The Elizabethan age called the golden age of English literature
Question: Why is the Elizabethan age called the golden age of English literature?
Introduction
Elizabethan age (1558-1603) is named after Queen Elizabeth 1 who retained over England from 1558 to 1603. The social life of England was marked with a strong National spirit, humanity, liberal and religious views, scientific curiosity, social content, intellectual progress, and ultimate enthusiasm. During this age, English literature was flourished to a whole new level.
Inauguration of every branch of literature
Elizabethan Age is characterized by the abundance of production in every branch of literature. There was a renaissance of Greek and Roman literature, mythology, and culture. This served as a source of inspiration to the countless writers of the period. It is universally acknowledged that the Elizabethan age is the golden age of English literature.
An Unparalleled inspiration
An Unparalleled inspiration started for the literary pursuit in this age and thus was born great writers like Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Wyatt, Sir Philip Sidney, Thomas More, Thomas Nashe, and many more. Let us consider the different areas of literature one by one to judge their excellence in this period.
Golden time for drama
The age of Elizabethan witnessed the rise of drama as the most important literary form. Excellent comedies and serious tragedies were written and staged. The famous plays of this period deal with the Universal theme. The playwright probed deep into the psychology of the characters and brought out inherent human nature. Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” and Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” shows the sufferings of men for indecision and the shouldering the responsibility for correcting the whole of mankind. The themes, characterizations, language, and techniques of the Elizabethan drama touched the topmost height of excellence by any meter of Criticism.
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Golden time for poetry
Let us begin with poetry. Edmund Spenser’s “The Fairy Queen” is one of the greatest poems of English literature. The poem has displayed Spencer’s wonderful sense of beauty and pictorial power. The quality of pure essential poetry can be felt on almost every page of this great work. This makes him the poet of the poets. The Other remarkable poet of the Elizabethan age is Thomas Wyatt and Sir Philip Sidney. For the introduction of the Petrarchan form in the English sonnet, Wyatt is the pioneer. Sidney’s sonnets were free from the artificiality of conventional political works. His “Astrophile and Stella” was the first English sonnet sequences. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest Sonnet writers of all time. His sonnets represent his love for natural beauty, vastness, and plenty.
Enrichment of prose
English prose also found its ground in the Elizabethan age and improved to a great extent. The essay develops in the works of Francis Bacon. Sir Philip Sidney’s “Arcadia”, Thomas more’s “Utopia” and Thomas Nashe’s “The Unfortunate Traveler” are a few among the famous prose writing of this age. The style of the pole enjoys steady development throughout this age.
Conclusion
The above discussion makes it clear that the Elizabethan age produced a lot of meritorious writers. Those writers enriched every branch of English literature with their contributions. So Elizabethan age can rightly be called the golden age of English literature.
