The document discusses how self-fashioning became an important issue in English society and literature during the Renaissance period. It provides examples from travel narratives, educational texts, and plays that demonstrate how Renaissance authors and characters engaged in constructing their identity in relation and contrast to perceived "others". The travel narratives described native peoples in the New World as primitive and in need of civilization, justifying English colonization. Educational texts promoted Greek and Latin models but warned against adopting identities from other European cultures like Italy. Plays featured characters, like Doctor Faustus, who struggled with inner conflicts while attempting to define themselves against external forces and discover unknown knowledge. Overall, the document argues Renaissance English society and authors fashioned their identity through encounters with perceived alien

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Self Fashioning in the Renaissance Period
The Renaissance originally began in Italy and spread across the whole Europe.It came to
England in the 16th century, when Tudor dynasty started to reign England.With the beginning
of the Renaissance, people embraced the intellectual movement called humanism; the scholars
of this period rediscovered classics, and they taught their students Greek and Latin.Apart from
humanism, geographical expansions and colonialism brought about cultural encounters.As a
result, cultural encounters created the concept of “otherness”, which made people question
what the difference between the modern subject “I” and “others” was.Having difficulty in
comprehending this difference, people were trapped between inner and external conflicts;
therefore, they had to construct an identity for themselves, and self-fashioning became one of
the cental issues in the English society and literature.
Firstly, Richard Hakluyt’s travel narratives named “The Principal Navigations” are one of the
reflections of the Renaissance England’s interest in self-fashioning.In “The Principal
Navigations, travels of the English, who were in seach of wealth, to the New World and their
attempts for colonizing the natives were narrated by Richard Hakluyt despite the fact that he,
himself, never travelled to these places.He included Thomas Haiot’s report of Virginia in his
travel narratives.Initially, the fact that Virginia had the potential to be exploited was stressed
by its long and striking title, and then manners of the natives were mentioned throughout the
text. The English who are faced with a community exactly different from themselves
alienated this community from themselves by depending on their imaginay
representations.Accordingly, the natives were primitive people who wore clothes made of
deerskins, and lacked well-equiped weapons to defend themselves.(478) Aditionally, they did
not have social unity as it might be understood from distinct governments using different
languages.Thus, the English justified their own zeal for colonizing them with the promises of
civilization.In spite of their inferiority to the English, they stated that the natives had potential
to learn, reflected England’ humanist ideology.(479)The natives had tendency to be
Christianized as well as their “wit”.When they displeased the English and started to die
because of ilnesses, the natives inscribed a godlike image for them.(482)Therefore, the
English hoped that the natives “embracing the truth” ultimately would obey and honor
them.(483)Apart from the report of Virginia Hakluyt included the discovery of Nova Albion
in his narratives.Alike those of Virginia, the indians of Nova Albion were described as
univilized people.Encounters with the Spanish were alo narrated in this text.The English’s
violent attitudes against th Spanish demonstrated their patriotic achievement.That is, the

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English identity was constructed through these narratives.They formed their identity by
making contrasts between themselves and “others” as Stephen Greenblatt said:
Self fashioning is achieved in relation to something perceived as alien, strange or
hostile.This threatining Other – heretic, savage, witch, adulteress, traitor, Antichrist –
must be discovered or invented in order to be attacked and destroyed (Greenblatt, 9).
Secondly, Rodger Ascham’s “The Schoolmaster” serves to the idea of self fashioning with its
humanist approach.In this text, Rodger Ascham gave moral instuctions about education, and
demonstrated what the best methodology for Latin education was and how to practice rhetoric
in the manners of Latin and Greek scholars, so we could argue that old Latin and Greek
civilizations, “others”, set a precedent for the English scholars in a way, and their methods
wee used as guidelines for education as can be understood from Ascham’s statement,
“Socrates’s doctrine in true in Plato, and well marked and truly utteed by Horace in Arte
Poetica, that, wheresover knowledge doth accompany the wit, there utterance doth always
await upon the tongue.”(87) That is, depending on the doctrines of these scholars, he asserted
that the scholars must invite their students to speak in order to help them understand and use
the language effectively.Whereas the English accepted old Greek and Latin cultures as models
to shape their own identity they evaluated othe cultures as corrupted, and they did not want to
internalize their effects because of the anxiety of losing their national and religious
identity.Therefore, Ascham stood against the idea of studying in Italy, so in “The
Scoolmaster”, he stated that it was free to sin in Italy whereas commands of God were taught
diligently in England.Additionally, he praised the national unity in England while he insulted
lack of national unity in Italy.(106)Consequently, the English fashioned their identity
paradoxically depending on the principles of Greek and Latin cultures and rejecting the othes
for the fear of losing their national and religious identity.
Thirdly, “The Courtier” written by Thomas Hoby also indicates effects of humanism and the
modern subject’s conflicts.In “The Courtier, Hoby described what the Renaissance coutier’s
obligations were, so he mentioned the distinction between the body and the soul in this
text.Accordingly, he celebrated the soul, and manners based on instuctions of the mind.On the
other hand, he demonstrated the body and senses as the cause of false judgments.Therefore,
we could understand that he ascribed the notion of “otherness” to the body, and he evaluated
the soul as essential part of the identity.Additionally, he made reference to Plato, and he stated
that beauty of the body and bobily love are not true, but they are just steps for true beauty and

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true love.Thus he guided the Renaissance courtier to love truly in the direction of reason and
to look for true beauty as we can infer from this statement:
…then must courtier determine, when he perceiveth he is taken to shun throughly all
filtiness of common love, and so enter into the holy way of love with guide of reason ,
and first consider that the body where that beuty shineth is not the fountain from
whence beauty springeth…(126)
In other words, the self was fashioned through the attempts of ending the conflict between the
body and the soul in this text.Hoby molded an identity for the Renaissance courtier with his
humanist ideology and references.
Lastly, Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” is a tragedy in which a German scholar
making pact with the devil sells his soul to him in exchange for knowledge and power.In this
play, Faustus’ desire to challenge human limits is the central theme, which symbolizes the
Renaisance ambition and celebration of human potentials.At the beginning, Faustus who is
not satisfied with his knowledge throws all of his books , and he calls devils in order to gain
the unknown to him from them.(273)We can assert that devils represent “others” in the play,
so our modern subject, Faustus, tries to discover them to reach what he wants.After making
pact with the devil, he achieves his goal.On the other hand, his inner conflicts and external
conflicts never leave him.For instance, he mediates between the good angel and the bad angel,
and he gets lost in this process.His own will and “others” around him lead him to do evil
things.Therefore, his fall occurs in the course of the play.Even though he fails at the end, he
attempts to be an individual fighting for intellectual freedom and stands at the threshold , so
he shapes his own identity.Consequently, as Samuel Beckett says, “Ever tried.Ever failed.No
matter.Try Again.Fail again.Fail better” he fails better.
In conclusion, literary works of the Renaissance period reflect the attempts of the modern
subject to construct an identity among the conflicts emerging with humanism, geographical
expansions and cultural encounters.

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Works Cited
Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self Fashioning From More to Shakespeare. The Universiy of
Chicago Press.