The Renaissance through texts & objects

“This literature – which to us can sometimes seem difficult, exotic, highbrow, remote – is the product of a certain sensibility and a particular context. The idea of these sessions is to find little doors through which to step into that world and find ways to relate to it through the poetry and human artefacts as representations of that time.”

Vivien Kogut

Please note, participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study, joining details below.

Session 1: Appearance x Essence

Sixteenth-century England was a place of spectacle: court pageants, public theatres, the progresses of Elizabeth I, public executions. How can literature speak truth to power in a world where each word might mean promotion or death?

This is one of four meetings which can be attended individually or as a series. In each we will explore the literature of sixteenth and seventeenth century England through some of its texts, placing them in dialogue with iconic images or objects.

With guest appearances from writers including Wyatt, Shakespeare, Herbert, Sidney, Raleigh and Donne, during each session we will read together two unseen texts that engage with a defining theme. We will discuss how writers in Renaissance England expressed their experience of living in a world as precarious as it was exciting and consider how similar or different it is to our own.

JOINING DETAILS:

• The first of four meetings on Zoom led by Vivien Kogut, 20 May 2024, 5.30-7.30 pm (UK)
• Participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study: Mondays 5:30-7:30 pm (UK), 20, 27 May & 3, 10 June 2024
• Each session can be booked individually at £35 to include opening notes and resources (if you wish to book all four please email us using the heading ‘English Renaissance’ and we will arrange a discounted price of £120 for the series).

“This literature – which to us can sometimes seem difficult, exotic, highbrow, remote – is the product of a certain sensibility and a particular context. The idea of these sessions is to find little doors through which to step into that world and find ways to relate to it through the poetry and human artefacts as representations of that time.”

Vivien Kogut

Please note, participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study, joining details below.

Session 2: Transformation

For Europeans this was a time of extraordinary inventions and discoveries: the printing press, the telescope, the microscope, the mechanical clock, atlases, blood circulation, the New World and heliocentrism, are just some of them. The understanding of oneself and the world was in constant flux. How did writers respond to this in England? Could words fully encompass this metamorphosis?

This is one of four meetings which can be attended individually or as a series. In each we will explore the literature of sixteenth and seventeenth century England through some of its texts, placing them in dialogue with iconic images or objects.

With guest appearances from writers including Wyatt, Shakespeare, Herbert, Sidney, Raleigh and Donne, during each session we will read together two unseen texts that engage with a defining theme. We will discuss how writers in Renaissance England expressed their experience of living in a world as precarious as it was exciting and consider how similar or different it is to our own.

JOINING DETAILS:

• The second of four meetings on Zoom led by Vivien Kogut, 27 May 2024, 5.30-7.30 pm (UK)
• Participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study: Mondays 5:30-7:30 pm (UK), 20, 27 May & 3, 10 June 2024
• Each session can be booked individually at £35 to include opening notes and resources (if you wish to book all four please email us using the heading ‘English Renaissance’ and we will arrange a discounted price of £120 for the series).

“This literature – which to us can sometimes seem difficult, exotic, highbrow, remote – is the product of a certain sensibility and a particular context. The idea of these sessions is to find little doors through which to step into that world and find ways to relate to it through the poetry and human artefacts as representations of that time.”

Vivien Kogut

Please note, participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study, joining details below.

Session 3: Human Passions

In Renaissance England control was part of existence: laws regulated every aspect of life, from what you wore to what you believed in. Texts for publication or performance had to pass the censor. And yet (and yet!), literature was able to find ingenious ways of channelling violent passions. How, from our place in the 21^st century, can we access Renaissance literature sensitivities?

This is one of four meetings which can be attended individually or as a series. In each we will explore the literature of sixteenth and seventeenth century England through some of its texts, placing them in dialogue with iconic images or objects.

With guest appearances from writers including Wyatt, Shakespeare, Herbert, Sidney, Raleigh and Donne, during each session we will read together two unseen texts that engage with a defining theme. We will discuss how writers in Renaissance England expressed their experience of living in a world as precarious as it was exciting and consider how similar or different it is to our own.

JOINING DETAILS:

• The third of four meetings on Zoom led by Vivien Kogut, 3 June 2024, 5.30-7.30 pm (UK)
• Participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study: Mondays 5:30-7:30 pm (UK), 20, 27 May & 3, 10 June 2024
• Each session can be booked individually at £35 to include opening notes and resources (if you wish to book all four please email us using the heading ‘English Renaissance’ and we will arrange a discounted price of £120 for the series).

“This literature – which to us can sometimes seem difficult, exotic, highbrow, remote – is the product of a certain sensibility and a particular context. The idea of these sessions is to find little doors through which to step into that world and find ways to relate to it through the poetry and human artefacts as representations of that time.”

Vivien Kogut

Please note, participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study, joining details below.

Session 4: Swift-footed Time

The average lifespan in 1500s England was just thirty-five years: living was a constant dodging of “the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to”, as Hamlet describes life’s afflictions. Time was short and life had to be lived to the full. How does this brevity impact on English Renaissance literature?

This is one of four meetings which can be attended individually or as a series. In each we will explore the literature of sixteenth and seventeenth century England through some of its texts, placing them in dialogue with iconic images or objects.

With guest appearances from writers including Wyatt, Shakespeare, Herbert, Sidney, Raleigh and Donne, during each session we will read together two unseen texts that engage with a defining theme. We will discuss how writers in Renaissance England expressed their experience of living in a world as precarious as it was exciting and consider how similar or different it is to our own.

JOINING DETAILS:

• The final session of a four meeting study on Zoom led by Vivien Kogut, Monday 10 June 2024, 5.30-7.30 pm (UK)
• Participants can sign up for individual sessions or the whole study: Mondays 5:30-7:30 pm (UK), 20, 27 May & 3, 10 June 2024
• Each session can be booked individually at £35 to include opening notes and resources (if you wish to book all four please email us using the heading ‘English Renaissance’ and we will arrange a discounted price of £120 for the series).