What are the differences between Renaissance and Pre-Renaissance literature?
The Renaissance began in the fourteenth century and lasted until the seventeenth century. The most notable shift in this period was away from wholly Christian literature to the emergence of literature which put far more emphasis on classical sources from Greece and Rome and more emphasis on the centrality and goodness of humankind.
Renaissance literature that focused on the importance of humans was called humanist. Christian humanist writers of the Renaissance, such as Pico della Mirandola, wrote about humans not as abject sinners but as the glorious crown of God's creation. Mirandola wove the thought of Classical thinkers and philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Seneca into his work in an attempt to synthesize and harmonize Classical and Biblical thought—a hallmark of the Renaissance.
An important invention that emerged in fifteenth century was the printing press, which allowed an explosion in writing that questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic...
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church and promoted new ways of thinking about the world. Writers such as Martin Luther, though a Christian, put an emphasis on the individual that aligned with Renaissance thought.
The shift toward greater individualism, questioning, and interiority can be illustrated in drama. Medieval mystery plays, for example, were cycles of plays that retold Biblical stories. They were anonymously authored and tended to be identified by their geographic region, such as the York cycle or the Chester cycle. Characters were often archetypes representing virtues and vices without any deep interiority. The focus was entirely Christian.
By the Renaissance, that had changed. Playwrights such as Marlowe and Shakespeare were incorporating classical texts into their work or basing their plays on classical events, such as the death of Julius Caesar. Interiority was being fully explored in characters who moved from archetypes to fully individualized human beings.
What's the difference between Pre-Renaissance and Renaissance literature?
The term Renaissance means "rebirth." The Renaissance of English literature occurred between the years 1509 until 1649, approximately.
During this time, new ideas and inventions were developed in various disciplines. For example, in science, Copernicus raised new ways of viewing the planetary system, and Martin Luther challenged religious ideas of the day.
The literary works of Edmund Spenser and Thomas More were written during this time period.
Literature written before this time period can be considered as pre-renaissance literature.