The age of Elizabethan in English history is regarded as a golden
age because many prominent and commanding literary figures as well as genres
have emerged. Such as Lyly with euphemism, Sir Philip Sydney with long pastoral
poems, Edmund Spencer with a unique style of Spenserians stanza, Christopher
Marlowe emerged as a prominent dramatist and discoverer of blank verse, and
all-time favorite poet and dramatist William Shakespeare was also the part of this
golden age.
During this age in England, many genres of literature flourished
such as poetry, prose, drama, and literary criticism. In poetry sonnet,
Spenserians stanza, and blank verse saw new ups while in drama Shakespearean
play is promoted. Many historical chronicles, versions of the Holy Scriptures,
pamphlets, and literary criticism to the first English novels were written
during this era. This period was from 1558 to 1603 and the later
following periods are remembered as Jacobean and Carolean respectively.
The period coinciding with the reign of England’s Queen Elizabeth
was considered to be the literary height of the English Renaissance. Poets and
dramatists drew inspiration from Italian forms and genres such as the love
sonnet, the pastoral, and the allegorical epic. Musicality, verbal
sophistication, and romantic exuberance dominated the era’s
verse. Works including Edmund Spenser’s The Shepheard's Calendar and
The Faerie Queene, the sonnets of Sir Philip Sidney and William Shakespeare,
and Sir Walter Raleigh’s lyrics. Drama especially flourished during this time;
see the comedies and tragedies of William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and
Christopher Marlowe.
In other terms, the period is the innovation of new spirit and
discoveries in various fields from painting to writing. The writers of this
contemporary period promoted the Petrarchan sonnets, especially by Shakespeare.
It means that they pay attention to the older source of knowledge. The
discussion can be summed in these words, the Elizabethan period was the
historic period of English literature that given both literary figures popular
of all the times as well as new genres of literature. The period was a source
of inspiration for the later age writers and even it urges us to write
something amazing.
