English Literature

The European continent has always occupied an important position in the world map. However, among all European countries perhaps Britain has had the most impact on the world. From colonization to the rise of capitalism and producing literary masterpieces, Britain has spear headed and produced great cultural and national symbols that have inspired the world long after they got their independence from the British colonization. The transition to the Modern era or rise to power and dominance did not materialize overnight.

The rise of Britain starts from the Dark Ages through the Middle Ages and finally the Age of Enlightenment and Renaissance. This was the time when the entire Europe was reborn. The Dark Ages marks the time of the fall of the Great Roman Empire. It divided Christianity into two factions, Protestant and Catholic. It was a religious struggle for a common man. It was also a time where the Catholic Church was rampant with corruption and knowledge, science and literature were considered irrational and were banned from being propagated. No new advancements took place in this era as people fell in the darkness and any rational thought was considered a sin by the Church (All About History, n.p) and the thinker executed or thrown in the gallows. As is told by Chaucer in the Canterbury tales, the Pardoner assured repentance and deviation of Gods wrath if the sinner gives a sum of amount of money for the Church. This was in actuality used to collect personal gains and material wealth. Monks, according to the Rules of Saint Benedict were required to live in complete celibacy. They were not allowed to marry and had to devote their entire lives to prayer and services for the church. The Friar has the authority to administer marriages and sanction pardon however the Friar in Chaucers tale has resorted to bribery. Chaucers depiction of these three characters at the top of the church hierarchy and authority as corrupt and ethical is most of what was prevalent in those times.

People felt exploited by the church and lived in constant fear. Lollards complained that churchmen form the Pope down to the normal clergy were more interested in finding HYPERLINK httpsocyberty.comhistorythe-black-death-and-the-decline-of-the-influence-of-the-catholic-church t undefined waystomakemoneythan fulfilling their religious duties. They complained that the Pope accepted money in return for benefices, pardons and bulls. The biggest blow to the Catholic Church was perhaps when at the time of Black Death or Bubonic Plague. The ineffectiveness of the clergy during the crisis led many to believe that the clergy carried no special favor with God, especially as many people assumed that the epidemic was some form of punishment from above. During the epidemic, many plague victims were buried without having their last rites read as a result of a shortage of priests since they thought they would catch the disease too (Renius, n.p)

Soon, people began to question the power of the Church and thus the Age of Enlightenment began. The Age of Enlightenment was based upon logical thinking. Enlightenment thinkers saw themselves as looking into the mind of God by studying creation and deducing the basic truths of the world. In his famous 1784 essay What Is Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant defined it as followsEnlightenment is mans leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use ones intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity is self-caused if it is not caused by lack of intelligence, but by lack of determination and courage to use ones intelligence without being guided by another. Sapere Aude Have the courage to use your own intelligence is therefore the motto of the enlightenment. Hobbes, whose ideas are a product of the age of reason, systematically pursues and categorizes human emotion, and argues for the need of a rigid system to hold back the chaos of nature in his work Leviathan. While John Locke is clearly an intellectual descendant of Hobbes, for him the state of nature is the source of all rights and unity, and the states role is to protect, and not to hold back, the state of nature ((Frost, n.p)

The later half of the 18th century also saw the rise of Romanticism. Romanticism was a revolt against the Age of Enlightenment which was predominantly based on mathematics, science, astronomy and algebra. Romanticism aimed to revive the literature, music and art. Where Enlightenment advocated reason and facts in everything Romanticism argued for imagination, creativity, emotions and ingenuity. Britain also saw the rise of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor and William Blake as prominent poets. The Bronte sisters produced novels such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and other literary masterpieces. Jane Austen was also a part of this movement as she wrote famously acclaimed novels including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma among others.

Thus, Britain came out of the influence of the Catholic Church and began paving way for its success through various philosophies, revolutions, critical thinkers and freedom of speech. From the depths of ignorance it rose to prominence as a result of literature, music, art and also Industrial Revolution which made it one of the most developed nations at the time.