Transcript Unit 6 The Renaissance and Rationalism

Unit 6
The Renaissance and Rationalism
Rebirth and Exploration
1300-1800
From “The Godly Feast/” by Erasmus
• “Of course Sacred Scripture is the basic
authority in everything; yet I sometimes run
across ancient sayings or pagan writings-even
the poets’-so purely and reverently expressed,
and so inspired, that I can’t help believing
their authors’ hearts were moved by some
divine power.”
KWL
• What do you know about the Renaissance
period?
• What do you want to know about the
Renaissance period?
• What have you learned about the renaissance
period?
Historical Background
• The Renaissance, which means “rebirth”, is a
period that saw many changes and
innovations. Among them were the
rediscovery of:
– Classical art and literature
– The exploration of regions of the globe that were
previously unknown in Europe
– The discovery that the earth revolves around the
sun
– An upsurge in trade and invention
Historical Background
• The rebirth lasted in Italy from the early 1300s
until 1550, and gradually extended its
influence northward.
• In England, it lasted from 1485 to 1625.
Cultural Movements of the
Renaissance
• Humanism: advocated a return to classical
studies and ideals. It began in Italy in 14th
century with the first famous writers were
Petrarch and Boccaccio.
• The humanist viewed the classics as a source
of moral and practical wisdom.
• The humanist movement influenced great
Italian artists Michelangelo and Leonardo de
Vinci.
Cultural Movements of the
Renaissance
• Age of Rationalism or enlightenment spanned the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
• Reason was accepted as the greatest authority in
art, thought, and politics.
• Philosophers challenged folk wisdom, attempting
to replace traditional lore with formal laws based
on the analysis of natural phenomena.
• There was a renewed focus on nature throughout
society, and encouraged curiosity in the sciences.
Cultural Movements in the
Renaissance
• Industrial Revolution: people employed
reason not only to advance theory but also to
regulate and enhance their daily existence.
• Improvement of the steam engine lead to
industrial production
• Inventions such as the syringe, air pump,
mercury thermometer, mainspring clock, and
cotton gin provided effective new ways of
solving problems.
Literature of the Renaissance
• Literature was a branch of rhetoric, the art of
spoken language for teaching, giving pleasure
and persuading.
• During the Renaissance period, there were a
lot of elaborate speeches written.
• The literature also was used as a form to
persuade readers to do good. It was used to
train the will by increasing man’s horror of evil
and by strengthening his resolve to act well.
Literature of the Renaissance
• The Machiavellian concept(crafty and
deceitful) emerged based on Machiavelli’s
book The Prince in which readers were taught
that Rulers were saved not by their goodness,
but by their strength, cunning, and ability.
• Many works moved from being written in the
formal language of Latin, to the vernacular, or
native language. Works appeared in French,
Italian and Spanish.
Literature of the Renaissance
• Many of the works from this time period were
modeled after old forms, to create new
meaning.
• Petrarch noted, “we must write just as the
bees make honey, not keeping the flowers
(works of the other writers) but turning them
into a sweetness all our own, blending many
different flavors into one, which shall be unlike
them all, and better”.
Literature of the Renaissance
• Invention also impacted the literature of the
period. The creation of movable type by
Gutenberg allowed for the widespread
distribution of the Bible.
• Newspapers began to grow in popularity
which led to the creation of “Public Opinion”.
Literature of the Renaissance
• Some of the famous works of this time period:
– Italian or Petrarchan Sonnets
– Shakespearean Sonnets
– Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote
Unit 6 Literary Focus: Sonnets
• Sonnet: a fourteen-line lyric poem that is
written in iambic pentameter.
• Types of Sonnets: There are two major types
of sonnets. The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet is
named after the Italian poet Petrarch. The
English or Shakespearean sonnet is named
after William Shakespeare. The main
difference between the two is the rhyme
scheme.
Characteristics of Sonnets
• Common Themes: love, lost love, and the
admiration of a fair-haired beauty are a few of
the more common themes in early sonnets.
• Examples:
• “Love is in all the water, earth, and air,/And
love possesses every living thing.”-from
“Spring” by Petrarch.
• “Love is not love/Which alters when it
alteration finds..”-from “Sonnet 116” by
Shakespeare
Characteristics of Sonnets
Literary Devices
• Alliteration: the repetition of initial
consonant sounds. Ex. “For the wind to toy
and tangle…”
• Consonance: the repetition of final consonant
sounds in stressed syllables containing
dissimilar vowel sounds. Ex. Let me not to
the marriage of true minds/ Admit
impediments…”
Literary Devices Continued
• Personification: giving human characteristics
to nonhuman subjects. Ex. “The rose/ in her
beautiful youth…”
• Simile: using the words like or as to compare
two dissimilar things. Ex. “…in love’s soft
bands,/ Like captives trembling at the victor’s
sight…”
Literary Devices Continued
• Metaphor: speaking of a subject as though it
were something else as a way to compare and
contrast two dissimilar things. Ex. “The sky
folds its wings over you, / Lifting you…”
• Conceit: a startling and often elaborate
comparison between two apparently different
things. Often, this extended metaphor forms
the controlling idea of the entire sonnet. Ex.
“For her who carried in her little hand/ my
heart’s key to her heavenly sojourn…”
Sonnets continued
• Sonnet Sequences: a series of sonnets that
allow the poet to trace the development of a
relationship or examine different aspects of a
single theme.
• Petrarch wrote a series of sonnets to a lifelong
love named Laura.
• Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets are the most
famous sonnet sequence in the English
language.
Petrarchan Sonnet
• The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet consists of
an octave (eight-line stanza) and a sestet (sixline stanza).
• The octave rhyme scheme is usually abba
abba.
• The sestet has the rhyme scheme of cdecde,
or cdedce, or cdcdcd.
• The octave states a theme or asks a questions
that the sestet answers or resolves.
English or Shakespearean Sonnet
• Consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas)
and a final couplet (two lines).
• The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.
• Each of the three quatrains explores a
different aspect of the poem’s subject.
• The couplet presents a concluding comment.