Renaissance History and Religion – Which three (3) historical or cultural developments truly define the Renaissance as “rebirth” and why?…

Renaissance History and Religion – Which three (3) historical or cultural developments truly define the Renaissance as “rebirth” and why? Which Protestant reformer’s argument is better: Martin Luther’s or John Calvin’s and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons. Renaissance Visual Arts – Which Renaissance painter contributed the most to the development of painting during the Renaissance and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons in support of your response. Which Renaissance work of architecture or sculpture would you choose to teach someone about the visual arts of the Renaissance and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons in support of your response. Renaissance Philosophy – Whose view of human nature is more accurate, Pico della Mirandola’s or Niccolo Machiavelli’s? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons. In what specific ways did Neoplatonism influence the humanities of the Renaissance? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific examples. Renaissance Performing Arts – Please compare and contrast the music and dance of the Renaissance with the music and dance of the Middle Ages with at least three (3) specific points of similarity and at least three (3) specific points of difference. Which specific Renaissance play was most influential and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons. Renaissance Literature – Which single Renaissance poem best captures the essence of the Renaissance and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons. Which single Renaissance prose fictional work is the most revolutionary in terms of its style, subject matter, etc. and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific reasons.

Humanities 103

Exam 3

12/10/2012
Q.1
In Renaissance History and Religion, Renaissance” literally means “rebirth.” It refers especially to the rebirth of learning that began in Italy in the fourteenth century, spread to the north, including England, by the sixteenth century, and ended in the north in the mid-seventeenth century (earlier in Italy). During this period, there was an enormous renewal of interest in and study of classical antiquity.

Since the Renaissance was more than a “rebirth.” It was also an age of new discoveries, both geographical (exploration of the New World) and intellectual. Both kinds of discovery resulted in changes of tremendous import for Western civilization. In science, for example, Copernicus (1473-1543) attempted to prove that the sun rather than the earth was at the center of the planetary system, thus radically altering the cosmic world view that had dominated antiquity and the middle Ages. In religion, Martin Luther (1483-1546) challenged and ultimately caused the division of one of the major institutions that had united Europe throughout the middle Ages–the Church. In fact, Renaissance thinkers often thought of themselves as ushering in the modern age, as distinct from the ancient and medieval eras.

Study of the Renaissance might well center on five interrelated issues. First, although Renaissance thinkers often tried to associate themselves with classical antiquity and to dissociate themselves from the middle Ages, important continuities with their recent past, such as belief in the Great Chain of Being, were still much in evidence. Second, during this period, certain significant political changes were taking place. Third, some of the noblest ideals of the period were best expressed by the movement known as Humanism. Finally, as it developed during the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation was a movement that had profound implications, not only for the modern world in general, but specifically for literary history. Just as Renaissance Humanists rejected medieval learning, the Reformation seemed to reject the medieval form of Christianity. (It should be noted, however, that both Catholics and Protestants were Humanists, though often with different emphases.) In the early sixteenth century, the German monk Martin Luther reacted against Church corruption, the sort depicted, for example, by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales.

Q.2.

In Renaissance Art and Architecture, painting, sculpture, architecture, and allied arts produced in Europe in the historical period called the Renaissance. Broadly considered, the period covers the 200 years between 1400 and 1600, although specialists disagree on exact dates. The word renaissance literally means “rebirth” and is the French translation of the Italian rinascita. The two principal components of Renaissance style are the following: a revival of the classical forms originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and an intensified concern with secular life–interest in humanism and assertion of the importance of the individual. The Renaissance period in art history corresponds to the beginning of the great Western age of discovery and exploration, when a general desire developed to examine all aspects of nature and the world. Italy had always been an important educational center, attracting numerous students from abroad and sending its own scholars to work in countries beyond the Alps. Well before the end of the 15th century, the ideas and interests of the Italians humanists had spread in much of Western Europe. Humanism was promoted not only by scholars trained in Italy, but also by those who had traveled in Italy and adopted the humanists ideas, such as English theological John Colet and German poet Conrad Celtis.

Q.3

In Renaissance Philosophy, Pico Della Mirandola believes that our destiny takes shape by the way we shape ourselves; we are free to acquire any destiny we wish. The Oration on the Dignity of Man explains why man is the most wonderful of all creations. Mirandola points out the opinion of Abdala de Saracen and Hermes Trismegistus the Egyptian priest. It states that nothing is more wonderful than man, who is considered a great miracle. Some of the reasons given for the magnificence of human nature are that man is close to the gods, he masters over the lower creature, and he is the nodal point between eternity and time. Mirandola thinks that these may be good reasons why man is wonderful, but he also considers the fact that man is so much more than this past mentioned. Man has ranks that even the stars, and minds beyond this world envy. Mirandola feels that man is only second to God, because after he made the heavens decorated with the angels which symbolize intelligence, and he created the lower world which included the animals, then he began to think about creating man, to ha something to wonder and ponder his masterpiece. Man was like nothing else that had already been made, he was completely unique.

Another reason why man is so magnificent according to Mirandola is that god gave no limitation as far as place to live or function that is his choice alone; man enjoys the freedom of choice. God gave man his own desires and judgment to acquire whatever wants. All other things have a limited nature and are bound by our laws. Man, who was placed in the center of the world has the power to degrade him into the lower forms of life, like beasts. He has the power contained in his intellect and judgment to be reborn into the higher forms, the divine. Still another reason why man is so great is that he shapes himself. However, when an animal is born it has all that it will ever have at that time. Man is crated with seed of every kind. Whichever ones he plants are what he becomes; unlike a spiritual being will be whatever he is, for eternity. And because he transforms himself into any form and becomes any creature he wants to, he is to be the most admired.

Machiavelli’s idea of a “perfect” man or prince is very superficial and there seems to be a desire to be the all powerful being, God. Machiavelli describes this man if without conscience or any moral ethics, he is ruthless and without respect of faith. The Machiavellian man has a putrid mind, and is willing to reach its highest by means of deceit, violence, fierce competition, cruelty, corruption, and deceiving oneself. He is a man who tries to deceit people and himself. A liar only lies to himself, no matter the consequence; the prince will strive, because he is merciless. Machiavelli does try to portray a prince that is both good and evil, but both cannot exist in a princes’ mind. The prince, just as evil, only does well when it is to his advantage. He is only concerned with his appearance and wealth. He appears to be a great leader, but inside he is wicked and horrid. The Machiavellian prince covers his true identity with a mask of deceit; he no longer needs to lie because he uses what comes to his advantage, be it good or evil. The Machiavellian prince is a person with no dignity or moral standards. Mirandola describes a man who is the complete opposite of the Machiavellian prince. He describes man as being a unique being, as the most exquisite masterpiece of God. Mirandola la advises that we should not take our abilities lightly, but use these special qualities or gifts to our advantage, not to cause others pain and humiliation as in The Prince. Man should let a holy ambition enter into his soul, so that he should not just want to be average, but strive after the highest and use all his strength to achieve it. Man is a being that shapes him; if he turns out good or bad that is up to him. Furthermore, man is able to achieve anything as long as he sticks to it and tries his best. Unlike the Machiavellian man, Mirandola expresses faith in man’s decision, he does not need to use deceit to get where and what he wants, he needs only faith and reason. It is up to man what happens on that fateful day, the Day of Judgment, in which he can either take his rightful place next to God or Satan. When Plotinus and other philosophers who would become known as the Neoplatonists formulated their ideas in the third century, they never intended to start a new school of philosophical thought. Likely, their intention was to express the teachings of Plato as they understood them. Neoplatonism posits that individual souls can be reunited with the original source, an infinite divinity from which all other life emanates. Little did the Neoplatonist thinkers know that their influence would span centuries, from the mystical and religious thought of antiquity to Renaissance art, and continuing to the spiritual and religious thought of the present. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 – 1600. Defining the beginning of the era is difficult, given the lack of abrupt shifts in musical thinking during the 15th century. The process by which music acquired “Renaissance” characteristics was a gradual one, and musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s. In addition, the Italian humanist movement, rediscovering and reinterpreting the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome, influenced the development of musical style during the period.
Q.4

In Renaissance Performing Arts, the increasing reliance on the interval of the third as a consonance is one of the most pronounced features of early Renaissance European art music.Polyphony, in use since the 12th century, became increasingly elaborate with highly independent voices throughout the 14th century: the beginning of the 15th century showed simplification, with the voices often striving for smoothness. This was possible because of a greatly increased vocal range in music – in the middle Ages, the narrow range made necessary frequent crossing of parts, thus requiring a greater contrast between them. Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of pre-renaissance drama. He focused on creating “human” characters with psychologically complexity. Hamlet perhaps is the most famous example of this.

Q.5

In Renaissance Literature , I think the most, best captures of the work in the field of Renaissance poem is the Shakespeare. The upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to explore the humanity of every character regardless of their social position. Even monarchs are given human emotions and are capable of making mistakes. Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his pays. Before the renaissance, these texts had been suppressed by the Catholic Church. Until the early 19th century, this article deals with literature from Britain written in English; then America starts to produce major writers and works in literature. America and Ireland produced many of the most significant works of literature in English, and after World War II writers from the former British Empire also began to challenge writers from Britain.