Literature is a cornerstone of English society, both historically and today, and for quite a surprising reason.
The reason that England has such an relationship with high literature, a lot so that a lot of the bestsellers offered by the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books or the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books will still include English renaissance stage shows and poetry, is based in the reformation. No matter the true motivations behind England's secession from the Catholic church, the core of the matter revolved around one central issue-- the right of all to read and interpret the Bible. By ending up being a protestant country, the power of the composed word and the advancement of the English language to accommodate it was considerably raised within the culture. Courtiers doubled as poets, and playwrights developed amazing works of literature for all classes in a growing London society. We still concern the English connection with literature as one of the cornerstones of our culture, which's because it is.
When you hear the phrase 'renaissance', it's most likely that what springs into your mind is the unbelievable developments in art, science, and architecture that derived from Italy in the late 14th century. It was the intellectual trigger that cast a shallow light in the depths of the Dark Ages, a period of over a thousand years in which whatever resembling civilised presence broke down following the downfall of the Roman Empire; science was replaced by superstitious notion and ruthless theocratic leadership throughout Europe, pestilence and disease swept unchecked through the population, and there was not a book to read to be seen-- the renaissance brought that to a close. It was a revival in culture, a return of civilisation that produced a few of the most famous art that has actually ever existed. Nevertheless, it didn't happen in the same way, nor at the same time, across the continent. The English Renaissance was really different, a distinct reassertion of culture in such a way that was, and still is, characteristic of the nation that was reappearing from its middle ages slumber.
The Renaissance in Italy began as a revival in interest in the civilisations of the ancient world that had such vibrant and ground-breaking cultures over 2 thousand years earlier, manifesting itself largely in the visual arts and architecture. The English renaissance, nevertheless, came later on. Most academics indicate the start of the 16th century as its beginning with the ascendance to the throne of England's most well-known monarch, typically related to being the first head of the English church. Unlike Italy's renaissance, England's renewal was found in literature and music rather than the visual arts, producing some of the best books of all time which are still required reading in schools around the English-speaking planet and function plainly in the stores run by the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones.