The Renaissance was a period in European history that involved a rebirth of ideas through the arts. The period began in the 14^th century and lasted through the 17th century. The period was predated by the more culturally stagnant Medieval period. The Renaissance was a period in which Europeans revisited the classic arts from Roman and Greek culture. The period saw a rise in art, literature, and music practiced as skilled professions, made possible through sponsorships from people such as the Medici. The Renaissance began in Italy with strong roots in Florence but the Renaissance culture spread throughout Europe. The period was a major transformation from the Medieval dark ages where self-expression was a punishable act and common citizens were forced to follow strict sets of cultural guidelines. The Renaissance is also believed to be influenced by the Black Death that infected and killed approximately one-third of European citizens.

Poets

• Samuel Daniel- Born in England but studied in Italy and Paris. Daniel was well-known as a poet (The Complaint of Rosamond, Delia) but was long-neglected.
• Thomas Lodge- Born in England and studied at Oxford and Trinity College. Lodge was well received as a poet and well-studied. He wrote the Treatise on the Plague and did several translations including the History of the Antiquity of the Jews.
• William Shakespeare- Famous poet and playwright born in Stratford Upon Avon in 1564. The author is known for his vast body of work including 154 sonnets and numerous plays.
• Sir Philip Sidney- Studied at Christ Church in Oxford but did not graduate immediately. Sidney traveled Europe in search of experience and education beyond formal schooling. The author is known primarily for his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella, among his other works of prose .
• Edmund Spenser- Attended the Merchant Taylor school as a youth before advancing to Pembroke College in Cambridge. Spenser was a commoner and most of his schooling was sponsored by beneficiaries. Spenser created a large body of work including The Faerie Queen, Fowre Hymnes, and Prothalamion.
• Sir Thomas Wyatt- Born in England in the first half of the 16^th century. Wyatt’s son was a soldier who led a rebellion against Queen Mary. Sir Thomas Wyatt was a founder of the sonnet style and wrote Whoso List to Hunt along with numerous other individual sonnets and poems.

Playwrights

• Francis Beaumont- Studied at Pembroke College in Oxford without completing his degree. Published numerous plays including The Knight of the Burning Pestle, A King and No King and The Captain.
• Thomas Dekker- Struggled with debt throughout his career but completed numerous projects and plays in the late 16^th century and early 17^th century. Dekker, a prolific dramatist, is well-known for The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Lust’s Dominion, and The Virgin Martyr, and also published unpopular works like If This Be Not a Good Play, the Devil is in It.
• John Fletcher- Popular English playwright who studied in Cambridge. Fletcher collaborated with other playwrights like William Shakespeare and is known for The Purple Island and The Woman’s Prize.
• Thomas Heywood- Known as a prolific playwright and actor with an extensive body of work, most of which is now lost. Heywood authored Fair Maid of the Exchange, The English Travellers and Royal King and Loyal Subject.
• Ben Jonson- Johnson was an English bricklayer who attended the Westminster School. Johnson composed numerous plays including Every Man in his Humours, Volpone, The Alchemist, and The Poetaster where he criticized other popular playwrights.
• Thomas Kyd- A late 16^th century playwright, Kyd published The Spanish Tragedy and possibly a pre-cursor to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
• Christopher Marlowe- British author with a shoemaker father. Marlowe was a successful playwright who found regular trouble with the law and eventually died mysteriously shortly after being accused of atheism. Dr. Faustus is the most prominent piece published by Marlowe.
• Thomas Middleton- Born to a London bricklayer, Thomas Middleton began his career with Solomon in 1597 and went on to write a great body of work including Weapons and Women Beware.
• William Shakespeare- Perhaps the most renowned dramatist and playwright, wrote numerous comedies (As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice), histories (Henry V, Henry VIII, Richard II, Richard III), and tragedies (Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus).
• John Webster- Little is known about the author’s background and childhood but his career as a writer is well documented in the early 17^th century. Webster authored Caesar’s Fall and collaborated with playwright Thomas Dekker on a regular basis.

Authors

• George Chapman- Playwright and poet who collaborated with Shakespeare and Daniel. Chapman was well-known for his translating skills and he translated Homer’s Odyssey.
• Miles Coverdale- Primarily known for his translations of the Bible.
• Sir Francis Bacon- Attended the Trinity College in Cambridge and studied law. Bacon was a political figure who published political and theoretical texts including Essays, Colours of Good and Evil and Meditationes Sacrae.
• John Lyly- Born in England and studied at Oxford. Lyly authored several works of prose that influenced future playwrights and writing style. He is known for writing Euphues: The Anatomy of Wyt.
• Sir Thomas More- Born in London and studied at Oxford. Influenced Shakespeare with his writings on King Richard III and famously wrote Utopia.
• Sir Philip Sidney- Born in England and attended the Shrewsbury School before attending the Christ Church School at Oxford. Wrote The Lady of May and The Defence of Poesy, and was also a poet .