Date of Award

6-1-1956

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Dr. Ralph M. Wardle

Abstract

The “golden age” of the arts in England in the sixteenth century came about largely because of the combined efforts of poets and musicians. That Elizabethan England is renowned for her music and literature is no accident. Experiments in the new musical forms were being made on the continent, particularly in Italy. Here the first efforts were made to fuse music and the drama in purely secular ways. This was finally to lead to the creation of opera, and the form that it was but a step to the creation of other secular vocal forms. The strong hold of the church was perceptibly loosening by reason of the need for expression of emotion of a purely earthly kind. The Flemish madrigalists, drawn by their interest in the new method, went to Italy, some to stay and some to return to their homeland enthusiastically proclaiming the new art. England received the impetus of this spirit late in the century; and she was more than ready to receive it.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of English University of Omaha In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Copyright 1956 Vesta V. Dobson.

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