Developments in Drama, Music, Poetry and Architecture (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
Developments in Drama, Music, Poetry and Architecture
Introduction: the role of royal and noble patronage
After the Reformation, the Catholic Church was no longer a major patron of the arts in England. This gap was filled by royal and noble patronage, which became crucial in supporting cultural development during the Tudor period.
The legacy of the Catholic Church
Before the 1530s, the Catholic Church had been England's primary cultural patron. Monasteries served as important centres of learning, and the Church employed large numbers of artists and musicians. Cardinal Wolsey, for example, used his considerable wealth to fund the rebuilding of Hampton Court Palace from 1514.
When the monasteries were dissolved in the 1530s, this traditional source of cultural support disappeared, creating a significant gap in England's cultural patronage system that needed to be filled.
How royal and noble patronage filled the gap
Royal and noble sponsors took on the role previously held by the Church, supporting musicians, artists, writers and actors. This patronage ensured that cultural traditions not only survived the Reformation but developed in exciting new directions.
Key examples of patronage in action:
- Thomas Tallis (musician): Despite being Catholic, Tallis received sponsorship from Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I in turn, allowing him to continue composing throughout the period
- Poets: Noble patrons supported poets like Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser, enabling new poetic forms such as the sonnet and blank verse to flourish
- Theatre companies: Noble sponsorship of acting companies protected them from arrest and enabled the staging of great Elizabethan plays. The Lord Admiral's company performed Christopher Marlowe's early plays in the late 1580s, while the Lord Chamberlain's company performed Shakespeare's works from around 1590
The limits of patronage
However, royal and noble patronage was not the only factor driving cultural change. Several other important influences shaped Tudor culture:
While royal and noble patronage was crucial, it worked alongside several other key factors that drove cultural innovation during the Tudor period. Understanding these multiple influences helps explain the richness and diversity of Tudor cultural achievements.
- Early innovations: Experimentation with sonnets and blank verse had already begun in Henry VIII's reign through the work of Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who were themselves members of landed society rather than dependent artists
- The Renaissance: This cultural movement, with its focus on ancient Greek and Roman culture, encouraged new interest in polyphonic music and poetic forms like the sonnet
- The Reformation: As the Catholic Church no longer dominated art and culture, more experimentation became possible
- The printing press: Its increasing use allowed both religious and secular music and literature to be published (subject to strict censorship laws), feeding popular demand and creating conditions for further innovation
- Commercial enterprise: The development of famous Elizabethan theatres from 1576 was funded not by noble patrons but by theatre managers like James Burbage, who were theatrical entrepreneurs
Developments in drama
Tudor drama reached new heights under Elizabeth I, despite strong opposition from Puritans who believed plays encouraged sin and immoral behaviour.
Earlier dramatic traditions
Before Elizabeth's reign, England already had established dramatic traditions:
- Medieval plays: Miracle and morality plays were performed by amateurs in English in centres such as Coventry and York. These continued into Elizabeth's reign before being finally suppressed
- Grammar school plays: English grammar schools followed a humanist tradition of staging plays in Latin
- Court entertainments: The royal court staged 'disguisings', elaborate performances that might involve music and dancing
Factors encouraging Elizabethan drama
Several key developments allowed Elizabethan drama to flourish:
- The break with Rome: This removed Catholic control over cultural expression
- The printing press: Enabled plays to be published and distributed more widely
- Noble patronage: Protected playwrights and actors from arrest
- Growth of the English language: Expanded vocabulary gave playwrights richer linguistic resources
- Humanist education: Emphasis on studying classical Greek and Roman texts, history and languages encouraged playwrights to produce their own versions of classical stories or rewrite English history for Tudor propaganda
The first London theatres
In 1576, a major breakthrough occurred when James Burbage built and opened the first London theatre, simply called 'the Theatre'. The Rose theatre followed in 1587.
Features of Elizabethan Theatres:
The design of Elizabethan theatres represented a significant advance in theatrical infrastructure:
- Replaced temporary stages, allowing more complex staging
- Had no roof and were built in the round
- Usually included a pulley system to raise and lower actors
- Had a trapdoor for entrances and exits
- Groundlings (poorer audience members) could pay one penny to stand
- Wealthier visitors could pay to use seating in the balconies
This design enabled performances to reach both rich and poor audiences simultaneously, democratizing access to entertainment.
Professional companies and playwrights
Using the company of professional actors patronised by the Earl of Leicester, Burbage provided entertainment to both rich and poor. These conditions encouraged playwrights to experiment and develop their craft.
Christopher Marlowe emerged as a major playwright in this environment, producing plays such as The Jew of Malta (c.1589) in the late 1580s for the Lord Admiral's company.
Developments in poetry
Tudor poetry evolved significantly throughout the period, with innovations occurring at different stages.
Early Tudor poetry: John Skelton
John Skelton was an important early Tudor poet who wrote in English. As Henry VIII's tutor, he later pursued careers in both the Church and writing. His satirical poetry in English often mocked the wealthy and powerful. His most famous work, 'Why came ye not to court?', was a vicious attack on Cardinal Wolsey.
Mid-Tudor innovations: Wyatt and Howard
Sir Thomas Wyatt (senior) and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, came from the ranks of landed society and served as both courtiers and poets. Their aim was to improve the English language and the quality of English poetry.
Their influences and achievements:
Both were influenced by humanist 'new learning', particularly through reading Latin and Italian verse. They translated the sonnets of Petrarch, a 14th-century Italian writer, but also began writing their own original poetry.
Key Innovations by Wyatt and Howard:
- They are credited with inventing what became the most common form of sonnet in England
- Wyatt's famous work 'Whoso list to hunt' is a love sonnet, possibly about Anne Boleyn
- Howard was the first person to use blank verse in English, in his translation of the Roman writer Virgil's work
These innovations laid the foundation for all Elizabethan poetry and drama that followed.
Key terms:
Sonnet: A form of poem that has 14 lines. It was used by classical poets and during the Renaissance. Wyatt and Howard contributed to the formation of the English sonnet structure by inventing three sets of four rhyming lines followed by two rhyming lines at the end (a couplet).
Blank verse: Poetry that does not rhyme, but where every line has the same rhythm, known as iambic pentameter. It was a form common in classical literature. Howard's translations introduced this form to England.
The impact on Elizabethan literature
The sonnet and blank verse became the most widely used literary forms by Elizabethan playwrights and poets. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets during his career and used blank verse throughout his plays.
William Shakespeare's career
Shakespeare's life and work exemplify the impact of humanist thought and the Renaissance on English culture:
- Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the son of a successful glover
- Attended one of the new grammar schools established by Edward VI, where he learnt to read and write and studied Latin
- Moved to London in the 1580s and became involved with theatre companies
- Turned to playwriting by the early 1590s
- In his work, innovations in poetry, English language and drama combined to create propaganda for the Tudors
Developments in music
Music in Tudor England was heavily influenced by the Renaissance and European interest in polyphonic music (music with several parts or lines). English composers experimented with this form under the patronage of both the Church and the monarchs.
Music under different monarchs
Henry VIII's reign:
- The king favoured the medieval tradition of grand, lengthy music
- High treble or descant lines were popular
- Both religious and secular works were composed
Edward VI's reign:
- Musical pieces became shorter and plainer
- The high treble part was removed
- English texts replaced Latin in religious music
Mary I's reign:
- Return to longer, more complex pieces in Latin
- Restoration of the high descant line
Elizabeth I's reign:
- A musical compromise mirroring her religious settlement
- Latin could still be used
- Pieces became shorter again
The impact of religious change on composers
Composers' careers and musical styles were heavily shaped by the religious changes of the period.
Early Tudor composers:
John Taverner: Appointed choirmaster and organist at Wolsey's Cardinal College, Oxford, in 1526. He produced a series of Latin Masses and other religious works using polyphonic techniques.
Christopher Tye: Working a generation later, Tye had Protestant sympathies and was employed at Edward VI's court to give advice on music. His works were still secular but used English translations. His work The Actes of the Apostles (1553), a translation of the New Testament book set to music, was dedicated to Edward VI.
The peak of Tudor music: Tallis and Byrd
Thomas Tallis:
- Career lasted from the 1520s to the 1580s despite his Catholicism
- Survived through his ability to adapt to changing religious requirements
- Under Elizabeth, his compositions reached new heights with the ambitious Spem in Alium (c.1570), an unaccompanied piece for 40 separate voices and parts
- Also branched out from Latin, using English texts and composing secular pieces
William Byrd: Another major Elizabethan composer who, along with Tallis, represented the peak of Tudor musical achievement.
Developments in architecture
Architecture and building changed dramatically during the Tudor period, affecting both grand stately homes and the houses of ordinary people.
Royal building projects
Henry VIII was the only Tudor monarch to build new palaces. In the 1530s, he began building Nonsuch Palace in Surrey and embarked on ambitious, expensive rebuilding plans at Whitehall and Bridewell.
Later Tudor monarchs (Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I) did not build new palaces, partly because their finances were so limited.
The rise of 'prodigy houses'
From the 1570s, members of the nobility began building grand country houses on an unprecedented scale. These became known as prodigy houses.
Early examples:
- Somerset House: Built on the Strand for the Duke of Somerset, this was the earliest example
- Longleat, Wiltshire: Construction began around 1568, owned by Sir John Thynne. He employed stonemason Robert Smythson to help design and build the house
Robert Smythson: Became known as one of England's earliest architects, though architecture was not really considered a profession until the 17th century. After Longleat, he built another famous Tudor house at Wollaton, Nottingham, for Sir Francis Willoughby.
Other famous prodigy houses:
- Theobalds: William Cecil's country house
- Kenilworth Castle: The Earl of Leicester's renovation of this medieval castle
Architectural style and features
Prodigy houses were strongly influenced by humanist interest in Roman and Greek classical architecture. They represented a complete departure from medieval design.
Key Characteristics of Prodigy Houses:
- Purpose: Designed for comfort and privacy rather than defence, reflecting increasing political stability
- Materials: Increasingly built with brick rather than stone
- Light and space: Emphasis on creating pleasant living environments through multiple windows
- Interior layout:
- Series of private rooms for the family's use
- Medieval great hall still incorporated but less central
- Parlour for relaxation
- Separate dining parlour for meals
- Formal or 'state' rooms on the first floor
- Series of bedchambers
- Long gallery (first seen in Henry VII and VIII's palaces, used for exercise and private conversations; having one added prestige)
Contrast with medieval buildings:
Medieval castles and fortified manors were built primarily for defence, using stone construction. Prodigy houses showed that defence was no longer the main concern for the Tudor elite.
Building among lower social groups
Architectural development was not confined to the nobility and gentry. Evidence from surviving wills shows significant changes:
- Average number of rooms increased from three in Henry VIII's reign to between four and five by Elizabeth's reign
- Prosperous yeomen might have six to eight rooms by Elizabeth's reign
- Husbandmen (tenant farmers or small landowners) might have two to three rooms
- Wealthier farmers built second floors and included fireplaces and chimneys rather than open hearths
- Those with less money extended houses on the ground floor
- Many built separate kitchens to reduce fire risk
The impact of the cult of Gloriana
The cult of Gloriana emerged in the 1570s as a form of propaganda that encouraged the 'worship' of Elizabeth I.
Gloriana was the Faerie Queen in Edmund Spenser's poem of the same name. Spenser made clear in a letter to Walter Raleigh that Gloriana symbolised Elizabeth: "in that Faery Queen I mean glory in my general intention but in my particular I conceive the most excellent and glorious person of our sovereign".
Elizabeth's impact on architecture
According to historian John Guy (1988), architecture was the area where Elizabeth's direct impact was least obvious. Between Henry VIII's death and 1603, not a single new palace was constructed or acquired by the Crown.
However, Elizabeth exercised indirect influence through her annual progresses, which shifted the responsibility for housing her court during summer onto her subjects. Courtiers competed to build magnificent houses for her entertainment. The aesthetic initiative passed to the nobility and gentry, resulting in the finest examples of Elizabethan style.
Cultural change by the end of Elizabeth's reign
By the end of Elizabeth's reign, Tudor culture had changed considerably as a result of:
- The Reformation
- Humanist ideas
- Royal and noble patronage
Major achievements:
- Growth of English drama and poetry led to the first theatres and a distinct English style of verse
- Art was successfully harnessed by Tudor monarchs for propaganda purposes
- Music developed into something recognisably English in style
- Architecture and building experienced rapid growth, with results still visible today
Key Points to Remember:
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Royal and noble patronage filled the gap left by the Catholic Church after the Reformation, supporting musicians, artists, writers and actors, though wider social changes (Renaissance, printing press, commercial enterprise) were also crucial
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Drama flourished under Elizabeth with the building of the first London theatres (1576 onwards), professional companies, and great playwrights like Marlowe and Shakespeare who used innovations like blank verse
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Poetry developed through the work of Skelton, Wyatt and Howard (who introduced the sonnet and blank verse), culminating in Shakespeare's 154 sonnets and his use of blank verse in plays
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Music evolved from Catholic polyphonic traditions through the religious changes of the Reformation, reaching its peak with composers like Tallis and Byrd who adapted to different monarchs while producing both religious and secular works
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Architecture transformed from medieval defensive castles to 'prodigy houses' emphasising comfort, light and space, influenced by classical Roman and Greek styles, with building improvements extending even to lower social groups