Flashcards on British Literary History: Anglo-Saxon to Romanticism
British Literary History: Anglo-Saxon to Romanticism Guide
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17th Century Literature and Art
24 cards
Card 1
Question: What shift in political attitude replaced Elizabeth’s diplomacy in the early 17th century and who embodied it?
Answer: A self-centred aspiration embodied by James I, who believed he was chosen by God and so did not need Parliament.
Card 2
Question: How did James I’s belief in divine right affect England?
Answer: It led to conflicts with Parliament and eventually contributed to major problems: the Civil War and the Restoration.
Card 3
Question: What does 'Mannerist pessimism' in 17th-century art and culture signify?
Answer: A loss of Renaissance optimism, emphasis on death and decay (skulls as symbols), weakening trust in man as a rational being.
Card 4
Question: List key characteristics of mannerism and baroque pessimism.
Answer: Cult of death and transience, disproportion, nihilism, violent/religious warfare influencing art and society, greater focus on death and decay.
Card 5
Question: What do the statues at Kuks represent and how do they reflect 17th-century attitudes?
Answer: Statues of virtues and vices reflecting the era’s focus on moral contrast and the pessimistic view of human nature.
Card 6
Question: Why are the Globe burning in 1613 and Shakespeare’s death in 1616 significant culturally?
Answer: They were seen as symbols of the departure of Renaissance culture.
Card 7
Question: Name the two main literary streams in early 17th-century England.
Answer: 1) Continuation of the Renaissance (e.g., Ben Jonson) and 2) Departure from the Renaissance (e.g., metaphysical poetry).
Card 8
Question: What type of writing did Ben Jonson represent?
Answer: Continuation of Renaissance humanistic, Platonic, Petrarchan-influenced writing; famous for classical grandeur.
Card 9
Question: What defines 'metaphysical' poetry in the 17th century?
Answer: Rational inquiry into questions beyond physical life—God, afterlife—using intellectual argument and unusual metaphors.
Card 10
Question: Who was the most original metaphysical voice of the 17th century and what were his main genres?
Answer: John Donne (1572–1631); he wrote erotic/physical love poetry and religious/metaphysical poetry.