The guide to Renaissance Literature and Culture provides students with the ideal introduction to literature and its context from 1533-1642, including: – the historical, cultural and intellectual background including religion, politics, exploration and visual culture – major writers and genres including Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson – concise explanations of key terms needed to understand the literature and criticism – key critical approaches to modernism from contemporary critics to the present – a chronology mapping historical events and literary works and further reading including websites and electronic resources.