Renaissance în England

What is Renaissance?

The Renaissance is generally referred to as a series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. These movements began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of Europe.

The English Renaissance dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century is associated with the pan-European Renaissance.

This era in English cultural history is sometimes referred to as "the age of Shakespeare" or "the Elizabethan era"; however these names are rather misleading: Shakespeare was not an especially famous writer in his own time, and the English Renaissance covers a period both before and after Elizabeth's reign.

The Humanistic Thinking of the Renaissance

The great Renaissance scholars studied the great civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural achievements rivaled those of antiquity.

Their thinking was also influenced by the concept of humanism, which emphasizes the worth of the individual. Renaissance humanists believed it was possible to improve human society through classical education. This education relied on teachings from ancient texts and emphasized a range of disciplines, including poetry, history, rhetoric (rules for writing influential prose or speeches), and moral philosophy.

Renaissance: toward a definition

The word renaissance means “rebirth”, “renewal”. The idea of rebirth originated in the belief that Europeans had rediscovered the superiority of Greek and Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered intellectual and cultural decline.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RENAISSANCE

Rediscovery of Classical Literature and Art

During the Middle Ages there was a lively interest in classical literature, especially Latin and Latin translations of Greek. This attention was mostly confined to the professional activities of theologians, philosophers, and writers. In the Renaissance, however, people from various segments of society - from kings and nobles to merchants and soldiers - studied classical literature and art. Unlike the professional scholars of the Middle Ages, these people were amateurs who studied for pleasure, and their interest in art from the past was soon extended to contemporary works. Medieval art and literature tended to serve a specialized interest and purpose; Renaissance works of art and literature existed largely for their own sake, as objects of ideal beauty or learning.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RENAISSANCE

Curiosity and Objectivity

The Renaissance was marked by an intense interest in the visible world and in the knowledge derived from concrete sensory experience. It turned away from the abstract speculations and interest in life after death that characterized the Middle Ages. Although Christianity was not abandoned, the otherworldliness and monastic ideology of the Middle Ages were largely discarded. The focus during the Renaissance turned from abstract discussions of religious issues to the morality of human actions.