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Luke Cutright
Mr Poindexter
Honors English 9
23 February 2016
The Importance of the Renaissance
The Renaissance played host to some of historys most important advancements up to
date. The Renaissance was a time period from the fourteenth to sixteenth century and a period
when humanism came into play. It was an era when Roman and Greek styles were incorporated
in the peoples lives. The Renaissance was a period from the fourteenth to sixteenth century.
The artists, mathematicians, architects, and the people had adapted to the Roman and Greek
styles of the past. Humanism played a huge role in the Renaissance. Instead of the idea that
Gods and people of great power were all the rage, humanism came into play. Humanism is an
outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or
supernatural matters.1 Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human
beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human
problems. Art, literature, mathematics, science had all been based on humans. The
Renaissance was an important period because it helped shape literature, art, and science for
modern times.
Literature,the feelings and stories captured in the pages of a book, was greatly affected by the
Renaissance. People like Dante, Boccaccio, Ariosto and Petrarch helped form its complexity.
The writers now wrote plays like Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Prince and Hamlet.2 The book
were now based on the peoples lives. Romeo and Juliet is about a man and woman that fall in

1 "Humanism | Define Humanism at Dictionary.com." 2006. 9 Mar. 2016

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism>

2 "Renaissance Literature Reading List (79 books) - Goodreads." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016
<http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/15394.Renaissance_Literature_Reading_List>

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love, and how love is cherished. They took a step away from religion and culture and just wrote
about life and its inhabitants. In the dark ages before the Renaissance, popular story types
included religious and secular writing. Also, in the middle of all of the evolving literature, the
printing press was created. The printing press helped spread news and literature all over Africa,
Europe, and Asia. The demand of books grew, therefore the cost of them went down, making
them more affordable. Religious writing is about religion, while secular captured courtly love.
Courtly love was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and
chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and
performing various services for ladies because of their "courtly love". That proves that Roman
writing had humanism incorporated in it, so that is how the Renaissance affected literature. The
writers took something from Greek and Roman times and incorporated it into their stories.3 New
styles and types of literature were created in the Renaissance
The Renaissance helped shape art today because it helped give ideas to the artists. New
techniques and styles were found, creating an enormous variation of art. Renaissance art, with
Renaissance humanism philosophy, spread throughout Europe, affecting artists with the
development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. Renaissance art marks the
transition of Europe from the medieval period to the Early Modern age. Classical antiquity was
the period of history in which Greek and Roman society flourished within Europe, Africa, and
Asia. Art like David, The School of Athens, Mona Lisa and many more feature humans.4 The art
took Medieval Ages art and put a twist to it. Mona Lisa is a very famous painting by Leonardo da
Vinci and it captures a woman that is looking into the audience.5 Mona Lisa is not a god, or a
3 "Courtly love - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtly_love>

4 "Classical antiquity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity>

5 "Renaissance art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_art>

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great power, and she is still being drawn, which really shows how far art has come since the
Medieval Ages. If someone were to ever take a look at a painting from the Medieval ages, it will
show Baptists, Jesus, and churches. Renaissance art will show humans being humans, a
mixture of Greek and Roman art with modern art.
Lastly, the final thing the Renaissance affected is science. As it did to help literature spread
throughout Europe, the printing press also helped spread knowledge about science to improve
the rate of new ideas and philosophies. A man named Marie Boas Hall named this period the
Scientific Renaissance because it was the early phase of the Scientific Revolution, which was
the emergence of modern science, 1450-1630. Leonardo Da Vinci, an artist that painted
pictures of the human body (or anatomy) to help better understand the complexity and
advanced human body.6 In a way, art and science back in the Renaissance period were very
closely related. Later in the Renaissance, Sir Isaac Newton had made some major
improvements in science that would later branch out to cover lots of discoveries and
advancements in our understanding. Isaac Newton discovered a force that is constantly pulling
everything to the ground so we don't float away, or gravity. Other scientists, like Galileo used
control groups and data to improve or disprove his theories.7 This process he used was named
the scientific process. From the examples given to the evidence that supported it, science was
really improved in the Renaissance.
The Renaissance was a major contributor to modern day art, science and literature. Writers like
Shakespeare wrote glorious stories about the lives of normal people living their lives, while
others wrote about baptism and Jesus Christ in years before. Paintings like Mona Lisa and
David help people know how the Renaissance affected the people living in its time period.

6 "History of science in the Renaissance - Wikipedia, the free ..." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_in_the_Renaissance>

7 "History: Renaissance Science for Kids - Ducksters." 2011. 9 Mar. 2016

<http://www.ducksters.com/history/renaissance_science.php>

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Artists like Leonardo Da Vinci drew paintings of people, to try and resemble Greek and Roman
art. Scientists like Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci found out amazing discoveries
about the world and the human body, even gravity. If it was not for the Renaissance, society
today would not have the diversity and variation of all kinds of art, science, and literature that we
now have. Amazing theories were created, epic paintings were painted, and beautiful stories
were written to inspire the rest of the people. Those original scientists, artists, and writers
inspired other people to write, discover and draw more and more: that is why the Renaissance
was important for modern day society.

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Works Cited
N/A. Definition of Humanism. Dictionary. N/A. Dictonary.Com. Web. 7 Mar. 2016
N/A Renaissance Literature Readings. Listopia. 23 Dec. 2011. GoodReads.com. Web.
8 Mar. 2016
N/A Courtly Love. Wikipedia. 14 Feb. 2016. Wikipedia.com. Web. 8 Mar. 2016
N/A Classical Antiquity. Wikipedia. 8 Mar. 2016. Wikipedia.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2016
N/A Renaissance Art. Wikipedia. 7 Mar. 2016. Wikipedia.com. Web. 6 Mar. 2016
N/A History of science in the Renaissance. Wikipedia. 27 Feb. 2016. Wikipedia.com.
Web. 7 Mar. 2016
TSI History:Renaissance Science. Ducksters. 3/2016. Ducksters.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2016