1. Renaissance Changes Literature
Renaissance writers produced works that reflected the time period
However, their works also used techniques still used today
Some followed the example of medieval writer Dante
He wrote in the vernacular (Italian) rather than classical Latin
Vernacular = native language
In addition, writers wrote either for self-expression
Or to portray (show) the individuality of their subjects
These trends are still used by modern writers today

2. Petrarch & Boccaccio
Francesco Petrarch was one of the earliest and most influential humanists
He was also a great poet
Petrarch wrote both in Italian & Latin
In Italian he wrote sonnets (14 line poems)
They were about Laura, his ideal woman
Little is known about her except she died in the plague
The Italian writer Boccaccio is best known for the Decameron,
It is a series of realistic, sometimes off-color stories
It is told by a group of worldly young people waiting in a villa to avoid the plague sweeping through Florence
The humor of the Decameron is cutting & presents the follies of humans with sarcasm

3. Machiavelli
The Prince (1513), by Niccolo Machiavelli also examines the imperfect conduct of humans
He does it in the form of a political guidebook named The Prince
Machiavelli examines how a ruler can gain power
But more importantly keep it in spite of his enemies
He begins with the idea that most people are selfish, fickle, & corrupt
To succeed in such a wicked world he said a prince must be strong as a lion & shrewd as a fox
He might have to trick his enemies and even his own people for the good of the state

4. Northern Writers
Just as Italian art influenced Northern painters, so did Renaissance ideas influence the writers & philosophers of Northern Europe
Writers adopted the ideas of humanism but put more of a religious slant to it
Because of this, some northern humanists were also called Christian humanist
The best known of the Christian humanist were close friends, Desiderius Erasmus of Holland & Thomas More of England
Erasmus’ famous work is The Praise of Folly
The book poked fun at greedy merchants, heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars & pompous priests
Erasmus believed in a Christianity of the heart, not of ceremonies & rules
Bible study was more important to him

5. Thomas More’s Utopia
Also concerned with society’s flaws, Thomas More tried to show a better model
In 1516, he wrote the book Utopia about an imaginary land inhabited by peace-loving people
In Greek, Utopia means “no place”
However, in English it has come to mean an “ideal place” because of More’s book
In Utopia, greed, corruption, war & crime had been weeded out
Because the Utopians weren’t greedy, they had little use for money

6. Rabelais
The French humanist Francois Rabelais provided a contrast to Erasmus & More in several ways
They wrote in Latin, while Rabelais wrote in vernacular (French)
Rabelais’ comic adventure Gargantua & Pantagruel was more secular than Erasmus & More’s work
Rabelais believed that human beings were basically good
They should lived by instincts rather than religious rules
It is the story of two giants, a father (Gargantua) and his son (Pantagruel) and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein

7. Shakespeare William Shakespeare wrote in Renaissance England
Regarded as the greatest playwright of all time
His works display a deep understanding of human beings
He reveals the souls of men & women through dramatic conflict
His most famous plays include the tragedies Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, & Romeo & Juliet
However he was also skillful at writing comedies like A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Many of these plays examine human flaws
However, he also expresses the Renaissance high view of human nature
He also studied classical culture, as shown in his Julius Caesar, the story of the Roman leader’s assassination

8. Elizabethan Age
The Renaissance in England is also called the Elizabethan Age for Queen Elizabeth I
She reigned from
She was well educated, speaking French, Italian, Latin, & Greek
In addition to running the kingdom, she also wrote poetry
She was a patron for artists & writers

9. Block Type in China
One thing that helped spread Renaissance ideas throughout Europe was a new invention adapted from Chinese technology
The Chinese had invented block printing, in which a printer carved a work or letter on a wooden block and then pressed it to paper
Around 1045, Bi Sheng invented moveable type, or a separate piece for each letter
However, since the Chinese writing system contained thousands of different characters…
Most Chinese found moveable type impractical
In the 1400s, block items reached Europe
However, it was too slow to satisfy Renaissance demand for knowledge & books

10. Gutenberg Printing Press
Johann Gutenberg, a craftsman from Mainz, Germany reinvented moveable type around 1440
The method was more practical for Europeans because their languages have a very small number of letters
Gutenberg then invented the printing press
The printing press is a machine that presses paper against a tray full of inked moveable type
Using this invention, Gutenberg printed a complete Bible, the “Gutenberg Bible” in 1455
It was the first full sized book printed with moveable type

11. Printing Press Creates Change
The printing press has a revolutionary impact on European society
It enabled a printer to produce hundreds of copies, all exactly alike, of a single work
Books became cheap enough that many people could buy them
Printing spread quickly, so that by 1500, presses in about 250 cities were producing 10 million books
Thus, new ideas spread quicker
Many people were illiterate, so it encouraged people to learn to read
At first books were mostly religious, but it soon spread to other subjects

12. Legacy of the Renaissance
In both Italy & northern Europe, the Renaissance had stirred a burst of creative activity
Artists in both regions studied classical culture & praised individual achievement
They also produced works using new techniques
During the 1600s, new ideas & artistic styles appeared
Nonetheless, Renaissance ideals continued to influence European thought
For example, the Renaissance belief in the dignity of the individual played a key role in the rise of democratic ideas