The modern period:
The Renaissance
Background
Socially, broke up feudal relations, established the
foundations of capitalism.
 Economy developed quickly;
 politically absolute monarchy was formed; king broke
up with Pope;
 culturally, great changes happened, free ideas;
reason\nationality (opposed to medieval age);
personality, freedom, dignity, potential
Definition of the Renaissance
meaning “rebirth”, rebirth of letters, is applied to the
movement or period which marks the transition from the
medieval to the modern world in western Europe.
It first sprang in Italy, then spread all over Europe.
The new humanistic learning which resulted from the
rediscovery of classical literature is frequently taken as the
beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious, intellectual side,
since people of Renaissance turned to the treasures of
classical culture and the authority of classical writers for
inspiration.
Features of Renaissance
It has two striking features:
one is a thirsty curiosity for classical literature;
the other is the keen interest in life and human activities.
People ceased to look upon themselves as
living only for God and for a future world.
Humanism
Broadly, this term suggests any attitude which tends to exalt the human
element or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the
supernatural, divine elements, or as opposed to the grosser, animal
elements.
In a more specific sense, it suggests a devotion to those
studies supposed to promote human culture most effectively,
in particular, those dealing with life, thought, language, and
literature.
Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
 Elizabethan playwright,
poet, professional actor
and businessman
 Considered greatest
writer in English, if not
in any language
 Writes historical plays,
romances, and comedies
 Writes on the human
condition
Hamlet
Hamlet
Soliloquy in Hamlet
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Soliloquy: or monologue, a dramatic speech delivered by one
character speaking aloud while under the impression of being
alone. The soliloquist thus reveals his or her inner thoughts and
feelings to the audience, either in supposed self-communion or
in a consciously direct address. It is also known as interior
monologue.内心独白
For such a figure as Hamlet, soliloquy is a natural medium, a
necessary release of his anguish; and some of his questioning
monologues possess surpassing power and insight, which have
survived centuries of being torn from their context.
The most famous soliloquy is perhaps “to be or not to be” in
Act III, Scene I, Hamlet.
To be or Not to Be
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Functions of the soliloquy:
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1) to give expression to a complicated state of mind and feeling
of a character
2) to provide a point of view on the events of the play.
Main Idea:
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This is an internal philosophical debate on the advantages and
disadvantages of existence, and whether it is one's right to end
his or her own life. It presents a most logical and powerful
examination of the theme of the moral legitimacy of suicide in
an unbearably painful world.
To be or not to be
Argumentative Structure
question raised→reasons given and choice
made→choice rejected→suspended
1. To die or not to die:
2. To die: death---sleep---dream (unreal)
3. Not to die: world of the dead unknown
4. Undecided
Theme
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Hamlet
Shakespeare retained the revenge subject and
the subject of struggle for the throne within
the court, but the main purpose was for the
revelation of something more profound and
realistic: contradiction between humanist
ideals and the reality.
To be or not to be
The main idea
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The speech conveys a sense of world-weariness as
well as the author’s incisive comments on the
social reality of his time.
Unlike the earlier single-minded avengers, Hamlet
lives between action and resolution. He is so
contemplative that he examines the nature of the
action only to deny its possibility. He considers it
better for people to die, but then says nobody
knows what happens in the afterlife.
• Hamlet is generally regarded as the greatest of all
tragedies. The tragedy is a milestone in Shakespeare's
dramatic development
 The main idea: the playwright achieved artistic
maturity in this work through his brilliant depiction
of the hero's struggle with two opposing forces:
moral integrity and the need to avenge his father's
murder. It emphasized the hero's dilemma rather
than the depiction of bloody deeds.
.
Hamlet
Character study of Hamlet:
1.
2.
1. Intellectual genius：
1) a great observer----well aware of the evil of the
time: “Time is out of joint.” “Denmark is a prison.”
In his monologue he enlists all kinds of social
injustice and evils in the society.
‘Tis an unweeded garden/ That grows to seed;
things rank and gross in nature/ Possess it merely.
那是一个荒芜不治的花园，长满了恶毒的莠草
Hamlet
Character study of Hamlet:
2) an idealist thinker ---
capable of calculated
cruelty and intrigue;
rather than an active
avenger or reformer,
subject to inactivity
or impulsive rashness
2. Melancholy
resist /die or not
feeling of world weariness, a sea
of troubles
unable to change the situation
• The cast of Hamlet’s mind is so
speculative, so questioning, and
so contemplative.
Hamlet’s Character
Hamlet
Character study of Hamlet:
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3. hesitation/delay: how he links the personal
revenge with the responsibility of social
change, and how he contemplates and
hesitates confronted by the distance between
ideal and reality. He hesitates again and
again, his tragedy is one of the time.
Hamlet
Character study of Hamlet:
4.humanist: university student with the most
progressive ideal of humanism, prince of Denmark
and heir to the throne. His praise of man and human
nature is a manifestation against the supernatural
power/divinity, and against the old doctrine that
man was born evil and must suffer in the world,
and against the feudal religious system.
Hamlet
The master art:
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madness real and sham;
intentional killing and unintentional;
play within the play;
reversion or surprise turn of events;
hesitation: his love and hatred for the mother,
killing and delay;
the language and characterization, etc.
His achievements
1. success in character-creations:
a) typical characters under typical circumstances. Have some
common features but there are striking differences from each other.
b) used contrast to give characters greater vividness
c) emphasis on the psychological make-up of his major characters,
thinking process in a detailed, analytical way, like soliloquies and
undertones in dialogue.
2.
Plot construction
His achievements
3. His language
freedom, ease. All the speeches fit all the
characters who speak them. Large vocabulary,
skilful in forming new expressions out of
common words; different writing style—sonnets,
blank verse, rhymed couplet, song