Thinking Activity- Renaissance Literature

Renaissance Literature

Thinking Activity

Our professor Dr. Dilip Barad Sir, Head of the English Department, M K Bhavnagar University is always active in enriching students’ aptitude through (Google) classroom activities. One of such activities is Thinking Activity where we, the students majoring in English Literature have to read points to ponder on Sir’s blog and submit our responses by writing blog. So this blog is a response to the task assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad Sir on Renaissance Literature.

1.  Write in brief about Edmund Spencer or Ben Jonson or Francis Bacon or on any one of their works.

The magnificent age of Queen Elizabeth encompassing the latter half of the sixteenth century has been called the Golden Age in the history of English Literature. It was an age in which the mind of men was set free from the religious persecutions as well as from the barriers of medievalism and fear of foreign invasion. In Milton’s words, England had become-

“A noble and puissant nation, rousing herself, like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks.”

Under the administration of the young Queen, national life of people of England progressed in such an enormous way that it furnished the wide domain of English literature. Not only Drama and Poetry but the deliberately developed Prose also influence the reader’s attention. The most notables were

• ·         Francis Bacon
• ·         Richard Hooker
• ·         Sir Philip Sidney
• ·         Walter Raleigh
• ·         John Fox
• ·         William Camden and John Knox (historians)
• ·         Richard Hakluyt and Samuel Purchas (editors)

Among the prose writers of this glorious literary age, Francis Bacon stands first in the line of the English philosophers and is one of the most eminent of them.

Francis Bacon

“Bacon is one of the pioneers of modern philosophy in all countries.” 

– Legouis.

• Life of Francis Bacon in brief-

Sir Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was born as the youngest son to Sir Nicholas Bacon and his second wife Anne Bacon- the daughter of an eminent humanist Anthony Cooke. Elizabeth was impressed by him and used to call him “Little Lord keeper”. At the age of twelve, Bacon went to Cambridge and left after two years considering it to be radically wrong. Bacon received education from England, France, and Italy and established himself as an extraordinary English essayist. His cool, judicious temperament failed to attract the Queen but was soon given a position in politics by King James. Bacon throughout his life wrote essays, scientific novel, and largely philosophical works. 

To know more about Francis Bacon’s life, Click here to watch a video.

• Major Works-

Francis Bacon is considered one of the fathers of modern science. The object of all his work was to bring practical education to all his people.

•         The Advancement of Learning-

The work titled “Of Proficience and Advancement of Learning Divine and Human” was published in 1605. It is written in the form of a letter to King James. The work is divided into two books. Bacon had stated the philosophical, civic and religious arguments for the engaging in the aim of advancing learning. In the second book, Bacon analyses the state of the sciences of his day, stating what was being done incorrectly, what should be bettered, in which way they should be advanced.

“To invent is to discover that we know not, and not to recover or resummons that which we already know.” – Francis Bacon

•         Novum Organum

The “Novum Organum” is a philosophical work published in 1620. The reference of the title is derived from Aristotle's work Organon. The book is divided into two parts, the first part is "On the Interpretation of Nature and the Empire of Man", and the second "On the Interpretation of Nature, or the Reign of Man".

•         Instauratio Magna

"Instauratio Magna" or ‘The Great Instauration’ is an imitation of the Divine Work – the Work of the Six Days of Creation. It is the most ambitious of Bacon’s works. It is divided into six parts. The work is all about the practical results of the new philosophy, use of reason and experiment instead of the old Aristotelian logic with fanciful explanations.

Partitions of the Sciences

New Method

Natural History

Ladder of the Intellect

Anticipations of the 2nd Philosophy

The Second Philosophy or Active Science

“Men have sought to make a world from their own conception and to draw from their own minds all the material which they employed, but if instead of doing so, they had consulted experience and observation, they would have the facts and not opinions to reason about, and might have ultimately arrived at the knowledge of the laws which govern the material world.” –Francis Bacon

The Essays

Bacon's essays are familiar to all lovers of English literature. There is nothing else in literature quite like them. As Hugh Walker points out

"Bacon is the first of English essayists. He remains for the sheer mass and weight of genius, the greatest."

Bacon felt the form was suitable to receive many thoughts of his mind not merely his intellect but his whole disposition made the essay form valuable to him. Bacon regarded the essay as, "receptacle for detached thoughts".

As a philosopher, Bacon represents a complete break from the past but in matters of language, he was chained to the past. He entrusted his philosophy and science to Latin for he felt that the vernaculars “would one day play the bankrupt with books”.

“If Montaigne is the first great Essayist, Bacon is certainly the first great English Essayist.”

                                                       Arthur Compton Rickett

Francis Bacon (Short summary of Bacon)

• Bacon's prose style-

Bacon not only introduced the new literary form in English, but he also rendered considerable service to the development of English prose style. English prose before Bacon or even in his own time was rich and sonorous. Bacon's style can be called simple in the sense that it is neither ornate nor obscure. Bacon's style is flexible also. The main qualities of Bacon's style in his essays are terseness of expression and epigrammatic brevity. 

Of Great Place

William J long quotes,

“From books Bacon turned to men,

from theory to fact,

from philosophy to nature,-

and that is perhaps his greatest contribution

to life and literature.”

1. Can we differentiate general characteristics of Renaissance literature with that of Reformation / Restoration or Neo-classical or Romantic or Victorian or Modern literature?

Yes, we can differentiate the general characters of Renaissance literature with that of Reformation / Restoration or Neo-classical or Romantic or Victorian or Modern literature. 

I would like to compare and distinguish the general characteristics of Renaissance literature with that of Romantic literature. 

General Characteristics	Renaissance Literature	Romantic Literature
Defined as	A cultural movement that began in Italy; the rebirth of learning caused by the discovery of Greek and Latin manuscripts	An artistic movement that valued imagination and feelings over intellect and reason
Characterized as	The Golden Age	Romantic Revival
Genre Distinction	Age of Drama	Age of Poetry
Explorations	Great explorations to West Indies Exploration to the coast of South America	Captain James Cook’s three voyages Discovery of Australia in the second voyage Discovery of Sandwich Island
Emphasizes were laid on	Individualism and Worldliness	Individualism, Subjectivity and Objectivity
Major Writers of the age describes the age as	Christopher Marlow has described the complete meaning of Renaissance in his famous play ‘Tamburlaine’ “A God is not so glorious as  king, I think the pleasure they enjoy in heaven, Cannot compare with the kingly joys in Earth”	The essence of Romanticism could be reflected in Wordsworth’s works- “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven.” Wordsworth writes the enthusiastic spirits of the era “Finds  tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
Subject matters	Patriotism, Humanism, Inspirational life full of vibrancy and youthfulness chivalry, Human nature.	Reason and Science to Imagination, Nature and common man, Supernaturalism.
Political Interference and victories	Naval Triumph over Spain	The reaction of the French Revolution
Metaphors used for the age	The Sunrise after a long Night; First Creative period of English literature	The Second Creative period of English Literature
Inspirations derives from	The revival of Classical Literature	Turning to Medieval Age
Major Characteristics of the age	Religious Tolerance Social Stability and Political Peace	Romantic enthusiasm Rise of Modern magazines and Freedom of the press
Major Writers	Edmund Spenser Thomas Sackville Philip Sydney George Chapman Michael Drayton Christopher Marlow William Shakespeare Ben Johnson Francis Bacon Richard Hooker Philip Sydney Walter Raleigh	William Wordsworth Samuel Coleridge Robert Southey Lord Byron John Keats Charles Lamb Percy Bysshe Shelley Jane Austen
The movement	Renaissance stands for rebirth and is often depicted as a rediscovery of mankind himself and of the world.	Romanticism stands for freedom and liberty and is designated as ‘Liberalism in Literature’.
Style of Writing	Wrote in antiquity	Wrote in Simplicity

                                            In a nutshell, it can be said that both the above-mantioned ages were the most significant ages in the history of English Literature and the Renaissance as well as the Romantic literature had made a deep impression in the reawakening and flourishing of literary spirit made a mark in English literature. 

References-

Frances Bacon -Wikipedia

Elizabethan Age - Wikipedia

William J Long History