The Protestant Reformation in England - Essay Example

College: Writing Assignment Q1 In the 1520s, the Protestant Reformation was gaining steam in England. The influence came from Luther’s Germany, and it spread rapidly through England because the beliefs the new movement was proliferating were not entirely new to the English faithful. The Catholic Church in England tried to stem the spread of the new movement by burning the new English Bible Translations and executing the supporters of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers responded by sacking monasteries, plundering their possessions and releasing monks and nuns and encouraging them to marry (Abrams et al, 538). However, this persecution did not achieve its intended effect for two reasons: Firstly, due to the spirit of martyrdom whereby followers preferred to die than desert their beliefs. Secondly, the emerging printing press facilitated the proliferation of Protestant beliefs to great masses of people. In addition, the reigns of Kings Henry and Edward VI, and Queen Elizabeth I facilitated the spread of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century since these rulers supported it (Abrams et al, 539). Many English translations of the Bible came about in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The first of these was the joint translation by William Tyndale and his associate, Miles Coverdale, known as the Great Bible, which came out in 1539. The Geneva Bible was another English Bible translated by English exiles in Geneva. King James ordered the most important translation in 1603, the King James Bible. To counter these Protestant translations, Elizabethan Catholics came up with their own translation known as the Douay-Rheims version (Abrams et al, 540). So many translations of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate, were made during this period because the advocators of the Protestant Reformation believed that the laity should have direct access to the Bible instead of relying on interpretations of the Vulgate from clerics. Tyndale’s translation uses the word ‘love’, and so does the Geneva Bible. However, the Douay-Rheims Bible and the King James Bible are more conservative as evidenced by use of the word ‘charity’ instead of love (Abrams et al, 541). Q2 Queen Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558 to 1603. Her strong-willed leadership left a strong mark on this age which came to bear her name. She faced challenges since she was a child, which served to harden her and make her strong. Her father King Henry III expressed immense disappointment with her birth since he wanted a baby boy who would succeed him at the throne. Elizabeth I gained an extensive education spanning the disciplines of languages, rhetoric, history, moral philosophy, and theology. She was Protestant, a religious orientation which put her in immense disfavor with her half-sister Mary during her reign. However, she rose to the throne following Mary’s death and enforced Protestantism as England’s official religion (Queen Elizabeth, 593). She was an extremely independent ruler and made many crucial decisions by herself. She never married after rejecting several offers from princely suitors including the French duke of Anjou. Despite her authoritative rule, Elizabeth was a compassionate leader especially to the people around her. With her excellent command of language, she translated a number of popular verses such as those of Plutarch. She also wrote a number of poems about events in her life (Queen Elizabeth, 594). Elizabeth’s poems were octosyllabic, two-line verses with the first line having twelve syllables and the second line fourteen. This technique is illustrated by the first two lines of the poem the doubt of future foes, which concerns Mary Stuart, her Catholic cousin: ‘1The doubt of future foes exiles in my present joy,’ and ‘2And wit me warns to shun such snares as threaten mine annoy’. These poems carried various messages concerning morality and emotions. For example, the first line above is describing sorrow as evidenced by the phrase ‘exiles my present joy’, and the second line is talking about intelligence as illustrated by the word ‘wit’. They were also vigorous and rough-hewn as evidenced by the phrase ‘threaten mine annoy’ from the second line of the above verse (Queen Elizabeth, 594). Q3 Summaries of Sonnets 12, 15, 35 and 55 William Shakespeare was an English playwright who lived from 1564 to 1616. Although he mainly specialized in writing plays, he also wrote poems. Poems written by William Shakespeare are collectively known as Shakespeare’s Sonnets. They are 154 in number and deal with various themes such as love, beauty, time, and mortality. Sonnet 12 is propagating the theme that everything good comes to an end. Line 2 illustrates this theme, ‘And I see the brave day sunk in hideous night’ (Shakespeare, 1030). Sonnet 15 is talking about growing old. It describes aging as a terrible thing which is unavoidable. Line 13 illustrates this theme, ‘To change your day of youth to sullied night’ (Shakespeare, 1031). Sonnet 35 is urging readers not to waste time ruing past mistakes. All human beings have their own faults and are bound to make mistakes now and then as evidenced by line one ‘No more be aggrieved at that which thou hast done:’, and line five ‘All men make faults and even I in this’ (Shakespeare, 1033). Sonnet 55 is talking about the great power through which writing preserves the memory of events. It is more effective in this respect than any other means such as building statues. This message comes out clearly in the first two lines: ‘1Not marble nor the gilded monuments, 2Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme’ (Shakespeare, 1034). Sonnet 35 in Modern English Do not be aggrieved at past events or actions, Roses have thorns and fountains have mud, Clouds and eclipses block light from both the moon and the sun, Canker infects sweet buds of trees, 5All men make mistakes, including me, I allow you to trespass, but with measure, I am corrupting you and leading you astray, You are overestimating the magnitude of your misdeeds, I make you see your faults, Your enemy makes you grow stronger, 11A legal plea is made against me, Such actions made against me both benefit me and harm me, My property is beneficial, To the thief who steals it from me (Shakespeare, 1032). Analysis of Sonnet 18 The speaker in the poem is an admirer of a woman. The speaker compares her beauty to a summer day. The listener is a woman whom the speaker admires. There is use of connotation in the poem. The speaker refers to the listener as temperate. This word has both a positive and negative meaning, but the speaker is using the positive meaning of the word. The woman is mild in character, meaning she is not hot-tempered. There is dramatic irony in the poem. The speaker believes the woman’s beauty will never fade, but the truth is beauty fades with age (Shakespeare, 1031). There is use of hyperbole in the poem. In line nine, the author refers to summer as eternal. This is an exaggeration since summer lasts only a few months. The author has also put symbolism to use. In line eleven ‘death’ is used symbolically to represent the end of summer or the fading of beauty. The theme of the poem is beauty. The author is praising beauty by comparing it to a summer’s day (Bloy, 149). Works Cited Abrams, Meyer H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1. 7th ed.  New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Bloy, Barbara. English Literature: Close reading and analytical writing. New York: The People’s Pub Group, 2005. Queen Elizabeth. The Doubt of Future Foes, in Abrams, Meyer H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1. 7th ed.  New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare’s Sonnets, in Abrams, Meyer H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1. 7th ed.  New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Read More