Renaissance Writers

Some changes made by Renaissance Writers

Many writers followed Dante, who wrote in the vernacular

Vernacular: Writers wrote in their native language rather than Greek or Latin

This could include Italian, German, English, and French

Renaissance writers wrote for self-expression or to portray the individuality of their subjects, which started trends that modern writers still follow today.

In medieval times, literature usually dealt with religious topics. Most writers used a formal, impersonal style. Most Italian writers wrote in Latin. Their work could be read only by a few highly educated people. In contrast, Renaissance writers were interested in individual experiences and the world around them. Writing about secular or non-religious topics became more common. Writers used a more individual style, and they expressed thoughts and feelings about life. By the end of the Renaissance, most writers were writing in their own dialect instead of Latin. As a result, far more people could read their work. The interest in learning during the Renaissance was spurred by humanism. This way of thinking sought to balance religious faith with an emphasis on individual dignity and an interest in nature and human society. Humanism first arose in Italy due to the renewed interest in classical culture. Many early humanists eagerly hunted for ancient Greek and Roman books, coins, and other artifacts that could help them learn about the classical world.

Petrarch

Sometimes called the father of humanism

Great poet- wrote in both Italian and Latin

Wrote sonnets (14-line poems) about a mysterious woman named Laura

Little is known of Laura other than she died of plague in 1348

One of the first humanists was an Italian poet named Francesco Petrarch. Petrarch especially loved old books. He searched for them all over Europe and encouraged his friends to bring him any they found. Eventually, he created an extensive collection of ancient Latin and Greek writings, which he made available to other scholars. Petrarch is considered the founder of Italian Renaissance humanism.

Sonnet about Laura

▪Sonnet 292

▪The eyes I spoke of once in words that burn,

the arms and hands and feet and lovely face

that took me from myself for such a space

of time and marked me out from other men;

▪the waving hair of unmixed gold that shone,

the smile that flashed with the angelic rays

that used to make this earth a paradise,

are now a little dust, all feeling gone;

▪and yet I live, grief and disdain to me,

left where the light I cherished never shows,

in fragile bark on the tempestuous sea.

▪Here let my loving song come to a close;

the vein of my accustomed art is dry,

and this, my lyre, turned at last to tears.

Dante

Italian poet, writer, theorist, philosopher, and political thinker

Born in Florence, Italy

Referred to as the “Father of the Italian language.”

Wrote “The Divine Comedy”

An epic poem about Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory, & Heaven

Broken up into 3 parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio

Dante Alighieri, a native of Florence, was the first well-known writer to create literature in his native language. Dante wrote his long poem The Divine Comedy in the vernacular, or native speech, of Florence. Before his poem was published, people thought the local way of speaking wasn’t suitable for fine writing. But when the poem became highly celebrated, the language Dante used became the language of the Italian Renaissance. It became the language used for both everyday speech and fine writing. Like other humanist art, The Divine Comedy highlights strong emotions and the experiences of individuals. Dante’s poem is a social commentary, too. It is filled with real people. The inhabitants of hell included people Dante disapproved of. People in heaven he admired. Dante’s work became a model for other Renaissance writers. He strongly influenced two important Florentine writers, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. They described people’s lives with a new intensity of feeling, and like Dante, they wrote in the vernacular, so their words touched many more people.

Machiavelli

Wrote The Prince

Explains how a ruler can gain power and keep it in spite of his enemies

Said most people are selfish, fickle, and corrupt

Not concerned with what was morally right but what was politically effective

This may involve misleading your people

Niccolo Machiavelli wrote the book The Prince. Machiavelli says that to be a successful ruler, a prince (government leader) must be willing to be feared rather than loved. Machiavelli suggests that it is acceptable for a ruler to use force to stay in power and to bring peace to the city-state. He advised rulers to make their states strong by doing what worked best rather than by being good or moral. He said that they should even lie if it helped them to rule. In his view, the end, or purpose, justifies the means (the actions taken to achieve a certain purpose). The Prince seems to contradict humanist ideals about people’s goodness. Its cold realism shocked many readers. Yet in other ways, the books shows the influence of humanist ideas. It was the product of one individual’s careful observation and thinking. It was concerned with how things really worked in the world. It also separated ideas about government from religion. In this respect, The Prince was a very modern book.

Quotes from The Prince

Quotation 1

A prince should have no other aim or thought, nor take up any other thing for his study,

but war and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands.

Quotation 2

Thus, it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so; but you must have the mind so disposed that when it is merciful to be otherwise you may be able to change to the opposite qualities.

Quotation 3

In the actions of men, and especially of princes, from which there is no appeal, the end justifies the means.

Desiderius Erasmus

The ideas of humanists sometimes brought them into conflict with the Catholic Church. The church taught that laws were made by God and that those who broke them were sinful. It encourages people to follow its teachings without question in order to save their souls. For the church, life after death was more important than life on Earth. In contrast, humanists believed that people should use their minds to question everything. Most tried to balance religious faith and its emphasis on the afterlife with an active interest in daily life. Some directly challenged teachings that were dear to the church.

By the 1300s the church was beginning to lose some of its moral and religious standing. Many Catholics, including clergy and humanists, criticized the corruption and abuses that plagued the church. These reformers wanted to purify the church, not destroy it. By challenging the church’s practices and teachings, however, they helped pave the way for the dramatic changes that we will be studying in the Reformation.

Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist from Holland. A priest and devoted Catholic, he was one of the most outspoken figures in the call for reform. In 1509, Erasmus published a book called The Praise of Folly. (Folly means “foolishness.”) The book was a sharply worded satire of society, including abuses by clergy and church leaders. Erasmus argued for a return to simple Christian goodness.

Erasmus wanted to reform the church from within. He helped, perhaps more than any other individual, to prepare Europe for the Reformation. His attacks on corruption in the church contributed to many people’s desire to leave the Catholic church.

Renaissance Writers

Result: Renaissance writers wrote in vernacular and about people and life rather than about God and set many trends that are still used today by modern writers.

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