5. The following quotations on Chaucer can each be taken as the theme of a short discussion, and all of them can be used as the foundation of a longer paper. (1) Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled, On Fame’s eternall beadroll worthy to be filed. SPENSER (2) He is the father of English poetry.... He followed nature everywhere.... The verse of Chaucer is not harmonious to us.... There is the rudeness of a Scotch tune in it.[44] DRYDEN (3) He was a healthy and hearty man, so humane that he loved even the foibles of his kind.... He was a truly epic poet, without knowing it.... He has left us such a picture of contemporary life as no man ever painted. LOWELL (4) Dan Chaucer, the first warbler, whose sweet breath Preluded those melodious bursts that fill The spacious times of great Elizabeth With sounds that echo still. TENNYSON 6. Point out some of the traces that the social and religious unrest has left upon the literature of the time. 7. “There exists a general impression that our prose dates from the sixteenth century.” (Earle.) Is this impression a correct one? CHAPTER IV FROM CHAUCER TO SPENSER THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (1450–1550) The dates that appear at the head of this section are only approximate, but the general features of the time are well defined. In England the period begins with wars, unrest, and almost chaos; it concludes with a settled dynasty, a reformed religion, and a people united and progressive. Abroad, as well as in England, there is apparent the broad intellectual flood known as the Renaissance, running deep and strong: the renewed desire for knowledge, changes in religious ideals, the discovery of new worlds, both geographical and literary, and the enormous quickening of heart and mind. In England the scene is being prepared for the great age to follow. LITERARY FEATURES OF THE AGE =1. Poverty of Material.= Considering the length of the period, the poverty of the output is hard to explain. There is no English poet of any consequence; the prose writing is thin in quality and quantity; and if it were not for the activities of the Scottish poets the age would be poor indeed. =2. Scottish Poetry.= Scottish poetry comes late into notice, but it comes with a bound. The poverty and disunion of Scotland, its severance from the intellectual stimulus of English thought, and the dearth of educational facilities all combine to retard its literary development. But these disadvantages are rapidly passing away, with the beneficial results apparent in this chapter.