Literature in Britain in the period beginning in around 1500 and lasting until the mid-1600s. Influenced by the artistic and cultural Renaissance, the transformation of both English language and literature in this period can be seen to move away from the medieval Middle English literature period and into the more recognizably modern Elizabethan literature. The period is characterized by the influence of the classics (in literature, language, and philosophy), as well as an optimistic forward-thinking approach to the potential of humans (known as Renaissance humanism. See also English literature.