Renaissance 1485-1660

“rebirth” country of origin=Italy renewed interest in ancient Greek/Roman civilization turning away from Medieval focus on God to focus on man and his intellectual abilities

Exploration & Discovery In addition to exploring art, the Renaissance era was a time of territorial exploration and discovery. Knowledge was expanding in the areas of science, geography, transportation, building, etc. Results of this exploration: *learning about other cultures *trading with others *economic & political links with others

Elizabethan tastes and attitudes Art and Literature old+new OLD = “rebirth” classics NEW = humanism philosophy *elaborate patterns *complicated ornamentation & design in LITERATURE . . . verbal patterns for ear and eye Artifice = word of praise, positive extension of the root word ART Emphasis was on the human skill, ingenuity, ability to improve on the natural world.

Humanism Philosophy Root word= human Belief=we should celebrate and emphasize human abilities and achievements VERY elaborate patterns, designs, decorations, embellishments etc. (Today’s BLING!) IN EVERYTHING: literature, wallpaper, song/music, lace, art, gardens, clothing, architecture

Elizabethan chain of being *named for Queen Elizabeth *complicated system of ranking for everything *high end=all SPIRIT, no MATTER *low end=all MATTER, no SPIRIT *Man has a choice--Be more spiritual, more angel-like, or less spiritual, more inanimate.

Renaissance literature Drama highly popular all social classes attended plays rich in balcony poor on ground for penny (“groundlings”) long performances no artificial lighting or complicated stage decorations actors only theatres closed often because of disease Shakespeare’s theatre called The Globe

Renaissance literature Sonnet--in Italian sonneto = “little song” *three types: Italian (Petrarchan) English (Shakespearean) Spenserian *requirements: 14 lines 10 syllables per line 5 accented syllables per line (rhythm pattern) rhyme scheme (pattern of rhyme) two parts separated by a volta (“turn”)

Reading Renaissance sonnets read it more than once pay attention to the defined words look for use of figurative language paraphrase a quatrain at a time (or other line grouping as appropriate) locate the volta --change in rhyme scheme --strong mark of punctuation --shift in meaning state the theme/overall idea in one sentence

Prose vs. Poetry Line breaks for a reason Condensed language patterns rhyme rhythm line length stanza spacing Condensed language LOTS of meaning in a little space HOW? FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Symbol Allusion Personification Comparison-- using as, like, than Comparison- not using above One thing represents something else Reference to earlier work reader is expected to recognize Greek Roman mythology, Bible, folk tales Giving human characteristics to non-human things