Some Poems of the rebirth Best known are the epic Orlando Furioso Of the Italian Ludovico Ariosto, the sonnets of the French poets of La Pléyade, ode Life withdrawn Of the Spanish friar Luis de León and The World is a Stage By William Shakespeare.
He Renaissance Was a social, political and intellectual movement that transformed the values and visions of the world after the obscurantism and decadence of the Middle Ages. It is located between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries.
After time In which every aspect and expression of society revolved around the feudal figure and the figure of the church, the change was directed towards the rediscovery of the virtuous human being, compassionate, honorable and as the center of life.
All this contradicted centuries of medieval obscurantism where Roman Catholicism had man as a sinful being, who was to seek the redemption of God alone and exclusively through the church.
The intellectuals in cities like Florence, began to emulate the Great philosophers Y Artists Of the pre-Christian classical era, and the experiment emerged novel and Revolutionary artistic expressions .
For the literature , The invention of the printing press at the same time definitely encouraged writers, playwrights and poets to write with the assurance that their works would be reproduced in much quantity and in less time, and within reach of more people.
12 outstanding Renaissance poems
These poems are grouped by some authors of the four most influential countries of the European Renaissance.
- Renaissance poems from Italy
1- The Divine Comedy . Dante Alighieri
It was an extensive work written in poetry. The description of hell, purgatory and paradise is the best example of the medieval religious trend that was still at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
However, it is said that it was the first literary indication of change of focus, since the motivations and actions of the characters showed deep and reflective human dimensions never before illustrated.
Some consider it the literary work of transition between middle age and rebirth. The weight of human values in the work had a great impact in the era, as well as the themes and concepts related to Christianity.
2- Song book . Francesco Petrarca
A lyric work containing a collection of 366 poems centered on idealized love for a lady named Laura. They were composed in the fourteenth century and published in 1470.
This poet, who was also a renowned philosopher, is considered the father of humanism; And was the first to coin the term"Dark Age"to describe epoch that we know today as the middle evo or middle age.
The form of the texts of the Songbook is the sonnet. The structure known as"Sonnet Petrarca"owes its name thanks to the fame that this author gave him with his poems
3- Furious Orlando . Ludovico Ariosto
It is an extensive epic or epic poem considered a successor of the histories of cavalry typical of the Middle Ages, but with the indisputable tone and humanist approach of the Renaissance. It was published at the beginning of the 16th century.
It has 46 composite songs in octaves and describes the conflicts between Christians and Muslims of the Carolingian cycle.
The main character, Orlando, is the same protagonist of the epic poem"El Cantar de Roldán"of the eleventh century.
- Renaissance Poems of France
4- Sonnets for Helena . Pierre de Ronsard
It is a Petrarchist songbook of very elegant lyric poems dedicated to Helena de Surgére. It was easily known by the popularity that had the author like leader of a group of 7 associated French poets under the Greek name of the Peony.
This group is considered responsible for the most intellectual, pure and self-conscious introduction of the Renaissance into French literature. The songbook was published in 1574.
5- The longings . Joachim du Bellay
It is a compilation of 191 sonnets about nostalgia to the country. Du Bellay composed them while he lived in Rome between 1553 and 1557. It was published in 1558. This poet was also part of La Pléyade.
6- Elegies. Louise Labé
They are three poems of lamentation, affliction and sadness that are part of the book collection I see you , Along with two texts in prose and 24 sonnets of the poet. They were published in 1555.
- Renaissance Poems of Spain
The renaissance in relation to the arts in Spain is called Golden age Spanish.
7- To life withdrawn . Fray Luis de León
It is a lyric poem written as an ode to the isolation of the world and the simple life. Its structure is composed of 5 verses composed with a very sober and concentrated language.
8- Love Soliloquies of a Soul to God . Lope de Vega
They are a series of 7 poems with the typical style of the Golden Age; Long lyric monologues with short verses where a few words convey much meaning.
The issues are plagued with both religious and pagan references. The first 4 were published in 1612, and the compilation of the 7 in 1626.
9- To Dulcinea del Toboso . Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
It is a lyric poem of the many inserted in his outstanding novel Don Quixote of the Mancha, in an attempt to illustrate part of the values of the medieval cavalry; The one of the idealized love towards the maids.
- Renaissance Poems of England
Thanks to Queen Elizabeth I's taste for theater and literature, many writers had a fairly free and flexible socio-political platform to develop their artistic creativity between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
This allowed society in the English Renaissance to know the works of many writers and poets, through theater or publications.
The parliaments of plays in England were written in some sort of verse, usually a lyric poem.
10- The World is a Stage . William Shakespeare
It is a poetic monologue said by the character Jaques in the comedy"Como gustéis", a cynical and melancholy noble of the court of a duchy who thinks, analyzes and contemplates things a lot, but never takes action on the matter.
It is believed that the work was first assembled in 1603, and the text was published in the collection"First Folio"of 1623. Shakespeare is also attributed more than 150 sonnets.
eleven- From the pastor passionate to his love . Christopher Marlowe
It is one of the best known love poems in English and one of the earliest examples of the pastoral style of British poetry of the end of the Renaissance.
It illustrates the simple lifestyle of the countryside among herds, crops and seasonal changes. The poem was published in 1599, six years after the death of Marlowe.
12- The Lost Paradise . John Milton
It is an extensive epic poem narrative written in white verse, considered the masterpiece of the author and an icon of English literature of the Renaissance.
It deals with the fall of Adam and Eve from the grace of God, but not as a misfortune but as a blessing.
Inspired by classic epics like The odyssey , The Iliad Y La Eneida , Took pains to realize a work of similar artistic brilliance in his native language. It was published in 1667.
References
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2017). Renaissance. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Retrieved from britannica.com.
- New World Encyclopedia (2008). Italian Renaissance. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org.
- Bamber Gascoigne (2001). History of French Literature. History of the World Retrieved from historyworld.net.
- EducaLab. The poetry of the Renaissance. Recovered from oak.pntic.mec.es.
- The Literature Network. Renaissance Literature. Retrieved from online-literature.com.
- PoetrySoup. Famous Poets database. Retrieved from poetrysoup.com.
- Poem Hunter. Poets database. Retrieved from poemhunter.com.