AGE OF

RENAISSANCE
(1485-1660)
“Renaissance” – an Italian
word which means rebirth or
revival or reawakening
• The Renaissance began a period of renewed
interest and engagement with “classical”
(Ancient Greece and Rome) learning, culture,
literature, art, style, etc.
How did the Renaissance change thought?
Before After
Focus on Afterlife Focus on this life
The Individual not The Individual is important
important
Focus on learning the
Little focus on learning and “Classics” (The Iliad, Aristotle)
the arts to inspire learning and the arts

“Dark” Ages
“Rebirth”

Age of “Faith” Age of Reason

• Renaissance was a historical
period in which the European
humanist thinkers and scholars
made attempts to get rid of
conservatism placed by the
Roman church authorities.
• Old sciences revived and new sciences emerged, national
languages and national cultures free from the absolute
control of the Papal authority in Rome took shape and art
and literature flourished as never before.
 Renaissance
started in
Florence and
Venice and
went to
embrace the
rest of
Europe.
HUMANISM: An Emphasis on individual
• Educated people began to embrace an
intellectual movement known as humanism.

• Belief that church should only rule spiritual,

not civic or scientific matters. People control
their own destinies.

• It was the most significant intellectual

movement of the Renaissance
Francesco Petrarch
(1304-1374)
• Father of Humanism

• Considered the first modern writer

• In his writings, literature was no longer

subordinate to religion

• One of the first humanists who wrote an

imaginary conversation between himself and Saint
Augustine, the great medieval church scholar.
THE RISE OF PRINTING
• Johannes Gutenburg invented the first printing press in
Germany around 1400.

• The revolutionized printing press allowed for the fast and

relatively cheap reproduction of work.
Major Historical Events of the Renaissance
Period
• Age of Exploration (Period of European
Expansion)
• Protestant Reformation and the Religious
Wars
• Scientific Revolution- Rise of Modern Science
• The Rise of the Modern Nation-state
THE REFORMATION
• Reform began to occur as critics began to
question the sale of indulgences—the practice
of “forgiving” sins in exchange for money.
• The key ideas of the Reformation—a call to
purify the church and a belief that the Bible,
not tradition, should be the sole source of
spiritual authority—were not themselves novel.
LITERATURE
CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE
LITERATURE
• The English Renaissance was an exciting time
for literature which experienced a burst of
ideas and literary brilliance.

• The dominant forms of literature were the

poem and the drama.
• THE NEW POETRY. Renaissance produced the fullest and
freshest lyrical outburst in the English literature.
• Poetry seemed the natural language of the people.
• lyric, elegy, pastoral
• DRAMAS were written in poetry; forms and lyrics were
generously interspersed in the dramatic framework.