Comparative Analysis of Medieval and Renaissance Literature - Term Paper Example

?      MEDIEVAL LITERATURE VS RENAISSANCE LITERATURE Introduction Medieval and renaissance are two different eras in relation to art, writings, religion etc. Medieval literature is available in Europe and documents concerning all events of the middle ages. These writings include events from the fall of western empire to the emergence of Renaissance in 15th century. The literature work of the medieval era was mainly based on religion and very minutely on secular works. As compared to the modern literature, it is based on a complex study, highlighting all the sacred teachings. Medieval literature on syncategoremata, sophismata, and exponibilia indicted that analysis and interpretation is very important for success of and in the world. But this phenomenon has also not been explained clearly in the writings of Buridan and Ockham. The relationship of reductionism and interpreting has helped to develop the modern logic. These two characteristics have been explained in detail in the philosophy of the Medieval. Renaissance literature emphasized on the translation and rediscovery of Greek ancient text, which was not possible in Europe during the medieval era. It promoted the awareness of various methodologies to be used in writings and helped to deal with various ancient texts. In this era, methodology became one of the famous issues of Renaissance thinkers. Its literature and writings mainly focused on Roman and Greek text. It was not confined to just aspect, but covered humanity, politics, art and short stories. Renaissance knowledge provided way to people to think more freely to create a better world. It worked for centuries to create a difference in people’s mind. It also led to industrial Renaissance. In this discussion, we are going to articulate the differences between the literatures in the two periods in history (medieval versus renaissance) while attempting to emphasize on the circumstances that occasioned these differences. On e of the concepts that occasioned the differences in literature between the two eras are the roles that were played by both the church and the state. While in the medieval era the church was more superior to the state, the reverse was true in the renaissance and churches were held under the national state as part of but not superior to it. Medieval literature The middle ages were full of literature that was mainly based on the fantasy of people. Here, a writer’s fantasy could be intricately blended with the reality of the day to produce a literature piece that would depict a revered leader, a saint, or even God. Therefore, it is possible to view the medieval literature as being driven by virtues such as honor or even romance with a religious overtone. The ideals of chivalry were clearly at play during this era in history. The deterrent to access of these writings was that they were handled and copied by monks and hence only the rich and noble in the society could benefit from them while the peasants could only rely on the word of mouth to pass their versions down from generation to generation. An example of a medieval writing is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343- 1400) who wrote about social classes and is revered as one of the best writers in the medieval era. Renaissance literature The literature of the renaissance is different from that of the medieval era in that while the latter focused on religion and the future, the former was more about the “here and now”. It was guided more by the idealism that was characteristic of the classical ages existing in A.D. 1500- 1660. The major point of departure from the medieval writings was the fact that these pieces focused more on the character using emotions and feelings to depict humanism than they did on the adventure. Hence, the characteristic of the writings was that there was a protagonist in the human sense with a moving tale to tell (Henry 48). The stories would usually have a setting of a humble background as the introduction and would then climax when the character is in the life of abundance and luxury. During this period, the printing press was discovered by Johann Gutenberg in 1440 and thus the materials produced could be en masse and thus available to a wider number of people than those of the medieval periods.   John Milton (A.D. 1608- 1674), a renaissance writer depicted a more humanistic version of Lucifer who was even more prideful and wanted to have the power that the heavens held. This was in the notorious epic known as Paradise lost that shows a move away from the largely religious themes in medieval literature into a more secular theme. Discussion There are glaring differences between the two eras in history (medieval and renaissance). The literary and visual arts of the time were moved by different concepts and were evidenced in the depictions in those pieces. The religious difference accentuated by the journey of self-discovery by the characters is a major difference between the eras. The Middle Ages were more about the upheavals of kings and knights and their feudal relationships whereas the renaissance literature focused more on the individual with humanistic appeals hence being more mercantile and drifting back to the classics as the ideal means of both learning and living. The poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect example of a literary piece from the Middle Ages as it is more on religion, chivalry, and honor. This shows that while the Middle Ages literature focused more on religion, the renaissance literature leaned more towards secularism. The literature pieces that were sourced during the medieval era were mostly in Latin as they were hand copied and the works of monks. This meant that they were only applicable to those that knew the language. This is different from the renaissance since the invention of the printing press meant that they could be produced in the vernacular and hence available to a large number of people cheaply and swiftly. The church commissioned most of the works in the medieval era meaning that they could only be centered on themes that were acceptable to religious beliefs. As such, the content of these writing were narrowly focused and did not give much insight into any topics that diverted from religious teachings. The difference with the renaissance literature was that it was free of religious influences and could be on a very wide array of subjects. These included politics, short stories, and even art. There was more criticism of the political class that arose out of the renaissance than there was during the middle Ages. Conclusion In medieval times, concept of Christianity and God was present only in theories. At that, time people believed in religion and considered it to be the queen of science. There was no concept of practical science as practiced in the present economy. Faustus stated that medieval literature and art was mainly focused on extraordinary and livelihood saints rather than ordinary people. All writings were written in Latin. Art and literature was mainly dependent on the pattern of churches. There was little political criticism. Literature was prepared on hand written bases; there was a lack of effective technology. Medieval era is very stagnant and slow. Renaissance, emergence created a sense of individual freedom in the economy. It emphasized that scientific investigation is more important, it should not be mixed up with religion. Faustus identified that the energy of Renaissance was stronger than medieval. Writings were more secular and were written by scholars and poets. Renaissance literature had broader concept than medieval, it was not just confined to religion, but covered all political aspects, short stories and politics. It focused more humanism and individual freedom. Literature was composed on the basis of printing press rather than hand written. Mainly it was Renaissance men who worked hard to bring out the ancient works of Greek. They developed best ideas as compared to the medieval times. The main difference in these two eras is the matter of thinking and its form. However, the fact was that, in spite of the backwardness of medieval era, beginning of renaissance was very difficult. They had to go through a difficult phase to change people thought and mind. There exist vast differences between these two eras. But both of these promoted same art, music, and historical events with great enthusiasm. References Henry, John. The fragmentation of Renaissance occultism and the decline of magic. History of Science, 46(1), (2008), p. 48. Read More