Mavzu: British literature

Elizabethan era: 1558–1603[edit]

Main articles: Elizabethan literature, English poetry, and English drama

William Shakespeare's career straddled the change of Tudor and Stuart dynasties and encompassed English history and the emerging imperial idea of the 17th century

Poetry[edit]

In the later 16th century, English poetry used elaborate language and extensive allusions to classical myths. Sir Edmund Spenser (1555–99) was the author of The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. The works of Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586), a poet, courtier and soldier, include Astrophel and Stella, The Defence of Poetry, and Arcadia. Poems intended to be set to music as songs, such as those by Thomas Campion, became popular as printed literature was disseminated more widely in households (see English Madrigal School).