2. THE RENAISSANCE 1500-1650
Era Background:
•‘Renaissance’ is a French word that means ‘re-birth’ and describes the new enthusiasm for classical
literature, learning, and art which started in Italy towards the end of the Middle Ages, and which during
the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries gave a new culture to Europe.
•Italian cities such as Naples, Genoa, and Venice became centres of trade between Europe and the
Middle East. Arab scholars preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks in their libraries. When the
Italian cities traded with the Arabs, ideas were exchanged along with goods. These ideas from the
ancient past, served as the basis of the Renaissance.
•The Italian Renaissance was a period of looking back into the classical age of the Ancient Greek and
Roman period of art, form and philosophy. Writers valued classical philosophy of Plato, Aristotle and
Socrates over the more current thoughts.
•The Renaissance was much more than studying the work of ancient intellectuals. It influenced painting,
sculpture, and architecture. Paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics.
Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people. In Britain,
there was a flowering in literature and drama that included the plays of William Shakespeare.
3. INFLUENCES
Many Italian scholars admired the art and writing of the Classical Age at the time of
the Greek and Roman empires. To revive the glory and magnificence of the ancient
past, these scholars eagerly studied classical literature, architecture, and sculpture.
It was also the rejection of the Middle Ages as during medieval times, the arts were
concerned mainly with religion, the life of the spirit and with the hereafter. Little
importance was given to life on earth except as a preparation for the next world.
But as the renaissance began, the attention was turning to the world about them.
The major influences of the Italian Renaissance that changed art and religion were
the questions being asked by scientist/artists like Leonardo DaVinci; writer,
Francesco Petrarch, often known as the founder of humanism and scientists such as
Copernicus and Newton who discovered mathematical relationships between
objects and questioned known "religious" explanations for objects in space etc.
4. LANGUAGE CHANGES AND
REASONS•During the renaissance, there were many changes in English Language including pronunciation,
grammar, and spelling.
Before Renaissance After Renaissance
Dette Debt
Doute Doubt
Indite Indict
Quire Choir
Faute Fault
Example of Spelling
Change
Example of Grammar Change
• 10,000-12,000 new words entered the English lexicon.
For example: aberration, allusion, democratic, enthusiasm,
imaginary, juvenile, sophisticated.
• Many of these words were borrowed from Latin, both in
classical and medieval forms.
Example of Pronunciation Change
• The pronunciation of word ‘a’ became
‘ei’ in some words. E.g. Cake, Ale,
Dame, Fame.
• The long vowel ‘e’ was represented by
‘ee’, ‘ie’, ‘ea’. E.g. feet, seek, deep, heat,
seat, cat, field, believe.
The vast impact of the Renaissance
carried out a flood of new thoughts
and knowledge. It helped in
artificially and made a distinction
between literary and spoken English.
5.
6. WHAT DOES THE WORD
‘RENAISSANCE’ TRANSLATE TO IN
ENGLISH?
