Baroque in the Protestant North - Essay Example

The Baroque in the Protestant North In the northern Europe, the Protestants remained committed to their private devotionrather than the usual public rituals. The churches would not be allowed to use ornament, which compromised the way of worship. There was anti-intellectual bias among the Catholics and Protestants. This led to the Protestants to value the bible as the principal pillar of their faith. This originated from a religious movement in Germany. The King James Bible translated the early 17th century; it preserved the spiritual fervor of the Old Testament as well as the narrative vigor in the New Testament. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. This bible was concise and compelling, full of the use of imagery and rhythm.
John Donne was a highly influential and eloquent person. He was not only an Anglican priest of the Church of England, but also the dean of the cathedral church in London. He mastered the sermon as the mediation medium. ‘Holy Sonnets’, for example, was one of Donne’s religious poetry. The metaphysical poetry reflected the dramatic contrast of the baroque.
The Protestant North also produced outstanding music and undisputed art. George Frederic Handel was a brilliant musician who composed songs in German and Italian. He composed many songs and brought scripture into life in these songs. Christopher Wren who was an architect, scientist and a professor prepared the design of the new city after fire destroyed most parts of the city. Another person who made an enormous contribution in the protestant north was john Milton. He was a humanist, a poet and also a political activist. He fought for the rights of the people in some controversial issues they faced. The protestant devotionals also spread to the Netherlands.
I, therefore, acknowledge the development in the Protestant North as the foundation of today’s developments. For instance, the use of poetry in addressing certain issues affecting the local people is still widely embraced.
Work cited
Fiero, Gloria. The age of the Baroque and the European enlightenment: The Baroque in the Protestant North. Brown & Benchmark, 1995 Read More