The spacious times of great Elizabeth
With sounds that echo still.
Tennyson
6. Point out some of the traces that the social and religious unrest has left upon the literature of the time.
7. “There exists a general impression that our prose dates from the sixteenth century.” (Earle.) Is this impression a correct one?
CHAPTER IV
FROM CHAUCER TO SPENSER
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (1450–1550)
The dates that appear at the head of this section are only approximate, but the general features of the time are well defined. In England the period begins with wars, unrest, and almost chaos; it concludes with a settled dynasty, a reformed religion, and a people united and progressive. Abroad, as well as in England, there is apparent the broad intellectual flood known as the Renaissance, running deep and strong: the renewed desire for knowledge, changes in religious ideals, the discovery of new worlds, both geographical and literary, and the enormous quickening of heart and mind. In England the scene is being prepared for the great age to follow.
LITERARY FEATURES OF THE AGE
1. Poverty of Material. Considering the length of the period, the poverty of the output is hard to explain. There is no English poet of any consequence; the prose writing is thin in quality and quantity; and if it were not for the activities of the Scottish poets the age would be poor indeed.