Renaissance Literature

The Renaissance in Europe was in one sense an awakening from

the long slumber of the Dark Ages. What had been a stagnant, even
backsliding kind of society re-invested in the promise of material
and spiritual gain. There was the sincerely held belief that
humanity was making progress towards a noble summit of perfect
existence. How this rebirth for Renaissance literally means
rebirth came to fruition is a matter of debate among historians.
What cannot be debated is that humanity took an astounding leap
forward after hundreds of years of drift. The fourteenth through the
sixteenth centuries in Europe witnessed a deliberate break with
feudal modes of living. Aristocratic landowners lost their
hegemony over the lower classes, as opportunities for growth and
enrichment beckoned from the swelling urban centers. In Italy, for
example, educated citizens rediscovered the grace and power of
their classical, pagan traditions. Greek and Roman mythologies
and philosophies served as the inspirational material for a new
wave of artistic creation. Intellectuals adopted a line of thought
known as humanism, in which mankind was believed capable of
earthly perfection beyond what had ever been imagined before.
The overwhelming spirit of the times was optimism, an
unquenchable belief that life was improving for the first time in
anyones memory. Indeed, the specter of the Dark Ages and the
Black Death were still very fresh in peoples minds, and the
promise of moving forward and away from such horrors was
wholeheartedly welcome.

Several threads can be said to tie the entire European

Renaissance together across the three centuries which it spanned.
The steady rise of nationalism, coupled with the first flourishing of
democracy, were traits common to the entire Continent. The first
inklings of a middle class began to gain power in the cities, as
trade and commerce became full enterprises in their own right.
With the fear of contagion a distant bad memory, and people eager
to get out of their homes and see more of the world, international
and even global trade began to surge forward. Along with products
and wealth, ideas also spread from one nation to another. Fashions
in Venice soon became the fashions in Paris and eventually
London. Speaking of the British Islands, the well-known practice of
young privileged men touring the continent first began during the
Renaissance. The ideas these travelers brought back to their
homelands would influence culture, government, literature and
fashion for many years thereafter. Until the Renaissance, Britain
was regarded as something of a wilderness, lacking culture and
refinement. Even the English language was disdained. The
preeminent English philosopher Thomas More published
his Utopia in Latin, and a vernacular English translation did appear
until decades afterward.
The single greatest innovation of the Renaissance era was the
printing press, put into service around 1440 by Johannes
Gutenberg. Rudimentary presses had existed for a long time, but
Gutenbergs design maximized printing efficiency in a way that
changed the world of arts, letters, and ideas forever. His greatest
innovation was a means to rapidly produce movable typesets,
meaning that new sheets of text could be set in place and printed
with far less effort than had previously been the case. The
revolutionized printing press allowed for the fast and relatively
cheap reproduction of work. Certainly it is no coincidence that
literacy rates saw a measurable uptick in the decades following
the presss invention. The religious upheaval known as the
Protestant Reformation would not have been possible without the
capacity to make many copies of a document quickly and with
minimal effort. Martin Luthers famous 95 Theses spread like
wildfire through Continental Europe thanks to the newfound ease
of reproduction. Even more so than easy reproduction, printing
changed the whole social economics of reading and learning. No
longer was literature a rarefied, privileged domain. The effect of
having readily available literature was almost inconceivably
profound in its democratization of the written word. Another
overlooked aspect of this innovation is the effect that it had on the
act of reading. Previously, one document was read aloud to a group
of people. In the oral tradition, biblical or humorous stories were
memorized and then passed down. Thanks to the sudden increase
in printed material, communal reading and the oral tradition
gradually gave way to silent, individual reading. At the time, silent
reading was considered something of a novelty, and there were
even those who looked upon the practice with suspicion.
Nevertheless, the image of the individual engaged with the text on
a solitary journey of interpretation is a quintessential Renaissance
image.
Every nation in Western Europe experienced its own incarnation of
the Renaissance. In different nations, even different cities within
the same nation, the manifestations of Renaissance art and
thought were unique. Whereas in one region, architecture might be
the most obvious outlet for new creative energies, in other regions
literature might take the most prominent position. At every locale,
however, the rebirth of passion and creativity had undeniably
world-altering effects. Although the Italian Renaissance is most
familiar to students, the literary output of Renaissance England
rivals anything else of the period. Spanning the years 1500-1660,
the English Renaissance produced some of the greatest works of
literature the world has known. The spirit of optimism, unlimited
potential, and the stoic English character all coalesced to
generate literature of the first order. At the same time, England
graduated from an overlooked barbarian nation to a seat of
commercial power and influence. This power naturally translated
into a literature that was bold, sweeping, innovative, and trend-
setting. Poets experimented with form, and dramatists revived and
reinvented the classical traditions of the Greeks and Romans.
The dominant forms of English literature during the Renaissance
were the poem and the drama. Among the many varieties of poetry
one might have found in sixteenth century England were the lyric,
the elegy, the tragedy, and the pastoral. Near the close of the
English Renaissance, John Milton composed his epic Paradise
Lost, widely considered the grandest poem in the language.
Conventions played a large part in how particular poetic styles
were manifested. Expectations about style, subject matter, tone,
and even plot details were well-established for each poetic genre.
Even the specific occasion demanded a particular form of poetry,
and these tried and true conventions were tacitly understood by
all. Not infrequently, poetry of the era was intended to be
accompanied by music. In any case, the general consensus among
critics is that the chief aim of English Renaissance verse was to
encapsulate beauty and truth in words. English poetry of the
period was ostentatious, repetitious, and often betrayed a subtle
wit. One attribute that tended to set English letters apart from the
Continent was the willingness to intermix different genres into a
sort of hodgepodge, experimental affair. This pastiche style is
exemplified in Edmund Spensers Faerie Queen, a long poem which
mingled elements of romance, tragedy, epic and pastoral into an
entertaining and still cohesive whole.
English court life and the opinions of noble patrons had a profound
influence on the direction of the arts. Being close to the king or
queen was desirable, but also dangerous. The literature reveals
that courtiers were exceedingly clever with their use of language,
employing double meanings and sly wit to protect their own
interests. The verbal duels one might have overheard in the court
naturally found their way into the poetry and drama of the time.
The nuanced communication style of Shakespeares vivid
characters, for example, had its genesis in the court of the English
royalty.
In the area of drama, no one matched William Shakespeare 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, from complex
character study to light-hearted farce. He is likewise highly
regarded for the exquisite formal structure which all of his plays
demonstrate. This goes beyond just acts and scenes, but
encompasses the emotional and psychological arc of the action in
the drama. More than anyone else, he elevated the English
language to a level of sumptuousness that previous generations
would not have thought possible. In particular, Shakespeares
sonnets display a verbal pyrotechnics seldom seen even today,
with images layered one on top of another in a kind of sensory
collage. Strangely enough, very few details of the playwrights life
are known today. His uncertain biography has led to numerous
conspiracy theories, even to the point of questioning whether he
was in fact a single person. One of the profound difficulties in
ascribing authorship to any piece of literature from so long ago is
that copyright, in the modern sense of the term, did not exist. A
writer simply did not own his or her own words, an inconceivable
state of affairs
The theatre in Renaissance England steadily evolved from a village
festival attraction to a bona fide cultural institution. During the
Middle Ages, troops of vagabond actors would perform morality
plays, essentially live-action sermons, to delighted provincial
audiences. In 1567, the Red Lion was erected on the outskirts of
London, one of the first commercial playhouses. From the very
beginning, the theater had its detractors. Locals despised the
crowd and the noise that the popular houses attracted, and the
pubs and brothels that inevitably cropped up nearby. Many saw the
theater as an invitation to laziness, with children abandoning their
studies and laborers leaving work to see the plays. Others found
the subject matter distasteful and wicked. The Puritans, in
particular, aimed their barbs directly at the Elizabethan stage. The
intensely conservative offshoot of Protestantism, the Puritans
feared that the cross-dressing and playacting one found at the
theater would lead to sexual corruption among the general
populace.
One of the greatest stumbling blocks for artists and writers during
the English Renaissance was the ever-present need to somehow
eke a living out of their craft. The system of patronage was one
means by which talented and creative individuals sustained
themselves. A patron was an independently wealthy noble person
who had a taste for the finer things, and lavished money and
attention on artists who catered to that taste. In some cases, the
patron surrounded themselves with poets and dramatists as a
mere pretence. On the other hand, many patrons had a deep and
genuine appreciation for artistic creation. From the point of view of
the starving artist who reaped the benefits of such generosity, it
did not really matter either way. The freedom to pursue ones craft
to the utmost would certainly have been a blessing in sixteenth
century England. Original manuscripts which have survived the
ravages of time bear witness to the importance of securing the
blessings of a wealthy patron. Typically such works are dedicated
to the patron who provided the funds for its production. Or, the
writer may be seeking the good favor of a patron who has yet to
loosen their purse strings. There are even accounts of a single
piece of literature being reproduced and dedicated to several
potential patrons, a kind of wide net approach that demonstrates
the business savvy required of the Renaissance artists. In the
majority of cases, artists had to give much of their time to a career
in some other more lucrative field and only pursue their craft as a
sort of hobby. Four hundred years have done little to change that
unfortunate reality.
The unbounded optimism and humanist spirit of the Renaissance
could not go on forever. By the middle of the seventeenth century,
the quest for human perfection had given way to decadence,
cynicism, and an introversion which would stifle creativity for a
long time to come. In England, the rise of Puritanism, itself an
offshoot of Renaissance philosophy, put the brakes on the pursuit
of knowledge and aesthetic endeavors. Another factor leading to
the end of the English Renaissance was the failure of Queen
Elizabeth to produce an heir. All of England adored their Queen, yet
she was literally the end of a line. The power vacuum she left
behind was immense, and set the stage for shocking violence and
intrigue. In a nation fraught with such political uncertainty, the
arts invariably suffered a decline.
This article is copyrighted 2011 by Jalic Inc. Do not reprint it
without permission. Written by Josh Rahn. Josh holds a Masters
degree in English Literature from Morehead State University, and a
Masters degree in Library Science from the University of Kentucky.

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