_Forces at Work._--An age of expansion, geographically and mentally. England becomes a power of the first rank, and her new position in the world of affairs is emphasised by the glorious victory of 1588, and the achievements of her explorers, adventures, and business men. The influx of new ideas from the east, and the material wealth from the west, overshadow the old religious quarrels, and the union of Scotland and England helped to settle dynastic problems for a time. The new commercial developments, however, raised the position of the middle classes, and the reign of James I. is mainly a struggle for economic power on their part and the “divine right of kings” idea on the part of the crown. _Literary Features._--The age is characterised by its revolt against tradition. Despite the new interest in the classics, translations and imitations are rendered in a remarkably free spirit. All borrowings are remoulded and re-fashioned, and given a character native to themselves. The language, in spite of the introduction of a host of foreign words, emerges tempered and polished, and there is a remarkable output in all forms of literature. The age is a quest for romance and adventure, and nowhere does this spirit show itself so well as in literature. The drama makes a wonderful leap into maturity; poetry blossoms forth in great and original beauty. Prose attains a first-rate position, steadily developing through the “conceits” of Euphuism to the splendid models of Bacon and Hooker. The novel _only_ remains in its infancy, as blank verse and metrical facility still overshadow the glorious prose weapon in the course of development. The chief poetic forms in use (stated in the order of their popularity) were the lyric and the sonnet, the descriptive and narrative poem, from pure description to allegory and pastoral; the religious, satirical and didactic poem. The drama reaches its summation between _1595_ and _1615_, and begins to decline with Jonson. After Shakespeare the pre-eminence of tragedy is challenged by light comedy, while the masque has a brief but glorious run from Jonson to Milton. In prose we have the remarkable vogue of the “character sketch,” developing into the regular essay with Bacon, while the prose romance, a host of miscellaneous pamphlets, theological writings, sermons translations, travels, and the remarkable “Anatomy of Melancholy” all serve to form the foundation of many important groups of the future.