A New Kind of Literary Pulse

Christopher Marlowe was an English playwright, poet and translator. He greatly influenced Shakespeare on theatrical issues and was his most important predecessor in English drama. Marlowe’s plays are known for their specific style: as a matter of fact, he is especially known for establishing the dramatic blank verse and for his overreaching protagonists.

Acclaimed by Sir Philip Sidney in his Defense of Poetry, Edmund Spenser was considered to be the greatest of English poets in his days. Using Virgil’s praise of Rome and of the Latin tongue in the Aeneid as an exemple, he glorified England and its language in his most famous piece of work, an unprecedented neoclassical epic in English: The Faerie Queene. He also had a huge influence on the ... [+]

English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney was regarded as the ideal gentleman in his days. Nowadays, he is still remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His essay, The Defense of Poetry, has enabled to introduice the Renaissance theorists’ critical ideas to England while his Astrophel and Stella is considered as one of the finest Elizabethan ... [+]

English poet, playwright and actor, William Shakespeare is often called the English national poet. He is also considered by many to be the greatest playright of all times. He holds a unique position in world literature: his reputation has transcended national borders and even though his plays were written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, they are now more read and performed than eve ... [+]