Literature in the Renaissance. Renaissance literature
The Renaissance is the heyday of all arts, including literature. Literature during this period is based on its basic philosophical principles. And the most important feature is the impossibility of dividing literary works into philosophical and entertaining.
Humanistic motifs in Renaissance literature appeared already in the work of Dante; they were further developed in the work of the outstanding Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), who personified the new personality of the Renaissance.
The concept of “humanism” was introduced into use by scientists of the 19th century. It comes from the Latin humanitas ( human nature, spiritual culture) and humanus (human), and denotes an ideology directed towards man. In the Middle Ages there was a religious and feudal ideology. Scholasticism dominated in philosophy. Medieval direction thoughts belittled the role of man in nature, presenting God as the highest ideal. The Church instilled fear of God, called for humility, submission, and instilled the idea of the helplessness and insignificance of man. Humanists began to view man differently, raising his role as himself, and the role of his mind and creative abilities.
During the Renaissance, there was a departure from feudal-church ideology, ideas of emancipation of the individual, the affirmation of the high dignity of man as a free creator of earthly happiness appeared. Ideas became decisive in the development of culture as a whole, influenced the development of art, literature, music, science, and were reflected in politics. Humanism is a worldview of a secular nature, anti-dogmatic and anti-scholastic. The development of humanism begins in the 14th century, in the works of humanists, both great and little-known: Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Pico della Mirandola, etc. In the 16th century, the process of development of a new worldview slows down due to the influence of the feudal-Catholic reaction. It is replaced by the Reformation.
This era is associated with the emergence of new genres and with the formation of early realism, which is called “Renaissance realism” (or Renaissance), in contrast to the later stages, educational, critical, socialist.
The works of such authors as Petrarch, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Cervantes express a new understanding of life as a person who rejects the slavish obedience preached by the church. They represent man as the highest creation of nature, trying to reveal the beauty of his physical appearance and the richness of his soul and mind. Renaissance realism is characterized by the scale of images (Hamlet, King Lear), poeticization of the image, the ability to have great feelings and at the same time the high intensity of the tragic conflict (Romeo and Juliet), reflecting the collision of a person with forces hostile to him.
Renaissance literature is characterized by various genres. But certain literary forms prevailed. The most popular genre was the short story, which is called the Renaissance short story. In poetry, the sonnet (a stanza of 14 lines with a specific rhyme) becomes the most characteristic form. Dramaturgy is receiving great development. The most prominent playwrights of the Renaissance are Lope de Vega in Spain and Shakespeare in England.
Journalism and philosophical prose are widespread. In Italy, Giordano Bruno denounces the church in his works and creates his own new philosophical concepts. In England, Thomas More expresses the ideas of utopian communism in his book Utopia. Authors such as Michel de Montaigne (“Experiments”) and Erasmus of Rotterdam (“In Praise of Folly”) are also widely known.
Among the writers of that time were crowned heads. Duke Lorenzo de' Medici writes poetry, and Margaret of Navarre, sister of King Francis I of France, is known as the author of the collection Heptameron.
Poetry becomes an area of strictly individual creativity, in which the new personality of the Renaissance reveals his relationships with other people, with society, with nature.
However, poetry could not completely break the connection with song, especially folk song. It was during the early Renaissance that a powerful wave of folk poetry swept across all countries; most often these are ballads.
Folk poetry was one of the powerful sources of renewal of poetry in general; the second source of inspiration was classical antiquity. The art of literary translation during the Renaissance became an almost obligatory aspect of the activity of any poet who wrote in a living language, and imitation of ancient authors, to one degree or another, became a common feature of Renaissance poets.
Introduction
Renaissance literature is a major movement in literature, an integral part of the entire culture of the Renaissance. Occupies the period from the 14th to the 16th centuries. It differs from medieval literature in that it is based on new, progressive ideas of humanism. A synonym for Renaissance is the term "Renaissance", of French origin. The ideas of humanism first emerged in Italy and then spread throughout Europe. Also, the literature of the Renaissance spread throughout Europe, but acquired its own national character in each individual country. Term Renaissance means renewal, the appeal of artists, writers, thinkers to the culture and art of antiquity, imitation of its high ideals.
1. The concept of humanism
The concept of “humanism” was introduced into use by scientists of the 19th century. It comes from the Latin humanitas (human nature, spiritual culture) and humanus (human), and denotes an ideology directed towards man. In the Middle Ages there was a religious and feudal ideology. Scholasticism dominated in philosophy. The medieval school of thought belittled the role of man in nature, presenting God as the highest ideal. The Church instilled fear of God, called for humility, submission, and instilled the idea of the helplessness and insignificance of man. Humanists began to view man differently, raising his role as himself, and the role of his mind and creative abilities.
During the Renaissance, there was a departure from feudal-church ideology, ideas of emancipation of the individual, the affirmation of the high dignity of man as a free creator of earthly happiness appeared. Ideas became decisive in the development of culture as a whole, influenced the development of art, literature, music, science, and were reflected in politics. Humanism is a worldview of a secular nature, anti-dogmatic and anti-scholastic. The development of humanism begins in the 14th century, in the works of humanists, both great and little-known: Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Pico della Mirandola, etc. In the 16th century, the process of development of a new worldview slows down due to the influence of the feudal-Catholic reaction. It is replaced by the Reformation.
Renaissance literature in general
The literature of the Renaissance is characterized by the above-mentioned humanistic ideals. This era is associated with the emergence of new genres and with the formation of early realism, which is called “Renaissance realism” (or Renaissance), in contrast to the later stages, educational and critical. socialist.
The works of such authors as Petrarch, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Cervantes express a new understanding of life as a person who rejects the slavish obedience preached by the church. They represent man as the highest creation of nature, trying to reveal the beauty of his physical appearance and the richness of his soul and mind. Renaissance realism is characterized by the scale of images (Hamlet, King Lear), poeticization of the image, the ability to have great feelings and at the same time the high intensity of the tragic conflict (Romeo and Juliet), reflecting the collision of a person with forces hostile to him.
Renaissance literature is characterized by various genres. But certain literary forms prevailed. The most popular genre was the short story, which is called Renaissance novella. In poetry, the sonnet (a stanza of 14 lines with a specific rhyme) becomes the most characteristic form. Dramaturgy is receiving great development. The most prominent playwrights of the Renaissance are Lope de Vega in Spain and Shakespeare in England.
Journalism and philosophical prose are widespread. In Italy, Giordano Bruno denounces the church in his works and creates his own new philosophical concepts. In England, Thomas More expresses the ideas of utopian communism in his book Utopia. Authors such as Michel de Montaigne (“Experiments”) and Erasmus of Rotterdam (“In Praise of Folly”) are also widely known.
Among the writers of that time were crowned heads. Duke Lorenzo de' Medici writes poetry, and Margaret of Navarre, sister of King Francis I of France, is known as the author of the collection Heptameron.
Renaissance literature in selected countries
3.1. Italy
Features of the ideas of humanism in Italian literature appear already in Dante Alighieri, the predecessor of the Renaissance, who lived at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The new movement manifested itself most fully in the middle of the 14th century. Italy is the birthplace of the entire European Renaissance, because... For this purpose, the socio-economic prerequisites were ripe here first of all. In Italy, capitalist relations began to form early, and people who were interested in their development had to leave the yoke of feudalism and the tutelage of the church. These were bourgeois, but they were not bourgeois-limited people, as in subsequent centuries. These were broad-minded people who traveled, spoke several languages and were active participants in any political events.
Cultural figures of that time fought against scholasticism, asceticism, mysticism, and the subordination of literature and art to religion; they called themselves humanists. Writers of the Middle Ages took the “letter” from ancient authors, i.e. individual information, passages, maxims taken out of context. Renaissance writers read and studied entire works, paying attention to the essence of the works. They also turned to folklore, folk art, folk wisdom. The first humanists are considered to be Giovanni Boccaccio, the author of The Decameron, a collection of short stories, and Francesco Petrarca, the author of a series of sonnets in honor of Laura.
The characteristic features of the literature of that new time are as follows. The main subject of depiction in literature is a person. He is endowed with a strong character. Another feature of Renaissance realism is a broad display of life with a full reproduction of its contradictions. Authors begin to perceive nature differently. If for Dante it still symbolizes the psychological range of moods, then for later authors nature brings joy with its real charm.
In subsequent centuries, a whole galaxy of major representatives of literature were produced: Lodovico Ariosto, Pietro Aretino, Torquato Tasso, Sannazzaro, Macchiavelli, a group of Petrarchist poets.
3.2. France
In France, the prerequisites for the development of new ideas were generally the same as in Italy. But there were also differences. If in Italy the bourgeoisie was more advanced, Northern Italy consisted of separate republics, then in France there was a monarchy, absolutism developed. The bourgeoisie did not play such a big role. In addition, a new religion spread here, Protestantism, or otherwise Calvinism, named after its founder, John Calvin. Having been progressive at first, in subsequent years Protestantism entered a second phase of development, reactionary.
In French literature of that period, the strong influence of Italian culture is noticeable, especially in the 1st half of the 16th century. King Francis I, who ruled in those years, wanted to make his court exemplary and brilliant, and attracted many famous Italian writers and artists to his service. Leonardo da Vinci, who moved to France in 1516, died in the arms of Francis.
Writers of the French Renaissance, compared to medieval ones, are characterized by an extraordinary broadening of their horizons, a wide range of mental interests, and a realistic approach to reality.
There are two stages in the development of literature of that period. Early, when humanistic ideas and optimism prevailed, and late, when, due to the political situation and religious schism, disappointment and doubt appeared. The most prominent representatives of the French Renaissance are Francois Rabelais (author of Gargantua and Pantagruel) and Pierre de Ronsard, who led a group of poets called the Pleiades.
3.3. England
In England the development of capitalist relations is happening faster than in France. Cities are growing and trade is developing. A strong bourgeoisie is being formed, a new nobility is emerging, opposing the old, Norman elite, which in those years still retained their leadership role. A feature of English culture at that time was the absence of a single literary language. The nobility (descendants of the Normans) spoke French, numerous Anglo-Saxon dialects were spoken by peasants and townspeople, and Latin was the official language of the church. Many works were then published in French. There was no single national culture. By the middle of the 14th century. literary English begins to take shape based on the London dialect.
At the end of the 14th century, only Geoffrey Chaucer shows influences from the Italian Renaissance. A contemporary of Petrarch, he still remains a writer of the Middle Ages. And only at the end of the 15th century. the ideas of humanism occupy a strong position in English culture. The revival in England practically coincides with the period of Tudor rule (1485-1603). The literature of England, of course, is influenced by other countries. In the 16th century, England experienced a flourishing in all areas of thought and creativity.
The most prominent representatives of the literature of the English Renaissance are Shakespeare in drama, Edmund Spenser in poetry, and in the field of the novel - John Lyly, Thomas Nash.
3.4. Germany
In the 15-16th centuries. Germany experienced economic growth, although it lags behind the advanced countries of Europe - Italy, France, the Netherlands. The peculiarity of Germany is that development on its territory was uneven. Different cities were on different trade routes and traded with different partners. Some cities were generally located away from trade routes and retained their medieval level of development. Class contradictions were also strong. The big nobility strengthened its power at the expense of the emperor, and the minor nobility went bankrupt. In the cities there was a struggle between the powerful patriciate and the master craftsmen. The most developed were the southern cities: Strasbourg, Augsburg, Nuremberg, etc., those that were closer to Italy and had trade relations with it.
The literature of Germany at that time was heterogeneous. Humanists wrote mainly in Latin. This was explained by the cult of classical antiquity and the isolation of humanists from the life and needs of the people. The largest representatives of scientific humanism are Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522), Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523). But besides this direction there were others, there was reformist literature. It is represented by Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Thomas Münzer (1490-1525). Luther, who opposed the Roman Church and at first supported the masses, later went over to the side of the princes, out of fear of the peasant revolutionary movement. Munzer, on the contrary, supported the peasant movement to the end, called for the destruction of monasteries and castles, confiscation and division of property. “People are hungry,” he wrote, “they want and must eat.”
Along with the Latin literature of learned humanists and the agitational and political literature of reformers, popular burgher literature also developed. But it still retains medieval features and carries a tinge of provincialism. The representative and founder of one of the trends in burgher literature (satire) is Sebastian Brant (1457-1521). His “Ship of Fools” is close in character to Erasmus of Rotterdam’s “Praise of Folly.” He had followers. Another major representative of burgher literature is Hans Sachs (1494-1576), poet. His legacy is great. These are poems, songs, fables, schwanks, fastnakhshpili (Maslenitsa farces).
3.5. Spain and Portugal
Literature in these countries developed in its own way. The socio-political situation in them was difficult. First of all, the Reconquista took place here, the reconquest of lands from the Moors. Spain was not a single country, but consisted of separate states. Each province initially developed separately. Absolutism (under Isabella and Ferdinand) developed late. Secondly, Spain at that time exported a huge amount of gold from the colonies, it accumulated enormous wealth, and all this hampered the development of industry and the formation of the bourgeoisie. However, the literature of the Spanish and Portuguese Renaissance is rich, and is represented by quite large names. For example, Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, who left a serious legacy, both prose and poetry. In Portugal, the greatest representative of the Renaissance is Luis de Camões, author of the Lusiads, the historical epic of the Portuguese. Both poetry and the genres of novels and short stories developed. Then the typically Spanish genre of picaresque novel appeared. Samples: “The Life of Lazarillo from Tormes” (without author), “The Life and Adventures of Guzman de Alfarace” (author - Mateo Aleman).
4. Literature used
History of foreign literature. Middle Ages and Renaissance. M.: Higher School", 1987.
A brief dictionary of literary terms. Editors and compilers L.I. Timofeev, S.V. Turaev, M., 1978.
L.M.Bragina.
Italian humanism. M., 1977.
Foreign literature. The Renaissance (reader), compiled by B.I. Purishev, M., 1976. The literature of the Renaissance, a list of which you can find on this page, is a pearl of world culture. This period in history dates from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Renaissance Literature
, whose works are still considered the standard of excellence, constitutes a significant layer of the culture of that time.
The Renaissance, together with these ideas, first appeared in Italy, but quickly captured all European countries. In each specific country, the Renaissance had its own unique character and unique features. Books of the Renaissance, a list of which you can see in this section, are distinguished by high artistry, concentration on the inner world of a person, adherence to ancient high ideals and emotionality.
Books of the Renaissance on the KnigoPoisk website
If you want to get acquainted and discover books of the Renaissance, the list presented on the KnigoPoisk website will help you make the right choice.
Literature during the Renaissance is a broad literary movement that forms a huge part of the entire Renaissance culture and covers the period from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Renaissance literature, unlike medieval literature, is based on new progressive ideas of humanism. Such ideas first arose in Italy and only then spread throughout Europe. With the same speed, literature spread throughout European territory, but at the same time acquired its own flavor and national character in each individual state. In general, if we turn to terminology, then Renaissance, or Revival, means renewal, the appeal of writers, thinkers, artists to ancient culture and imitation of its lofty ideals.
In developing the theme of the Renaissance, we mean Italy, since it is she who is the bearer of the main part of the culture of antiquity, as well as the Northern Renaissance, which took place in the northern countries of Europe - in England, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Germany and Spain.
Distinctive features of Renaissance literature
In addition to humanistic ideas, new genres emerged in the literature of the Renaissance, and early realism was formed, which was called “Renaissance realism.” As can be seen in the works of Rabelais, Petrarch, Cervantes and Shakespeare, the literature of this time was filled with a new understanding human life. It demonstrates a complete rejection of the slavish obedience that the church preached. Writers present man as the highest creation of nature, revealing the richness of his soul, mind and the beauty of his physical appearance. Renaissance realism is characterized by the grandeur of images, the ability for great sincere feeling, poeticization of the image and a passionate, most often high intensity of tragic conflict, demonstrating the clash of a person with hostile forces.
"Francesco and Laura" Petrarch and de Nov.
The literature of the Renaissance is characterized by a variety of genres, but still some literary forms dominated. The most popular was the novella. In poetry, the sonnet is most clearly manifested. Also, dramaturgy, in which the Spaniard Lope de Vega and Shakespeare in England became most famous, is gaining great popularity. It is impossible not to note the high development and popularization of philosophical prose and journalism.
Othello tells Desdemona and her father about his adventures
The Renaissance is a certain bright period of time in the history of mankind, its spiritual and cultural life, which provided modernity with a huge “treasury” of great works and works, the value of which has no limits. During this period, literature was in its prime and took a huge step forward, which was facilitated by the destruction of the oppression of the church.
The literature of the Renaissance (mid-XV - early XVII century, for Italy - from the XIV century) inscribed one of the most brilliant pages in the history of artistic and spiritual development humanity. Its extraordinary successes are explained by the peculiarities historical period XIV-XVII centuries, when a new capitalist structure was maturing in the depths of the old feudal system. The classic description of the Renaissance was given by F. Engels in the introduction to “Dialectics of Nature”: “It was the greatest progressive revolution of all that humanity had experienced up to that time, an era that needed titans and which gave birth to titans in strength of thought, passion and character, in versatility and learning. The people who founded the modern rule of the bourgeoisie were anything but bourgeois-limited people; on the contrary, they were more or less inspired by the spirit of bold adventurers characteristic of that time.”
The literature of the Renaissance is distinguished by a new humanistic worldview, the main thing in which is bringing man to the fore. (homo) with his liberated mind, freed from medieval dogmas, and a sphere of feelings recognized as worthy of the closest attention. The struggle for a person to become more humane, i.e. smarter and kinder, became the main theme in the works of the titans of Renaissance literature. They received great help in this noble struggle appeal to the poetic creativity of their peoples, where the ideal of man has long been developed, and to ancient culture the time of its heyday, which also provided examples of high humanity.
Characteristic of Renaissance literature realism, overcoming medieval allegorism, which was not completely eliminated in urban literature. At the same time, Renaissance (revival) realism is characterized by such features corresponding to the era as the titanism of the characters' characters, the breadth of the display of reality with the reproduction of its contradictions, the introduction into the picture of reality elements of fantasy and adventure, having a folklore basis, optimism generated by faith in man. All named traits Renaissance realism manifested themselves with great force in the works of the titans of artistic thought Shakespeare, Cervantes, Rabelais and others.
The literature of the Renaissance was not homogeneous. If at the early stage of the Renaissance in this or that literature the inherent humanists "cheerful freethinking" (F. Engels), faith in the triumph of good principles, then in the works of later times there is a noticeable feeling of crisis in humanistic views, one feels inferiority and tragedy. Since the era of the European Renaissance was the time of the formation of nations and national languages, the literature of the era is considered in connection with the history of the country, the national character of the people, etc.
Italian Renaissance Literature
Italian Renaissance Literature - earliest of all European Renaissance literature. This fact is explained by Italy’s relatively early entry into the path of bourgeois development. By the end of the 13th century. in Italy there is noticeable intensive development of cities and trade, ahead of which are Florence, Bologna, Padua, which became the cradle of the new, humanistic Italian culture and literature. Important role also played by the fact that in Italy it is better than in other countries, the ancient cultural heritage has been preserved, which has become one of the pillars of the humanistic worldview.
The development of Italian Renaissance literature varies four stages. The first of them (late XIII - early XIV centuries) is Pre-Renaissance, only preparation for the Renaissance. The second (XIV century) marks early Renaissance and is characterized by its particularly rapid development. In the third (XV century) - in mature Renaissance - the beginning of a crisis of humanism is already felt, a certain loss in literature of its former characteristics of the 14th century. democratic trends associated with changes in the internal political life of Italian cities (replacement of free communes with signorias, representing the embryo of an absolutist state). Fourth stage (end of the 15th - 16th centuries), later Renaissance, characterized by its gradual decline, the impoverishment of its literature, caused by the general decline of Italy with the strengthening of the feudal-Catholic reaction and due to the deterioration of its international position after the discovery of America and the movement of world trade routes.
The greatest artistic values of world significance were created in the Italian literature of the Pre-Renaissance, when he created Dante, and in the early Renaissance, marked by creativity Petrarch And Boccaccio.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) - “a colossal figure”, “the last poet of the Middle Ages and at the same time the first poet of the New Age” (F. Engels). Not devoid of a number of medieval ideas, Dante at the same time brought to the world a fresh humanistic vision of the environment, expressing his thoughts with all the passion inherent in a pioneer of new paths, and this is his greatness.
What is striking about Dante is his political passion and his deep understanding of the prospects for social development. It was this understanding that forced him, a native of the ancient noble family Florence, associate himself with the urban Florentine commune, become a member of one of its guilds (pharmacists and doctors), and then become such a prominent political figure that in 1300 he was elected a member of the college of seven priors governing Florence. An active nature, he strenuously fought against those who threatened the freedom of his native city (local moneylenders and traitors, Pope Boniface VIII). Expelled soon (at the end of 1301) from Florence in connection with the victory there of the hostile party of the Black Guelphs, supporters of the pope, and sentenced to be burned at the stake in the event of an unauthorized return to Florence, Dante did not lay down his arms in this difficult situation and was not spiritually broken. On the contrary, it was during the years of exile that he became a figure of modern times, who began to speak on behalf of not only the divided Italy of that period, but also on behalf of all humanity, which he wanted to see living in a society where injustice would be done away with, when " some rule and others suffer."
New in literary activity Dante made his presence felt in his early work, “New Life” (1291), a unique combination of prose and poetry dedicated to his sincerely beloved Beatrice. The book glorifies and sings of love, which in medieval clerical literature was treated as a sinful feeling, and in knightly lyrics was not always sincere.
A lot of new things, anticipating the thoughts of humanists of the subsequent generation, are contained in Dante’s scientific treatises, created already in exile (1303-1312), sometimes not without serious contradictions; these treatises were generally progressive for their time. This also applies to the "Feast", written contrary to tradition, not in Latin, but in the vernacular, where the author invites commoners to partake of scientific knowledge (hence the name "Feast"). This is even more true of the treatise “On Popular Eloquence,” which asserts the right of the popular Italian language to become the language of science and literature instead of dilapidated Latin. The third of the treatises, “On the Monarchy,” which was on the list of books banned by the Vatican until 1896, protests against the claims Roman- catholic church to political power and at the same time the dream of ending wars in a single world state.
In exile, Dante creates the crown of his poetry - "The Divine Comedy" (1313-1321), consisting of three parts - “Hell”, “Purgatory” and “Paradise”, the names of which correspond to the ideas medieval man Catholic Western Europe about the afterlife. However, fantastic pictures the afterlife only vaguely resemble those encountered in medieval “visions.” In Dante, they are turned into a means of responding to purely earthly affairs that cause criticism and condemnation (“Purgatory”, “Hell”) or exaltation (“Paradise”). The poet of modern times is felt in Dante when depicting the two opposite poles of the underworld - hell and heaven - in who and for what he places there. It is clear that his principle of determining crime for those in hell is humanistic: in Dante’s opinion, only those who have caused great evil to people deserve the strictest punishment.
The terrible execution - immersion alive in bloody boiling water - was invented by the poet for those “who thirsted for gold and blood” and plunged nations into bloody wars. It is this execution that will be subjected to the “scourge of the earth”, Attila, who is in the seventh circle of hell, and other conquerors of foreign territories. Dante was guided not by the dogmas of Catholicism, but by considerations of humanism, when he placed Pope Nicholas III in hell and planned to place his successor Boniface VIII next to him. A colossal break with the Catholic medieval idea of \u200b\u200bthe sanctity of popes was required in order for two of them to be placed in one of the most terrible (eighth) circles of hell. The poet treats those whom Dante, as “the last poet of the Middle Ages,” due to certain medieval ideas that he has not completely overcome, in the less painful circles of hell, treats with sympathy rather than with condemnation. This is confirmed by Dante’s attitude towards his fellow talents - the ancient poets, who, although they do not go to heaven (since they are pagans), do not suffer while in Limbo (the first non-torturous circle of hell), and meeting with whom he, who chose Virgil's guides through hell, proud. Not following church and feudal dogmas in the view of earthly love, and deep doubt about their correctness dictated the poet’s deep compassion for Francesca da Rimini and Paolo - victims of love passion.
In “Purgatory” and “Paradise” there is also a lot of evidence of the poet’s humanism; one can notice his completely earthly intention to express the dream of a world order that would be opposed in every way to the world of greed and violence that reigned in the life of Italy. In the appearance of one of the inhabitants of “Paradise,” “an old man in a snow-white robe,” one sees the humanistic ideal of human kindness. The poet of modern times makes himself felt in Dante when depicting “Paradise” and when, even more overcoming medieval dogmas, he places two virtuous pagans there (Trajan and Ripheus) and hints at a revision of the fate of some in hell, in violation the fatal “Abandon hope...”, completely condemns the papacy through the mouth of the Apostle Peter.
Thoughts that were deeply progressive for their time were expressed by Dante in the Divine Comedy in a highly artistic form. The poet showed himself to be a great master of harmonious composition, depiction of the landscape, and wise brevity of speech.
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) - a younger contemporary of Dante, a prominent representative of Italian literature of the early Renaissance. At the same time, he is sometimes no stranger to contradictions generated by the influence of the Middle Ages, which is noticeable in his treatises. A Renaissance-style, versatile and active person, a great connoisseur of antiquity, the founder of classical philology, a thinker, a politician, a disseminator of the ideas of humanism far beyond the borders of Italy - right up to the distant Czech Republic, where he visited in 1356, Petrarch entered the history of world literature primarily as great poet.
Although during his lifetime his greatest fame was brought to him by the Latin poem "Africa", for which he was crowned with laurels in 1341, subsequent generations rightly appreciated him as the author of a collection of poems on Italian"Canzoniere" ("Book of Songs"). The main place in them belongs to poems about love for Laura. The enduring value of these poems lies in the poet’s close, humanistic attention to the inner world of man, in the glorification in the refined form of a sonnet of the feeling of love, full of beauty, drama, and ennobling power.
The canzones in this collection dedicated to the fate of Italy are remarkable: “My Italy...”, “High Spirit...”, etc. They are permeated with a deep patriotic feeling and thirst for peace. A feeling of indignation is characteristic of Petrarch’s poems, as well as of his journalistic work “Letters without an address,” which denounces the papal curia for the vices reigning in it. Petrarch's patriotic and angry lyrics played a significant role in the liberation movement in Italy in the 19th century. His love lyrics are also immortal, giving rise to many imitations and retaining in themselves unfading freshness and glory.
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), unlike his predecessors and teachers Dante and Petrarch, who were predominantly poets, showed himself most of all in artistic prose. He became, in essence, its founder in Italy and one of its founders in Europe. Being an active and comprehensive person, he did a lot in other areas of social and scientific activity. He was an expert not only in Roman but also in Greek ancient culture, carried out diplomatic missions for the Florentine Republic, was a supporter of the republican form of government and hated tyrants: “There is no sacrifice more pleasing to God than the blood of a tyrant.” He became Dante's first biographer and commentator on his Divine Comedy, about which he lectured to the Florentines.
As an artist, Boccaccio, in his best works, is a vivid exponent of the “cheerful free-thinking” and realism in literature characteristic of the Renaissance. This fact was already noticeable in his psychological story "Fiametta" (1343), in the poem “The Fiesolan Nymphs” (1345) and was especially evident in the famous collection of short stories “The Decameron” (1353). It expresses exceptionally clearly the affirmation of a new humanistic morality, the glorification of an active, cheerful person, and the denial of ostentatious asceticism and at the same time hypocrisy, characteristic of church ministers. The affirmation of optimism is felt already in the frame of the collection - in the author's story, preceding the short stories themselves, about ten cheerful young people - seven women and three young men, who retired out of town during the plague of 1348, so that for ten days (hence the title of the collection, meaning in Greek “ten days”) to strengthen your spirit with stories about the victory of the reasonable and bright over the stupid and dark, outdated, which sometimes leads to tragedies. The defense of the new and the criticism of the old, medieval, is carried out in the short stories themselves, supposedly “told” by ten interlocutors, in reality created by the author on the basis folk art and put into the mouths of ten young men. Thematically diverse, the short stories most develop the theme of exposing the vices of the clergy, monks, the theme of love and the theme of adventure, in which a person’s intelligence, his resourcefulness, endurance, and wit are revealed. The humanist author sees the reason for the debauchery and hypocrisy of the clergy in such an unreasonable, unnatural establishment of the Catholic Church as the celibacy of the clergy, which has long been attacked by medieval “heretics.”
Theme of love and family life is interpreted in “The Decameron” also in terms of a humanistic negation of class inequality, protection of a woman’s rights to free choice in love, etc. The author condemns the harsh norms of feudal life, leading to tragedies. It reveals the beauty of a love feeling that awakens the best in a person. It is noteworthy that in Boccaccio, the bearers of the greatest beauty of feelings - fidelity in love, the ability to endure all kinds of trials in the struggle for the triumph of love - are most often people from the common people, and not from the nobility. This shows Boccaccio's democracy. The author's democracy is also noticeable in the style of this work, with its lively narrative, sometimes frivolous humor - in everything that the writer learned from the people. Sometimes the influence of ancient authors is felt in Boccaccio's style.
Boccaccio's work took a significant step forward in strengthening the position of humanism in Italian literature. How master of the novella he paved the way for later novelists, whose works, like his own, became the source of plots for the great playwrights of the Renaissance, including Lope de Vega and Shakespeare.
In the XV-XVI centuries. in the Italian literature of the Renaissance, crisis phenomena are increasingly growing. Although the number of writers speaking in various genres is increasing compared to the early Renaissance, their work no longer reaches the ideological and realistic power that was inherent in Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Even the brightest and most talented poets L. Ariosto (1474-1533), author of the poem "The Furious Roland", and T. Tasso (1544-1595), the poem "Jerusalem Liberated", did not escape controversy.