe Marlowe (16th C.) What was his importance in Modern English literature | * Brought tragedy to a new & higher standard *Created blank verse (poetry that doesn't rhyme) |
| What were 3 of Marlowe's work | * /Jew of Malta/ * /Edward II/ * /Doctor Faustus/ |
| What theme is present in /Doctor Faustus/ and explain it | * Faust theme * It is timeless *About a (scholar) signs a pact w/ the devil for 24 yrs. of (knowledge) in exchange for his soul |
| What were three of the stories found in /Das Faustbuch/ | * /Doctor Faustus/ by Christophe Marlowe * /Faust/ by Goethe * /Doctor Faustus/ by Thomas Mann |
| What is /Doctor Faustus/ by Marlowe about | * Faust has a lot of doctorates, but wants to know more=> turns to black arts & calls the Devil, who is too busy=> sends Mephisto *Pact between Mephisto and the Faust => 24 yrs of power and knowledge VS soul * Faust does silly things & has fun: sells a horse who will run very fast if it does not touch water, goes to the Vatican where the Church officials are eating-> see plates flying (Dr. is invisible) * 24 yrs. pass=> Faust is dragged to Hell |
| Why is Dr. Faustus damned in Marlowe's /Doctor Faustus/ | * Period of time: Renaissance = lust for knowledge VS Middle Ages = insistance for salvation (not knowledge) => Marlowe, born in Renaissance, influenced by Middle Ages * Faust doesn't use power wisely or well * Seeds of decay are already in his character: although he has passion for knowledge, also lusts for power, riches, pleasure |
| What is /Faust/ by Goethe about | * Starts off with prologue * God & Devil look down on Earth: Devil sees Faust and says that he is his * Faust calls Mephisto = pact (24 yrs. of knowledge VS soul) * Faust helps build cities & falls in love with Gretchen (Margaret) * 24 yrs. pass: God intervenes and saves Faust |
| Why is Dr. Faustus saved in Goethe's /Faust/ | * 19th C: Golden Ages of German lit., advances in science, medicine & allowed to ask questions, experiment * Dr. Faust uses powers wisely and well * Love of a sweet young girl |
| What is the subtitle of /Doctor Faust/ by Mann | /The Life of Adrian Leverkuhn Composer/ |
| What is it about | *Wishes to be the best composer ever * Symbolic pact w/ Devil: Adrian goes to brothel, gets syphilis (STD) * Mann's pet theory: thin line between genius & madness * For 24 yrs. Adrian is a genius, but STD goes to brain = goes mad = dies damned *Mephisto appears in hallucinations (philosophical talks) |
| Why is Adrian damned | Under Adrian's story, Germany's story: Germany also made a pact w/ Devil (Hitler) => must be damned = Adrian is damned |
| What happened to Thomas Mann's book, why and what prize did he win afterwards | * His books were burned and banned because Hitler didn't like him * He won the Nobel prize |
| What did the name Jacobean dramas were given to plays | Because they were written under James I |
| Ben Jonson (1572-1637) What was his importance in Jacobean drama | * Literary critic, poet, dramatist * Concerned about dramatic correctness: develops a body of rules on writing plays to give example for others to follow -> Sons of Ben = followers * Wrote satirical comedies Ex: /Every Man in His Humour/ and /Every Man out of His Humour/ * Most his characters were controlled by their humour (mood, temperament) |
| John Webster (1574-1634) What characterized his work and give 2 examples of plays | * Used an Italian setting * Most of his characters were corrupt * Wrote /The Duchess of Malfi/ and /The White Devil/ (White devil = person who on the outside looks sweet, good, innocent, but on the inside is bad, nasty, evil and corrupt) |
| Define Puritan | English protestant who regarded the reformation of the Church under Elizabeth as incomplete & sought to abolish unscriptural and corrupt ceremonies |
| Describe the Puritans' social status under Elizabeth and James I | * Under Elizabeth: maintained an uneasy status quo * Under James I: began to get more powerful -> authorized a new translation of the Bible |
| What were the Puritan's beliefs | * Everyone should be able to read the Bible * Believed in punishment as long as they were the ones who administered it -> set up spiritual courts which were abused * They were the guardians of public moral -> disapproved many fun activities (ex: maypole dancing, plays) |
| What did they manage to do under Elizabeth and why | * Forced theaters to move to the outskirts of London=> managed to close all theaters * Because the actors play characters = open up to the Devil |
| What did the Puritans' increasing power provoke | A civil war broke out (1645-1649): Charles I's army VS Puritans (Parliamentarian's army) |
| How did it end | * 1649: Charles I tried for treason => beheaded = Puritans' victory * England was proclaimed a free state = Commonwealth |
| What happened to the government | * Oliver Cromwell (Parliamentarian general and Puritan) took control -> imposed a harsh Puritan military government on the country => 1649-1660: no monarchy in England |
| What happened after Oliver Cromwell's death | * Parliament voted to restore monarchy -> 1660: Charles II was restored to the English throne * Charles II dug up Cromwell & beheaded him like he had beheaded Charles I |
| Why is the period following Cromwell's death called Restoration Drama | * Charles II is restored to the throne * Charles II restored all theaters |
| What was the dramatists social class and why | * They were aristocrats (members of the inner circle at the king's court) * Because writing was a gentlemanly thing to do |
| Describe Restoration Drama and its plays | * Restoration Drama: narrow and confining * Plays: artificial or filled with emotionalism |
| What were the 2 directions in which Restoration Drama developed | Tragedy and comedy |
| Give characteristics of tragedy plays | * Ideals of the age (love, war, kingship) took over the stage * Dilemma was contrived (so planned out = feels fake) * Characters unconvincing * Language bombastic (a lot of words, but no meaning) |
| What were the tragedies about and how was it written | * About a warrior hero & the fate of an Empire * Written in elevated style |
| How many comedies were there | Twice as much comedies as tragedies |
| What was seen as a bore in comedies | Constancy in love & marriage |
| What were the comedies about | * Dealt with escapades of gentlemen & ladies in sophisticated society * Focuses on polite behavior & some aspects of sexual relations * Reflects the upper classes of restoration |
| Which country had great influence on Restoration Drama | France |
| Give examples of authors and their world | * Sheridan: /The School for Scandals/ * Goldsmith: /She Stoops to Conquer/ * Congreve: /The Way of the World/ |
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