Namangan davlat universiteti ingliz filologiyasi fakulteti amaliy ingliz tili kafedrasi

iambic pentameter
into English poetry. This pattern, or meter, consists of 10 syllables alternately unaccented and 
accented in each line. The lines may or may not rhyme. Iambic pentameter became a widely used 
meter in English poetry. 
Chaucer’s contribution to English literature is usually explained by the following: 
1. “The Canterbury Tales” sum up all types of stories that existed in the Middle Ages. 
2. He managed to show different types of people that lived during his time and through these 
people he showed a true picture of the life of the 14th century. (The pilgrims range in rank from a 
knight to a poor plowman. Only the very highest and lowest ranks - the nobility and the serfs - are 
missing.) 
3. In Chaucer’s age the English language was still divided by dialects, though London was rapidly 
making East Midland into a standard language. Chaucer was the creator of a new literary language. 
He chose to write in English, the popular language of common people, though aristocracy of his 
time read and spoke French. Chaucer was the true founder of English literature. 
4. Chaucer was by learning a man of the Middle Ages, but his attitude towards mankind was 
so broad-minded that his work is timeless. He is the earliest English poet who may still be read for
pleasure today. 

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LESSON 2. 
THE PERIOD OF EARLY RENAISSANCE 
Plan 
1.
Literature 
2.
Criticism of the idea of the English Renaissance 
3.
Major English Renaissance authors 
 
Renaissance was a great cultural movement that began in Italy during the early 1330’s. It 
spread to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and other countries in the late 1400’s 
and ended about 1600. 
The word “Renaissance” comes from the Latin word “rinascere” and means rebirth. The 
Renaissance was the period when European culture was at its height. At that time great importance 
was assigned to intellect, experience, scientific experiment. The new ideology proclaimed the value 
of human individuality. This new outlook was called Humanism. The humanists were scholars and 
artists who studied subjects that they believed would help them better understand the problems of 
humanity. These subjects included literature and philosophy. The humanists considered that the 
civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome had excelled in such subjects and could serve as models. 
During the Middle Ages the most important branch of learning was theology. Renaissance 
thinkers paid greater attention to the study of humanity.