Legiterature?
The ideology of the Renaissance was to re-introduce ideas that had diminished over time, re-evaluate ideas that were presumed due to culture or religion and introduce ideas that may have seemed outlandish at the time– due to the strict social confinements imposed upon individuals.
The most notable ideas that were born during the Renaissance were humanism and individualism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that saw the shift of society’s ideology from rigorously theological to those that were more wordly. Individualism, saw a similar shift of society’s ideology, except to those ideas that concerned the value of individuals.
These new ideologies may have been conveyed through art, literature and music. However, this article is concerned with literature, and the different forms of literature that were mobilized by erudites, theologists are artists alike in order to convey these ideas.
The sonnet was a form of poetry introduced during the Renaissance. Perhaps the most notable intellectual to have embraced this form was Petrarch. Petrarch is credited for being one of the earliest humanists. One of his most famous pieces of work, Il Canzoniere, revolves around a woman that Petrarch met at some point during his life. This piece of work is composed mainly of sonnets, though there are some other forms of poetry within.
Moreover, the autobiography was another form of literature developed during the Renaissance that conveyed this ideology. The autobiography revolved around one’s self, rather than an alternative topic which one simply describes. An example of an autobiography written during the Renaissance was that of Benvenuto Cellini, a goldsmith living in Italy.
Critical pieces were perhaps the trademark of the Renaissance. For they did not only incorporate humanist and individualist ideology, but in most cases, directly oppose theology. There is an abundance of examples of these critical pieces, however, the most famous are those written by Niccolo Machiavelli, Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. All three of these humanists had written works which opposed the church, from both political and theological perspectives.
Furthermore, advice pieces was another form of literature introduced during the Renaissance. These advice pieces embodied individualist ideology, as they focus on the values of individuals and how these individuals may improve their values. Benvenuto Cellini is among the first individuals to have authored pieces that offered advice on how an individual should conduct themselves and improve their values, in The Book of Courtier.
The Renaissance was an age of ideas, the introduction, re-evaluation and re-introduction of ideas. In order to convey these ideas, however, must different forms be embraced. These wonderful forms of literature are timeless, for they have both served as a platform for modern literature and still remain in modern literature. Therefore, we have no option but to regard these new forms of literature as legit.