• Italian Galileo’s(1564-1642) gravitational force, discovery of Jupiter’s satellites, Moon’s mountainous nature, etc.
Historical background
Ideologically
• epics: Homer, Vigil, Dante//Spenser, Milton
• sonnets: Petrarch, Dante// Shakespeare, Sidney “Arcadia”, Jonson, Donne and Andrew Marvell
Literature
2. English literature
Historical background
Ideologically
• 1. Copernicus (1473-1543, Polish astronomer) and German Johannes Kepler about the center of the universe (heliocentric, not Earth, E circles around the Sun)
2.Renaissance:
•
Renaissance means revival, specially
between the 14th and mid 17th century, revival
of interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture.
• Renaissance, therefore, in essence, was a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of conservatism(保守主义) in feudalist Europe and introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, to lift the restrictions in all areas placed by the Roman church authorities.