Transcript Renaissance

Renaissance
Rebirth
The Norton Anthology of World
Literature
1500-1650
Volume C
Significant Challenges
• These aspects posed a significant
challenge to notions of Europe’s and
humankind’s centrality in the world:
– Columbus’s so-called discovery of
Americas
– New scholarly methods for interpreting
ancient texts
– Copernicus’s scientific theories
– Galileo’s astronomical observations
About the Renaissance
• Series of literary and cultural movements in
the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries
• Began in Italy
– Expanded into Germany, France, England, and
other parts of Europe
• Studied Ancient Rome and Greece
– Classical education
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Ancient texts
Poetry
History
Rhetoric
Moral philosophy
• Humanism
– Emphasizes the worth of the individual
Humanism
• Dominant intellectual movement
of Renaissance
• Philosophy that people were
rational human beings
• Emphasized the dignity and
worth of the individual
• Humanities: promotion of a new
educational curriculum
– Included grammar, rhetoric, history,
poetry, and ethics
Humanist
• Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
– First great humanist
– Contemporary poet
– Studied and collected ancient texts during
his travels
– Influenced:
• Giovanni Boccaccio
• Niccolò Niccoli
• Coluccio Salutati
Scholasticism
• Concentrated on study of logic, science, and
metaphysics, or the nature of reality
• Humanists believed scholastics failed to
instill respect for public duty
• Prepared students for training in:
– Medicine
– Law
– Theology
• Believed to focus on the intellectual
development while Humanist focused on the
whole self: intellectual, physical, and moral
development
Characteristics of the Renaissance
• Rediscovery of classical literature and art
• Middle Ages:
– Interest in classical literature, especially Latin and
Latin translations of Greek
– Confined to professional activities of theologians,
philosophers, and writers
– Served a specialized interest and purpose
• Renaissance:
– People from all aspects of society (Kings, Queens,
merchants and soldiers) studied classical art and
literature.
– Amateurs who studied for the pleasure of it
– Existed largely for their own sake, objects of ideal
beauty or learning
Curiosity and Objectivity
• Intense interest in the visible world
• Interest in the knowledge derived
from concrete sensory experience
• During the Renaissance, the focus
turned from religious issues to the
morality of human actions
Individualism
• Individual is seen for his or her unique
talents
• Potential of the individual became significant
• Brought about an emphasis on education
– Intellectual:
• Scholarship
– Writing of Sonnets
– Physical:
• Swordsmanship
• Wrestling
• Renaissance: Ideal person is not bound to
one discipline. Specialization like that in the
Middle Ages is not encouraged.
Artists
–Middle Ages:
•Focus on
otherworldliness and
on glorifying God
•Humble and
remained anonymous
–Renaissance:
•Valued glory and
renown
•Signed their works