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Renaissance literature in Europe was a revival of classical ideas and art forms, with new ideas and technologies. It reflected humanism and the “Great Chain of Being”, and used the same styles and genres as classical authors. Movable type printing made literature more accessible to the masses, leading to more secular works and vernacular religious texts. Important authors included Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Dante, and Petrarca.
Renaissance literature is literature that was created in Europe during the Renaissance. The Renaissance is commonly defined as a period of artistic, cultural and philosophical revival of classical ideas and art forms, although the period also saw the development of new ideas, artistic conventions and technologies. The period known as the Renaissance began in Italy in the 1300s, and the ideas and developments associated with it slowly spread across Europe over the next four centuries. Renaissance literature can be seen as a return to the literary forms of antiquity, such as satire, epic poetry, and stage dramas or comedies. Many literary scholars, however, point out that Renaissance literature also reflected many of the new ideas sweeping through European culture at the time.
Some of the ideas found in Renaissance literature include the doctrine of humanism, a philosophical school of thought that placed importance on human potential and the ability to find meaning and value in earthly life, rather than simply in the afterlife. Many works of Renaissance literature also dealt with the idea, taken from antiquity, of the “Great Chain of Being”, a philosophical doctrine which stated that every object in the entire universe occupied a place in a pre-established hierarchy, according to the life force he possessed. Authors during the Renaissance period often wrote in the same styles and genres as classical authors, which served to revive the literary genres and styles of antiquity. As a result, poetry, drama, social criticism and political commentary reappeared in European literature.
The centuries of the European Renaissance brought the philosophy and learning of antiquity to the fore of European minds and culture, but also saw the rise of many new technologies. In terms of the rise of Renaissance literature, the most important of these technologies was probably movable type printing, invented by Johann Gutenberg, probably in 1439. Before the advent of Gutenberg’s printing press, book production was a laborious and expensive process . Books were copied by hand, usually by monks, who had control over both the language used and the subject matter covered.
The invention of printing enabled popular authors to produce more secular works cheaply, which could be written in the vernacular, rather than Latin. Most ordinary people of the time could not read Latin, so books in Latin were usually reserved for members of the Catholic clergy and the very wealthy, who could read them. Printing allowed authors to produce books that ordinary people could read and understand, making literature more accessible to the masses. The Protestant Reformation, sparked by Martin Luther in the early 1500s, challenged the power and doctrines of the Catholic Church and led to the production of vernacular religious texts and more secular publications. Important authors of Renaissance literature included William Shakespeare, Niccolo Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca.
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