Renaissance Took Its Time to Come to England - Essay Example

139907 Renaissance took its time to come to England, and the generally accepted is in the first decade of 16th century and arguably extended till 1660. There is another claim that it was between 1580 and 1660 which was later accepted as earlier and later renaissance periods. English poets of renaissance included names like Thomas Moore, Thomas Elyot, Skelton, Thomas Wyatt, Thomas Campion, Andrew Marvell, Edmund Spencer, Philip Sidney, Walter Raleigh and of course, William Shakespeare. Spenser's poem Shepheardes Calender introduced pastoral into English poetry for the first time. The connection between art and nature in English poetry had begun and later flourished during the Romantic Period, especially with poets like Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats, Byron, Blake and Clare. "According to Ross, the earlier Renaissance, exemplified by the pastoral poets Sidney, Spencer and Breton, tended to see nature as a norm, art as a corruption (Richard Ross' analysis of Herrick, E. in C, XV, 1965, 171-180)1. But Taylor concludes that 'both Nature and Art were necessary to any accurate, complete view of the world'. Nature needs the nurture of man's art. In sixteenth century, word 'art' had a derogatory sense of 'false or counterfeit imitation.' While describing Temple of Venus, Spencer sees art and nature as working partners2: For all that nature by her mother wit Could frame in earth, and forme of substance base, Was there, and all that nature did omit, Art playing second natures part, supplyed it. (IV. x. xxi. 6-9) The synthesis of art and nature is existent throughout, but nowhere it is more apparent than in Book VI. Sidney is another poet/writer who made a great contribution in this direction, as admitted by many scholars over the years. "In the Arcadia Sidney obviously contrasts the natural shepherds with the courtly lovers, seemingly using Nature to criticise Art;" ibid. Sidney celebrates poet's power in reinventing the nature. It was a peaceful period in history when there were no wars, arts were flourishing and natural ecology was untouched by man, people were good and just and literature was just emerging out of age-worn clichs. People in rural areas literally lived supported by Nature, and these poets were in tune with them, which can be seen by the harmonious poem The Garden of Marvell. SPENCER AND THE FAIRIE QUEENE: The most perfect way art could imitate nature, is shown by Spencer's works. This English epic poem of Spencer published in 1590 in three books, was an allegorical work praising Queen Elizabeth I. In introducing pastoral kingdom to English literature, Spencer seems to have followed the footsteps of Homer and Virgil (Eclogues). As a matter of fact, all Renaissance humanists followed Virgil's footsteps in their veneration of nature, and combined it in various forms of arts. Sidney said "Pastoral was thought to be the humblest type of poetry" (p.943), and Spencer hoped to be the new pastoral Virgil of Renaissance. Pastoral poetry presents an idealistic picture of rural life, where Nature and Art combine together to create an Utopia or Shangri-la. These poets showed enormous understanding and compassion towards Nature and Art both. Usually it is the result of a humanist education and love for nature, which later reflected in the poetics of William Wordsworth. It has love, seduction, death, mourning, nature's ever-caressing and soothing presence, and the art that stems out of imitating the nature. Spencer's view of nature is always considered to have contained 'contradiction'. In the 8th canto of the 4th book, Spencer gives reasons for the decay of nature, while saying the world 'has runne quite out of square'..the heavenly bodies rove at random, even the sun it is feared, in time, "will us quite forsake". Spencer later gives a more harmonious picture of the nature: In sort as they were formed aunciently; And all things will reduce unto equality. (V.ii.32). In later days, pastoral poetry was strengthened by the mighty Shakespeare, while the early Renaissance poets only managed the humble beginning. Nature and Art come together to make pastoral poetry. One is simple and another equally complex. And they combine together in human life as the backdrop and existence. In renaissance period art and nature combined together for the first time in English Renaissance poetry. The period had both pastoralists and anti-pastoralists and perhaps the pastoralists won the day. Spenser was a poetic humanist. His lament that evil seems to triumph very often in the world does not represent optimism, but a kind concern: For vaine it is to deeme of things aright, And make wrong doers justice to deride, Vnless it be perform'd with dreadlesse might For power is the right hand of justice truly hight. (5.4.I) In writing Fairie Queene, he was trying to follow the psychology of Elizabethan period and was showing his Machiavellian traits. This does not mean that he was less than truthful even though the poem was a political allegory. He probes into Elizabeth's royal claims rather unwillingly, it has a historical and pastoral theme of inheritance and virtue. Sidney and Spenser do not forget to show the conflict that nature and art go through for co-existence. As Taylor (p.36), puts it succinctly: "Beyond the green world of the shepherds the Blatant Beast runs mad, the unspoiled Nature of golden lads and lasses is not enough, and a knight must assume his true responsibilities where fallen Nature is insufficient, where 'it is an art to be made good.'" During this period, Nature and Art represented a complicated man's view of universe around him. It shows the unconscious presence of nature and conscious development of art and it penetrated analytical thought and created radical modernity in literature akin to that of Aristotle, Plato and Virgil. According to Taylor (p. 102), "Book VI of Spenser's The Faerie Queene illustrates the way critical misunderstanding can arise from neglect or ignorance of the history of pastoral in relation to Nature and Art." It is a moral allegory, pastoral romance exactly like Sidney's Arcadia with the blurred division between Nature and Art: Whether such grace were given her by kind, As women wont their guilefull wints to guyde, Or learn'd the art to please, I doe not fynd. (vi.43) His mention of Savage Nation of "wilde and salvage man" in Book IV brings Nature into moral and ethical boundaries. That since by grace of God she there was sent, Unto their god they would her sacrifize, Whose share, her guiltless bloud, they would present' But of her fainty flesh they did devize To make a common feast. (PLEASE PUT LINE NUMBER) Commenting on Spencer, Sir Thomas Browne said "Now Nature is not at variance with Art, nor Art with Nature, they being both servants of his Providence" ..Browne said "Nature is the Art of God"And for Spenser, if not for Montaigue, a partial reconciliation was possible, even necessary, within the order of nature itself," Taylor (p.120). Shakepeare's The Winter's Tale exhibits pastoral, and presents Nature along with Art, though he was occupied throughout his career by the division between Nature and Art. Marvell's Garden is another praiseworthy example of pastoral kind complete with modifications of the combined terms of Nature and Art. His best pastorals came from unambitious themes like Garden. His Nymph's garden shows an uncanny resemblance to the Garden of Eden with 'Lillies without and Roses within' and it is difficult to miss the close relationship with Nature: Where every Mowers wholesome Heat Smells like an Alexanders Sweat. Their Females fragrant as the Mead Which they in fairy Circles treat; When at their Dances End they kiss, Their new-made Hay not sweeter is. (II. 427-32). The Mower becomes a comprehensible figure, a symbol of 'fallen man' and representates both 'harmony and alienation.' But we are aware of Marvell's conviction that harmony with nature could be recovered. With whistling Sithe, and Elbow strong, These Massacre the Grass along; While yet unfeather'd Quils her fail. The Edge all bloody from its Breast, He draws, and does his stroke detest; Fearing the Flesh, untimely mow'd To him a Fate as black forebode. (II, 393-400). Although Marvell sounds a bit moralising sometimes, he looks for salvation of lost pastoral innocence, and represents 'literary Art in the garden of the mind'. It is impossible to end without quoting Herrick's epigram "Upon Man": Man is compos'd here of a two-fold part; The first of Nature, and the next of Art; Art presupposes Nature; Nature shee Perpares the way to mans docility3. During English renaissance humanity and language got intermixed with art and nature and often became one. This does not mean that there was no resistance; but eventually, Nature and Art combination remained to spread into later centuries. The commonplace happenings and terms hitherto ignored, were given more prominence along with art somewhat simplified in every field. Here we can take examples of later poetries of Coleridge and Wordsworth. The marriage between Nature and art had always not been very happy; but from the hindsight, seen against historical perspective, the intellectual movements of the period had brought nature into the artistic sphere which was a great contribution and perhaps the beginning of ecology and environment. There was frequent connection with reasoning Theology and Philosophy, a newer one that introduced Religion of Nature. "Where Nature is virtually equivalent to (right) reason, the relationship between Nature and the product of human reason, Art will be complementary, as in Herrick's epigram and in most of the writings of the Christian humanists of the Renaissance," (Taylor, 1964, p.28). It was a shaky beginning with abundance of claims and counter claims; but we can see that the pastoral poetry has entered the arena of English Literature and it had come to stay. It always existed in minute unseen forms, but was never recognised. It is not wrong to feel that the combination of Nature and Art brought humanity, understand, kindness, compassion and admiration for all things around us into literature. It sharpened our senses into recognising the Nature's songs. And according to Taylor (p.178), "And to greater men, Nature and Art, shared with an audience sensitive to their manifold import and to the symbolic uses of pastoral, offered the means to strike an arrestingly beautiful line of purpose across experience." BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Kermode, Frank and Walker, Keith (1990) eds., Andrew Marvell, Oxford University Press. 2. Lindenbaum, Peter (1986), Changing Landscapes, Anti-Pastoral Sentiment in the English Renaissance, Athens and London, University of Georgia Press. 3. Robertson, Jean (1973), The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney, Oxford, Clarendon Press. 4. Tayler, Edward William (2964), Nature and Art in Renaissance Literature, New York and London, Columbia University Press. 5. Warten, Joseph (1787) ed., Sir Philip Sidney's Defence of Poetry, London, Charing Cross. 1. ONLINE SOURCES: 1. http://eic.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/XVII/1/121.pdf Read More