RENAISSANCE
“Renaissance is the discovery by mankind of himself and of the world'”.
– Michelet
The term “Renaissance” seems to have been first used by the French historian, Jules Michelet, in his ‘Historie de France’ published in 1855. Broadly speaking, the Renaissance implies the re-awakening of learning which came to Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. The influence of Renaissance reached England quite late in the end of the 15th century. A number of social, political, religious and national forces were responsible for it. Due to them, England rose as a strong nation.
What is Renaissance?
The Renaissance was an intellectual rebirth. It was an effort of the individual to free himself from the rigid institutions of the Middle Ages, feudalism (the legal and social system nat existed in medieval Europe from the 9th to about 15th centuries, in which vassals held land from lords in exchange for military service) and the church. People wanted to assert their right to live, to think and to express themselves. As a result, men gained greater liberty and became more enlightened. They refused to accept the medieval (relating to, involving, belonging to, or typical of the Middle Ages in Europe) view that this life should be sacrificed to the future. The Elizabethans were attracted more to the present world. They tried hard to get mastery over it through wealth. They discovered the secrets of the world through exploration or scientific development. They heightened its enjoyment through art and literature.
To sum up, in the words of Symonds,
“Renaissance denotes the whole transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world. It was a movement, a revival of man’s power, a reawakening of consciousness of himself and of the universe “
Factors Responsible for the Birth of Renaissance
1. Revival of the Knowledge of Antiquity:
The revival of classical learning is a factor of great importance in Renaissance. The Turks defeated the Eastern Empire and took control of Constantinople in 1453. Many Greek scholars came to Italy with their manuscripts of Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Herodotus, Aristotle, Demosthenes. Plato etc. The Middle Ages forgot about the Greek literature. When it was recovered, people grew Very excited. The Italian cities became centers of Greek study and of the classical culture. A new conception of man and new life became a powerful force in italy. It was termed as humanism.
The term Renaissance or the Revival of Learning is used to cover the whole movement, whose essence was, that man discovered himself and the universe.
2. New Knowledge of the Physical World, New Discoveries:
The discoveries of astronomy (the scientific study of the universe) suggested to explorers and merchants the possibility of capturing the fabulous wealth of the East by sailing into the unknown sea.Vasco da Gama went around he he Cape and Columbus discovered the New World. There was the discovery of gold mines.This brought new and unimagined possibilities of wealth. It created a passion for adventure and a desire to attain the unattainable. The account of travellers fired the imagination of Europe.
3. Invention of printing:
The invention of printing took place in Germany. This gave a new driving force to the revival of learning. Due to printing, the classical literature became easily accessible to the people. They came under the influence of humanism. Germany also became tle home of Reformation, a movement that had for its object the liberation of the conscience from the church. Luther began it in 1517 when he attacked the power of the church and Pope. Renaissance , thus, was the result of three impulses and had three implications in main;
1. The inspiration derived from the revival of classical learning.
2. The stirring of man’s imagination by the great voyages of discovery.
3. The spirit of religious reformation, which began in Germany.
Characteristics of Renaissance:
(1) New Perceptions and Values
The most important impact of the Renaissance can be seen in the change of perceptions of human being. Man became the centre of everything and the writers tried to look into his inner world. In the words of Wiliam, “Now he looked inward into his own soul, seeking the meaning of experience in terms of his Own free individuality”
The sonnets and poems of Earl of Surrey, Thomas Wyatt and Sidney represented the spirit of the Renaissance. Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, John Heywood’s Interludes as well as the unique writings of Thomas Sackville also dealt with man’s emotions and experiences. The classical! Writers like Virgil, Plato, Seneca, Terence, Ovid, Petrarch and other great classical masters taught English masters to find the greatest joys and meaning in the deeds and destinies of man.
(2) Renaissance and Prose
Being the centre of learning, the first impact of the Renaissance was shown in the universities. Some English scholars became aware of the revival of learning in Italy. They went to Italy to get the benefit of the manuscript of the Greek scholars. Following their return from Italy, they initiated the teaching of Greek at Oxford. They were such learned and reputed scholars of Greek that Erasmus came all the way from Holland to learn Greek from them and later on earned a name for himself.
The most important prose writers who exhibit the influence of the Renaissance on English prose are Desiderius Erasmus, Sir Thomas More, John Lyly and Philip Sidney. Desiderius Erasmus, as mentioned earlier was a Dutchman who came to Oxford to learn Greek. His chief work was The Praise of Folly (1510). It is the English translation of his most important work written in Latin. Thomas More is famous for his prose romance Utopia. In the words of Logouis it is “a true prologue to the Renaissance.” First, it was written in Latin but later on, it was translated into English. More’s Utopia is a fictional place that embodies the principles of an ideal society. Through this work, he criticized the contemporary England. In this book, he dishonors medievalism (the customs, practices, or beliefs during the Middle Ages in Europe) and praises the ancient Greek culture.
(3) Renaissance and Poetry
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42) and the Earl of Surrey (1517-47) were the pioneers of the new poetry in England. After Chaucer, there was no great poet in England and the change in the pronunciation in the fifteen century had created a lot of confusion in prosody(The study of poetry’s auditory elements, including sound and rhythm). Therefore, the revival of poetry was an uphill task and it was Wyatt and Surrey who did it. It is with these two men that the modern poetry begins. However, they wrote much earlier, it was in 1557 that their work was published in Richard Tottel’s Miscellany. Wyatt introduced the sonnet ino English literature and Surrey was the first to write blank verse. Many practiced both the things later on. Wyatt wrote 32 sonnets. From these, 17 were the adaptation of Petrarch. Surrey wrote 15 or 16 sonnets. His work is characterized by superb style that we find missing from that of Wyatt. Surrey also used blank verse in his translation of the fourth book of The Aeneid.
(4) Renaissance and Drama
It was drama that came under direct influence of the classical conventions. Translations made from Latin, Italian and French gave a good exposure to a new literary elements and trends, forms and themes, which was used fully by dramatists.
The best example of the native material combined with the classical elements is Nicholas Udall’s comedy Ralph Roister Doister. Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton wrote Gorboduc, the first tragedy of English literature. It was written in blank verse. It is interesting to note that these dramas were written under the influence of Roman drama and not the Greek drama. Gorboduc is a slavish imitation of Senecan tragedy. Like Senecan tragedy, it has also revenge as the motive. Ralph Roister Doister is modeled upon Plautus and Terence. It is based on the stupid efforts of the hero for winning the love of a married woman.
CONCLUSION
To sum up. the Renaissance means the death of mediaeval education, which kept the human thought in bondage. It signalized a revolt against spiritual authority the Pope. The Reformation, tough not a part of the revival of learning, was yet a companion movement in England. it resulted in a greater awareness of beauty in the Greek and Latin scholars.
