, RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
Renaissance literature forms part of a c ultural movement that emerges in Florence (Italy) in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there birth a type of literary form that centuries late r would end in what we know today as novels. This period is characte rized by the humanist recovery of classical Greco-Latin literature and diffused with great force thanks to the invention of the printing press around 1450. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
ALIGHIERI D. was an Italian poet. He was the first to write in vernacular language (native tongue) rather than Latin.
PETRARCH F. was a scholar and poet. He was responsible for the recovery of manuscripts and works of Greek and Roman writers. He is called “the father of humanism” because he
fostered the development of humanism.
MACHIAVELLI N. was a diplomat, official, political philosopher and Italian writer, considered father of modern Political Science because he was the first political theorist who views politics as an autonomous field of analysis and with a logic different from religious morality.
ENGLISH RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
Thomas Wyatt, was an English poet and diplomat in the service of King Henry VIII. Introducer of the Italian poetic forms in the Renaissance England was one of the first English Renaissance poets. His literary output consists of translations and imitations of sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch.
It is in the second half of the sixteenth century, with the Elizabethan period (called so to take place under the monarchy of Elizabeth I of England), when the classical and Italian
influence reaches its fullness. The dominant forms of English literature during this period were the poem and the drama. In the area of drama, no one o ne matched William Shakespeare (the most important write r in the English language) in terms of variety, profundity, and exquisite use of language. His subject matter ran the gamut, from classical Greco-Roman stories to contemporary tales of unrequited love. Shakespeare is known for his ability to shift between comedy and tragedy.
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGLISH RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
The sonnet (fourteen verses of eleven syllables divided into four stanzas with consonant rhyme) is used as the form of expr ession.
The enunciator (the poetic voice) that speaks in the composition is an innovation of this
type of literature
The love plays a primordial role among the main themes of Renaissance Literature. But this one has a melancholic tinge. It deals with themes about a
loving poet who cries (singing) for the impossibility of being with the woman he loves.
Beloved woman is the one to whom poetry is dedicated. She presents several
characteristics: clear eyes, blonde hair and w hite skin. There were two trends or approaches that are evident in Renaissance literature. Realism and naturalism.
Realism was a literary movement character ized by the representation of real life. Realism depicted middle-class characters. Realistic novels used themes like society, social class, mobility etc.
Naturalism was an outgrowth of literary realism, influenced by scientific theories. Naturalism depicted lower class characters. Naturalistic novels were writte n on themes of violence, poverty, corruption, prostitution etc.
6 MAIN LITERARY WORKS OF THE RENAISSANCE 1.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (published in 1597)
This tragedy about two young lovers is one of S hakespeare's most popular works, and along with Hamlet one of the most frequently staged. Nowadays, the characters Romeo and Juliet are considered archetypes of young lovers. Shakespeare uses in the work a dramatic poetic structure and it oscillates between the comedy and the tragedy to increase the tension. 2.
Utopia by Tomás Moro (published in Latin in 1516)
Island of Utopia of the work of Tomás Moro. At the same time fiction and political work, t his book tells a story centred on a fictional society that lives on an island. The word "utopia" comes from the Greek and means "no-place" or "nowhere". The work was popular in its time, although also misunderstood. At present, the title of the book eclipsed the central story create d by Moro and is used when speaking of "utopian society". In that sense, Utopia is truly important in literary history for creating the notion of parallel realities and closed societies in themselves. 3.
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (published in 1593)
This important work of the Renaissance is based on stories about Faust, a popular figure in German culture. The popularity of the work of Mar lowe is based on a myth that tells that one of the first places of the work appeared real devils on the stage. It is believed that Doctor Faustus is t he first dramatization of the popular legend about Faust. In addition, some diviners at the turn of the c entury took the name Faust, which in Latin means "the favoured. “
4.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (published 1603)
It is a tragedy of revenge that reaches the summit of the universal literature as far as the characterization of a human type. It represents doubt.
Shakespeare defined here one of the most archetypal personalities of Western culture: man and his dilemma as the centre of existence. The great dichotomy represented in t his character lies within the human being, who struggles between thinking (Hamlet's true passion) and exe cuting. 5.
Lost Paradise by John Milton (published in 1667)
It is considered a classic of English literature. The poem is an epic about the biblical theme of the fall of Adam and Eve. The work deals, fundamentally, on the problem of evil and suffering in the sense of answering the question of why a good and almighty God decides to allow them when it would be easy to avoid them. 6.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (published in 1615)
It counts on the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho P anza. The first, of considerable age, has delusions, is considered a gentleman and begins an adventure that leads him to face imaginary rivals, such as windmills. The second by a countryman named Sancho Panza, who serves as a squire, they go through a thousand adventures that usually come out badly.
