ABSTRACT

Students Level: B2 language level in English (or higher);

Age: 15-20

These pages deal with different aspects of the English Renaissance. The Historical Background gives a brief outline of the Tudor dynasty which ran from 1485 to 1603 and strongly marked the literary production of the period. The Social Background presents the cultural and economical situation of a country which is beginning to rise as an international power. Then we will deal with one of the most striking aspects of cultural life in XVI century England: the birth and development of drama. The last sections deal with the life and works of the two most important poets and playwrights of the English literature: William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

Each section has many links to websites where more information on the topic can be found, together with extracts or complete texts by Shakespeare and Marlowe, comments and translations.

Pre-requisites:

- B2 language level in English

- General knowledge of poetic conventions (rhetorical devices, rhyme, metres)

- General knowledge of dramatic conventions (features of tragedy and comedy)

- General knowledge of the history of the XVI century

- Knowledge of the conventions of Elizabethan drama

- Knowledge of the conventions of XVI century poetry

- Knowledge of the plot of Romeo e Juliet

Objectives: these lessons will

- teach the most important historical events of XVI century in England

- give the social context in which the finest English writers lived and worked

- explain the most important characteristics of the Elizabethan Drama

- present the life and works of William Shakespeare

- improve students’ language skills by surfing the sites in different languages

- analyse Shakespeare’s use of language and images

- analyse the poetic features Shakespeare's sonnets

- present the life and works of Christopher Marlowe

- analyse the main features of Marlowe’s masterpiece.