Ch 7: MTEL English: Renaissance Literature
About This Chapter
MTEL English: Renaissance Literature - Chapter Summary
This chapter is designed to build up your readiness for the portions of the MTEL English exam that focus on Renaissance literature, including key authors and works. The subjects examined in this chapter include:
- An overview of Renaissance literature
- Major works by Shakespeare, including Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and Macbeth
- Shakespearean sonnets
- Plays by Christopher Marlowe
- Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene
- Works by Ben Jonson
- Characteristics of Renaissance literature
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1. Introduction to Renaissance Literature: Characterizing Authors and Works
Chances are, you've heard of the term 'Renaissance' before, but do you know what it means? Watch this video to learn about how this artistic movement forever altered England and the way we look at literature.
2. Introduction to Shakespeare: Life and Works
This video provides a crash course introduction to William Shakespeare's life, plays, and poetry. From 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' to 'The Tempest', we'll give you a timeline of his works and quick descriptions of what you need to know to identify them.
3. Richard III: Fact and Fiction in Shakespeare's History Plays
We'll tease apart the real and the invented in Shakespeare's Richard III and discuss Shakespeare's particular brand of historical fiction. We'll also go over the plot and characters, as well as some famous quotes from the work.
4. Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare's Famous Star-Crossed Lovers
Great tragedies resonate throughout time. In this lesson, we'll go over the role of fate in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We'll explore the story of his star-crossed lovers and explain some of his most famous quotes.
5. Julius Caesar: Shakespeare's Play vs. History
In this lesson, we'll examine Shakespeare's take on the life of Julius Caesar, which spawned such famous quotes as 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!' and 'Et tu, Brute!' We'll also take a look at Brutus and Cassius, the conspirators who plotted Caesar's demise, as well as Mark Antony and Octavius, who remained loyal.
6. Macbeth: Themes and Quotes from the Scottish Play
In this lesson, we'll follow how ambition shapes the events of Shakespeare's Scottish play, 'Macbeth'. We'll explore the plot, characters and supernatural elements that are characteristic of this play.
7. Shakespeare's Sonnets: Reading and Interpreting the Major Poems
In this video we'll learn about Shakespeare's sonnets, which contain some of his most famous poetry. Shakespeare addresses both a Fair Youth, speculated to be a young earl and patron, and a Dark Lady, whom he describes in frank and unromantic terms. We'll discuss the meter and rhyme scheme of the typical Shakespearean sonnet, as well as the structure of the overall work.
8. Introduction to Christopher Marlowe: Biography and Plays
English playwright Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare with a short but potent body of work to his name. Learn all about his plays - and his fascinating character - from our video lesson!
9. Introduction to Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene and Sonnets
Edmund Spenser is one of the key figures in the English Renaissance, and he made his name mostly by writing about dragons and knights. Pretty cool, right? Watch this video to learn about this important author and his biggest work, The Faerie Queene.
10. Introduction to Ben Jonson: Poems, Plays and Shakespeare
To a great deal of people, for a great deal of time, English playwright and poet Ben Jonson was known merely as a rival (and inferior) to William Shakespeare. But there's more to the story than that! Watch our video lesson to get the skinny on Jonson's life and work.
11. Renaissance Literature: Characteristics & Writers
Renaissance literature was born as the world emerged from the Middle Ages. It was the time of John Milton and Shakespeare. In this lesson, we will learn about the characteristics of the Renaissance period and the writers it produced.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the MTEL English (07): Practice & Study Guide course
- MTEL English: American Literature from 1600-1800
- MTEL English: Dark Romanticism & Transcendentalism
- MTEL English: Realism in American Literature
- MTEL English: Modernism in American Literature
- MTEL English: Contemporary American Literature
- MTEL English: Old & Middle English Literature
- MTEL English: 17th & 18th Century English Literature
- MTEL English: Authors & Poets of the Romantic Period
- MTEL English: Victorian Literature
- MTEL English: Contemporary British Literature
- MTEL English: Ancient Greek Literature
- MTEL English: Ancient World Literature
- MTEL English: European Authors & Poets
- MTEL English: Contemporary World Literature
- MTEL English: Characteristics of Literature
- MTEL English: Genres & Types of Fiction
- MTEL English: Elements of Non-Fiction
- MTEL English: Drama as Literature
- MTEL English: Elements of Poetry
- MTEL English: Types of Poetry
- MTEL English: Interpreting Prose
- MTEL English: Literary Devices
- MTEL English: Literary Theory & Criticism
- MTEL English: Language Acquisition
- MTEL English: Principles of Rhetoric
- MTEL English: The Essay Writing Process
- MTEL English: Types of Compositions
- MTEL English: Writing Conventions
- MTEL English: Language & Reading Processes
- MTEL English: Vocabulary & Word Choice
- MTEL English: Motivating Students to Read
- MTEL English: Research-Based Reading Instruction
- MTEL English Flashcards
