2. RENAISSANCE
• The word “Renaissance” is a
French word which means
“rebirth”.
• It refers particularly to a
renewed interest in classical
learning – the writings of
ancient Greece and Rome.
2
3. RENAISSANCE
• The Renaissance was a cultural
movement that started in Italy
and spread all over Europe.
• It is considered to be the division
between the Middle Ages and the
Modern era.
3
4. RENAISSANCE
• The thinkers of this period,
also called “humanists”,
believed that the man should
be the subject of study, and
not God, as the Church had
taught during the medieval
period.
4
5. The Printing Press
• Johannes Gutenburg is credited
with inventing the first printing
press in Germany around 1400.
By 1476 William Caxton had his
own printing press up and
running in Westminster, England.
5
7. The Printing Press
• The Printing Press: William
Caxton was the person who
introduced printing in England.
Before that, the books were
written out in longhand, what
meant a very slow jog.
7
10. Thomas More: (1480-1535)
• Thomas More was is
considered one of the greatest
of all English humanists,
mainly for the book “Utopia”,
written in Latin, in which were
about an imaginary island
where everything is perfect.
10
11. Utopia
• Utopia means “nowhere” in Greek;
Thomas knew clearly that such an
island could never exist. This dream of
a place where happiness reigns and
sorrow is banished is the most
persistent of human fantasies and
became a recurrent theme in many
other British literature works.
13. Italian Genius of Renaissance
Writing
• Machiavelli published a book
in 1513, The Prince. Theorized
about how a perfect ruler
would govern.
13
14. Bible
• In 1604, King James I ordered
forty-seven scholars to
produce a translation of the
Bible to serve as the official
one of the Anglicanism, the so-
called “King James Bible”.
14
15. It was published in
1611 and is
considered
a masterpiece of
English prose.
16. William Shakespeare: (1564-1616)
• William is considered
the greatest of all
English authors; his
texts and plays are
known worldwide and
are updated
constantly.
16
18. Macbeth
• Macbeth compares life to a
candle, then to a shadow, to an
actor and finally to a story; this
rapid shifting of metaphors is
very characteristic of
Shakespeare’s work.
18
19. Great writers from the Renaissance
Period
• Christopher Marlowe
• Sir Walter Raleigh
• Robert Herrick
• Andrew Marvell
• William Shakespeare
• John Donne
• Ben Jonson
• Francis Bacon
• John Milton
• John Bunyan
• Edmund Spenser
• Sir John Suckling
• Richard Lovelace
20. Poetry of the Renaissance/Elizabethan
Age
• Major themes – love and
beauty Physical beauty –
outward sign of the spirit
striving for perfection
(humanist theory).
• “Fair” = a sign of beauty
21. Poetry of the
Renaissance/Elizabethan Age
• Poet writes to a lady who is
inflexible. Man seeks her love,
but hopelessly. Her moods
create the weather. Lady is
usually not real (a stereotype).
