Sixteenth Century Poetry and its Religious Views.
In the sixteenth century the conception of world order, e.g. the chain of life and man's uncertain place in it, formed a principal matter equally ranked with the theological scheme of sin and salvation. One has to bear in mind, however, that the part of Christianity that was paramount was not the life of Christ but the orthodox scheme of the revolt of the bad angels, the creation (with all the universal laws of order), the temptation and fall of man and the regeneration through Christ. Neither should one forget that the orthodox sense of salvation was pervasive in this turbulent age, something one could revolt against but not ignore. Moreover, great emphasis was placed on the dignity and potential of the individual and the worth of life in the world. English culture remained in a state of constant flux all through the century, with periods of relative calmness, due to imported as well as imposed novelties on the field of religion, culture and linguistics. In order to show this large variety of different views on life and religion in this age,whether opposing or corresponding, I will try to discuss relevant lines of poets all through the century from Skelton to Greville. .
Up to 1533 papal supremacy dominated England, which radically changed with Henry VIII proclaiming himself head of the newly formed Anglican Church. The confiscation of all "Roman Catholic" property not only led to a rearranging of the traditional communities but also to an overall change to protestantism, fostered by official propaganda. Still, before this revolutionary change, satirical attacks against the abuses, vices and hypocrisies of the secular clergy were quite outspoken. Sir Thomas More (Humanism) and John Skelton (Lutherian) both launched satirical attacks at the corruption and sale of pardons. Skelton deliberately heightens certain specific modern circumstances, including reference to the "brennynge sparke | Of Luthers warke".
