Characteristics of Renaissance Literature

Humanism

     

     Renaissance art was driven by a new notion of humanism. Man began to take interest in his own world rather than the other world. View of literature was predominantly ethical. The moral teaching was secular, not religious. Man began to perceive the positive aspects, his dignity and value rather than the dark and sinful side.

The spirit of discovery and adventure

     The influence of the spirit of discovery and adventure runs through the Renaissance literature. In Shakespeare’s England ocean became the highway of national progress. The spirit of adventure is clearly seen in the renaissance drama. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Pericles, Merchant of Venice Marlow’s Dr. Faustus, and Tamburlaine etc. are some examples. This spirit helped to create a general tendency to explore all aspects of nature and the world.

The Revival of Classical Learning

     Plato and Aristotle lend immense influence on the renaissance. The revival of classical works and authors influenced to mold and shift the style and technique of literature. Thomas More’s Utopia and Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis have introduced new plot and theme to literature.

Scientific Outlook

     The scientific spirit got changed with the publication of Copernicus’ “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres” in 1543. The Copernican system replaced astrology with astronomy. Science and art were intermingled in the early renaissance with artists like Da Vinci entering the field of medicine, aerodynamics, anatomy etc. The previously held truths were questioned and new results were sought in this period of scientific advancement

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The Renaissance

Renaissance: the Beginning

The term Renaissance means revival or rebirth. It was originated in Italy and then spread to Germany, France and England. The renaissance revived almost all the spheres of human life including science, education, politics, religion; philosophy literature etc. this era bridged the gap between the medieval age and the modern age. The middle age was believed to be a dark age. 15^th century in English literature was a barren period. Renaissance was thus a coming out of the dark and barren period.

The period

It was a process of change, which made its appearance around the middle of the 14^th century, prospered during the 15^th & 16^th. By the century, it became part of the larger tradition and ceased to be a new force.

The historical reason

Various theories have been proposed for the origin of the renaissance in Italy. The fall of the Constantinople is the prominent among them. Constantinople was captured by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The attacks saw a large scale sacking and destruction the Byzantine centers of learning. Several Greek & other intellectuals fled the city during the 53 day siege along with their valuable libraries. They were sheltered in Florence by such wealthy families like the Medici.

The romans and Italians used this opportunity to know the work of Homer, Aristotle etc. at first hand. The young scholars & university students flocked to these sources of new learning, with every one eager to learn Greek language. This rediscovery of classics enlarged the spectrum of ideas, styles and genres.

The Reformation

The publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses” precipitated the reformation. It was a call to purify the Church and a belief that the Bible not tradition should be the sole source of spiritual authority. They skillfully used the power of the printing press. The reformist Christians, the Protestants, believed in the authority of the Bible, translated the Bible from Latin to various languages and distributed

Impact of Petrarch

Petrarch can be seen as the epitome of the renaissance literary theorists and practitioners.  He was deeply involved in the campaign to rediscover ancient Greek and Latin writers and their values. His sonnets Canzoniere had a lasting impact on the renaissance. Thomas Wyatt & Earl of Surrey took this form to England. Shakespeare, Sidney, Spencer, Milton etc popularized it. They all are indebted to Petrarch.
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The Plot of Dattani’s “Tara”

In Tara Mahesh Dattani plays with the idea of female infanticide that is prevalent among the Gujaratis. His deep preoccupation with gender issues leads to the emergence of the idea of the twin side to one’s self – quiet literally embodied in one body and the separation that follows.

Chandan and Tara are conjoined twins. They must be separated for survival. The problem begins when it is recognized that it has been unequal, unfair operation. Even though the doctors were aware that the third leg would suit to Tara better than her brother, they took part in a conspiracy plotted by her family. As a result Chandan gets the second leg and Tara becomes a crippled.

Bharati, the mother of Tara, is anxious about the future of her daughter. She was afraid that the world would not accept Tara when she is a grown up. Her concerns and maternal love towards Tara becomes as part of the burden of guilt she possess.

Chandan enjoyed great preference, while Tara was left to enjoy the position of a subaltern. Tara was more enthusiastic and had high dreams and aspirations, which she couldn’t achieve since she was a handicapped. Bharati’s father further strengthened his indulgence for male grandchild by leaving his property after his demise to Chandan. When it comes to giving the education Tara’s father prefers only Chandan. If Tara had been given moral support by her parents, her life would not be the same.

It is noteworthy that discrimination against Tara continues even after her death. Chandan has changed their story into his own tragedy. He apologizes to Tara for doing so.

Tara is always discouraged, even though she is more intelligent, sharp and witty. Economic and cultural facts have been responsible for the pathetic status of the girl child. All these factors combine to create the social system in which the girl child has to live. Tara is killed by the social system, which controls the minds and actions of the people.

Harmony of mind, body and spirit in Sri Aurobindo’s “Is India Civilized”

Sri Aurobindo ranks high among the greatest personalities of modern India. He was a multifaceted genius, being a politician, social critic, educationalist, philosopher, man of letters etc. The essay “Is India Civilized” was originally serialized in the quarterly Arya from December 1918 to February 1919. It was basically a response to the attack of William Archer, a British critic, on Indian civilization.

Aurobindo begins by stating unequivocally how a culture or civilization may be evaluated. The true happiness in this world is the terrestrial aim of man, and true happiness lies in the finding and maintenance of a natural harmony of spirit, mind and body. According to Aurobindo happiness is the main goal of human life.

          In Aurobindo’s scheme of things, a human being possesses at least three levels of being – the physical, the mental and the spiritual. And what is more important, without a natural harmony between these three levels, we can never be really happy.

It also means that any country or society, which caters only to the body and the mind but leaves out the spirit, cannot achieve true happiness. A society which nourishes the spirit may attain very high levels of material prosperity. Our very nature is such that we cannot be truly happy until we have the opportunity to strive for perfection.

Pointing the western progress, he says a progress, targeting only on material element is not true progress. Only through the harmony of mind, body and spirit a person or a society can really achieve progress and happiness.

Natraj or Shiva as an artifact in Ananda Comaraswamy’s “The Dance of Shiva”

Ananda Kentish Comaraswamy was an extraordinary geologist, art scholar, collector, curator and philosopher. The essay “The Dance of Shiva” became the title piece of a collection of fourteen essays in 1918. The essay tries to explain the significance of the image of Nataraja, or the dancing Shiva. The dancing Shiva is a magnificent conception, both dynamic and controlled at the same time. This image is one of the greatest masterpieces of Indian art. Comaraswamy helps us to understand it better.

He starts by explaining one of the many names and aspects of Shiva – Nataraja or the master of the dance or the king of actors. He mentions three dances of Shiva- the evening dance at Kailasa, the Tandava, and finally the Nadanta dance at Chindambaram. It is one of the last that he focuses, because it is this dance that is depicted in the Nataraj Bronzes.

The legend behind this dance is that of the submission of the Rishis in the Taragam forest. These Rishis did not accept the divinity of Shiva, but are worsted in the fight. Shiva’s victory over Rishis suggests the victory of higher over the lower. The malignant dwarf underfoot may be taken to represent the ego.

Shiva with four arms, braided hair, Ganga in his locks on which rests the crescent moon, adorned with both men’s and women’s ornaments, left foot upraised and right hand in the abhay or reassuring gesture, thus represents a whole philosophy. The dual nature of Shiva, how he is both male and female, the skull of Brahma, the Ganga in his locks, the drum all these have stories and myths behind them.

The meaning behind the iconography of the dancing Shiva has, thus became an artifact in Komaraswamy’s essay.

The Door I Shut Behind Me. Uma Parameswaran

The door I shut behind me is a short story by Uma Parameswaran. The title of the short story reminds the Indian tradition of a bride leaving her parents’ home forever after marriage. The story explains an Indian leaving his country to become a possible immigrant in Canada. The simile is very apt as both the situation involves crossing over to a new life; this crossing over involves fear and uncertainty coupled with hope and desire.

The story opens with Chander, the protagonist, flying to Canada on a two year research associate ship, at an annual salary of $ 8500. Agarwal, the crude and loud fellow passenger who doesn’t have an immigrant visa feels envious of Chander. Agarwal appears to be a perfect portrait of an ugly person. The writer has analyzed the mindset of an average Indian who goes abroad, his obsession with money and savings as well as his dreams of luxury and comfort.

Agarwal criticize everything western. He says “our toilet habits are much cleaner”. For him the westerners are far behind in their appreciation of arts. The writer portraits the class of Indians, who criticizes the west and its culture, yet wants to stay abroad, earn money and lead a life of comfort and luxury.

Chander finds that Agarwal is nostalgic for his country and wanted to be with his own people and speak his own language. They visits Mundra’s house. Agarwal greeted every one with warm enthusiasm, but Chander was unable to do so. The people gathered were from different parts of India, but the language they spoke was English. They were all proud of speaking English.

They question of identity, whether they are Indians or Canadians, entangled them. They had not changed their food habits, their costumes. They wanted to go back, but like the mythological king Trihishanku, they stood suspended between two worlds, unable to enter either.

The story says when we leave our country we shut many doors behind us though we are not aware of it at the time. Chander replies “There are many doors ahead of us”. The story thus ends on a note of hope for the future. Uma Parameswaran endorses a positive approach; if people decide s to adopt another country to live in; they must not look back but look forward with hope.

The Bear on the Delhi Road. Earl Birney

The Bear on the Delhi Road is a poem by Earl Birney. The poem has five uneven verse paragraphs. The poet describes the sight of a huge Himalayan bear on a Delhi road. It was being brought down from the mountains by two Kashmiri men.

The poet says the bear is unreal. By the word unreal, the poet means away from his natural habitat. The Himalayan bears are supposed to live in the icy Himalayas. But now the bear is in an extremely contradictory habitat. Delhi is a hot place. The bear is facing a sudden climate shift. Thus the bear is unreal. Two bare thin Kashmiri men accompany him on the road. The first man pulls on a ring in the soft nose of the bear. The second one flicks with a stick up at the rolling eyes of the bear.

The third paragraph pictures the purpose of the two men. They have captured the bear not to kill it, but “simply to teach him to dance”. They want to make the bear a dancing bear in the great markets of Delhi, where his owners will earn a living from his performances. It is a wild animal, by teaching him to dance, the men takes him away from his natural way of living. Thus again the bear is made unreal.

We are told that the men are peaceful. All they want is a living. They want the bear to stay alive. They dance around him and want the bear to be like them on two legs and dance. They are also away from Kashmir’s cool air. The poem discusses the complex relation between our species and other animals and living an unreal life away from our natural places.