"Renaissance" literally means
"rebirth." It refers to the rebirth of learning that originated from
Italy in the fourteenth century, spread to the north, including England, by the
sixteenth century, and ended in the north in the mid-seventeenth century (earlier
in Italy). During this period, enormous interest in discovering and studying
the classical texts developed.The Renaissance period was a time of new
discoveries in fine arts, music, literature, philosophy, science and
technology, architecture, religion and spirituality.
Characteristics
of renaissance
·
Painters
began to move away from religious themes and focused more on people and
landscapes and started using the technique of three dimension
·
Many
writers started incorporating the styles of ancient Greek and Latin writers
like Aristotle or Homer into their own works. Literature of the Renaissance
focused largely on religion, classic antiquity, scholarship and politics.
Sonnets also became a popular
·
Important
discoveries and invention took place e.g. Galileo Galilei improved the
telescope and made important astronomical observations. Nicolaus Copernicus
discovered that instead of earth, the sun was the center of the solar system.
Christopher Columbus became the first explorer to sail across the Atlantic Ocean
to North America.
·
Theater
was also popular during the Renaissance. Whereas earlier theater had often
focused on morality plays, comedy became a popular genre during this time.
·
Renaissance
scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and
human emotion in art.
Elements
of Renaissance in Paradise Lost
·
Individualism:
Individualism is
one of the features of renaissance that givesimportance to an individual.
This feature of renaissance can be seen inParadise Lost as well.The point
when Satan is lying in the lake of fire and God gives him anopportunity to rise
and do whatever he wants is a kind of individualism asGod knows the
future of everything but he provides an opportunity to Satanto do good
or evil. As individualism is about personal opinion of anindividual hence
we can say that this situation is an element ofindividualism. The point
when Eve ate the forbidden food is also an element ofindividualism because at
that time she persuades Adam to let her workalone.
·
Greek mythology
Milton
incorporated Greek mythology in his epic. The initial lines of the poem,
the invocation of muses are actually the revival ofGreek mythology.
Sing Heav'nly Muse,
that on the secret top
In the Beginninghow the Heav'ns and
Earth
In these lines
heavenly muses are invoked which was a tradition ofGreeks. Muses are
invoked as Urania was invoked, goddess of a stronomy. Oreb is the name of
a hill while Sinai is its peak. Sinai actually inspired muses because
Moses went to that peak and talked to God. We can also feel spirit of
Christianity in these lines. While on invoking muses, Milton is now asking
muses that let him inspire and know about the story.
·
Exploration of
new world:
Exploration of
new things is another key feature of renaissance. Satan rises from the floor of
fire and decides to reign in hell and explore hell and tries to drive
hope from despairs.
Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of
Heav'n. [254]
·
Scientific inventions
Here Milton
is referring to Galileo and his scientific inventions. Galileo’s
Geo-centric
theory is the basis of renaissance and here in Paradise Lost it
isdiscussed.
·
Departure from superstition world:
As a result of inventions and discoveries people started questioning
religion and superstitious beliefs. This wasthe time when people left
the superstitious things behind and looked for proofs. This spirit
of renaissance can also be seen in Paradise Lost.
Receive thy
new Possessor: One who brings
A mind not
to be chang'd by Place or Time.
The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of
Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.[ 251-254 ]
Reformation
“Reformation” means “rebirth or revival”. Reformation actually refers to a sixteenth century movement
from which the protestant churches originated. The Reformation is one of the
most profound processes of change in Europe of the sixteenth century. Intense
criticism of the Church of Rome led by the pope resulted in various reformation
currents and the formation of several Protestant church reformations. The
critical views of the religious sphere deeply impacted the spiritual, social,
and cultural terrain, as well as upon the political sphere.
Characteristics
of Reformation
1. The
main characteristics of Reformation art sprang from Protestant theology which
focused on the individual relationship between the worshipper and God.
2. Protestantism
taught that the issue of salvation was reserved exclusively for God.
3. In addition, a number of important 'mysteries
of the faith' were downplayed or ignored by Protestant theologians and artists.
- including
4. Transubstantiation (the transformation of the
Communion bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ) was another key
area of disagreement between Luther and Rome. Roman Catholicism believed in a
strict interpretation of this doctrine, and therefore tended to use Crucifixion scenes for their altarpieces, while
Protestant Churches - at least those who tolerated figure
painting -
insisted on a symbolic meaning behind the Eucharist, and so preferred scenes of
the Last Supper.
5. Protestant
art focused on humble depictions of biblical scenes and moralistic depictions
of contemporary everyday life.
6. Some forms of art, however, were seen as more in
keeping with a modest, personal approach to religion: they included book illustration and various forms of printmaking,
such as engraving and etching, all of which were used by Protestant authorities to
convey their religious ideas to their congregations, and religious education
into the homes of the common people.
Elements
of Reformation in Paradise Lost
·
Soft and steady
Puritanism
In
Milton's poetry the Reformation element is found as his soft and steady Puritanism.
Puritans were those who "protested" against even the Protestants who
in their turn had protested against the Pope and the Popish religion.
·
Religious revolution
The
Reformation signifies the great religious revolution of the sixteenth century
which gave rise to the various Protestant
or Evangelical organizations of Christendom. But some splinter sects
rose against the Protestant Church of England which they thought was not yet
fully reformed, and who urged to take Christianity back to the
religion of Jesus Christ. These Puritans devotedly and rather superstitiously
revered the Bible, condemned the Protestant bishop (episcopacy) and every
institutionalized religion, emphasized every man's inner light, hated all arts
such as painting, sculpture and music
and even' drama, all show and luxury, shied at the least appearance of
evil, favored highly formalized and rigorous conduct.
·
Moral Ardor
The
moral Ardor is very prominent in Paradise Lost as Milton writes,
“I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.”
As
Milton was a Puritan poet so he selected the fall of man as the theme of this
great epic because in the treatment of the fall he meant to condemn the mental
levity of man who is prone to forget the importance of his very actions. Adam
and Eve feebly commit what they imagine is a trifling error, for which they are
punished with a doom out of all proportion to their crime.
“Of
man’s first disobedience and the fruit
that
forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought
death into the world, and all our woe,
With
loss of Eden”
·
Puritan ideology
Now, Milton was born in a Puritan
family. His schooling and surroundings, his social and political affiliations,
and a number of other factors combined to instil in him a love of Puritan
ideology and way of life. However, he was a man of too strong an individuality
to accept any formal "ism" in its totality. He was a deeply religious
man.
·
Emphasizes the spirit rather than the conduct
Unlike most Puritans, Milton emphasizes
the spirit rather than the conduct. And this emphasis brings him into affinity
with the Cambridge Platonists who were themselves mostly Puritans. Milton
believed that "the Spirit which is given to us is a more certain guide
than Scripture.
Puritanism
Puritanism, a religious reform
movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to
“purify” the Church of
England of remnants of the Roman Catholic “popery” that the
Puritans claimed had been retained after the religious settlement reached early
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Their efforts to transform the nation
contributed both to civil war in England and to the founding of colonies in
America as working models of the Puritan way of life. Puritanism may be defined
primarily by the intensity of the religious experience that it fostered.
Puritans believed that it was necessary to be in a covenant relationship
with God in order to redeem one from one’s sinful condition, that God had
chosen to reveal salvation through
preaching, and that the Holy Spirit was the
energizing instrument of salvation.
Characteristics of puritan
literature
Some characteristics of Puritan literature are: limited atonement,
original sin, irresistible grace and unconditional election. A Puritan
writer's main focus was to glorify God and show reverence for the Bible. Puritanism, and Puritan literature, became
popular in the 17th century. Writers who penned Puritan literature were
well-educated and deeply religious. They used literature to make the Christian
God more relevant and understandable.The main themes in their writings showed the concepts of original sin, which is the belief that everyone was born sinful because of Adam and Eve, and predestination, which is the idea that no matter what a person did in life, his or her salvation had already been determined.Puritanism's decline was influenced by a lack of social behavior and decay in morality.
Puritan element in Milton’s
Paradise lost,
The very theme of Paradise Lost shows the Puritan or
Hebraic element in Milton. The fact that he chose the Fall of Man as the
theme of his great epic shows the Puritan in him. Wars and adventurous deeds
did not interest the Puritan poet.
Not
sedulous by nature to indite”
War!, hitherto the only argument
Heroic deemed…
War!, hitherto the only argument
Heroic deemed…
The theme is the most heroic of all
great English poems. He based his great work on the story of the Fall of Man,
as given in the Bible. To him this story was not fictitious or legendary, but
literally and historically true. And in telling the story of “Man’s first
disobedience” he set out to justify the ways of God to man. Whether he
succeeded in his aim or not, the fact remains that his ultimate design was to
show how man fell through disobedience, and how he could regain the lost
Paradise through the grace of God. It was indeed his Puritan character that
led him to this theme, but it gave full scope for the expression of his
stupendous genius. Though he has introduced wars and adventurous deeds into the
body of the epic, according to the classical tradition, the central theme of
the poem is disobedience to God’s command and the consequent Fall of Man.
According to Grierson in Paradise Lost, Milton’s object is not
only to “assert Eternal Providence and justify the ways of God to men,” but
much more. For the poem contains profound observations on religion, morality,
politics, government, war and peace and the relationship between man and woman,
arts, sciences, explorations and on practically all the important aspects of
life.
In Paradise Lost we have a combination which is absolutely unique
in the literature of the time; a poem which has all the deep spiritual
fervor of Puritanism, decorated and diversified by every ornament and
beauty which could possibly be borrowed from classical literature and
mythology. The reader will feel a sense of confusion arise at times from the
strange mixture of Christian and pagan ideas. It is essentially the Hell of the
ancient Greeks and Romans which Milton describes where the river of Lathe,
Cocytus and Styx flow, and it is the Greek Fury, named Medusa who guards the
fort. The dreadful figures of Sin and Death are modelled on ancient classical
monsters, while Chaos is surrounded by the classical figure of Ades, Orcus and
Demogorgon. This makes us wonder what Milton really did believe in, but the
fact is that the Christian Bible does not supply a clear picture of Hell and is
not very definite as regards the geography or population of the lower region.
On the other hand, the classical conception was clear-cut, vivid and pictorial
and hence Milton did not hesitate to draw boldly from it so that the nakedness
and deficiencies of the Puritan conception would be well hidden under gaudy
pagan robes.
Puritan’s influences in Milton’s depiction of marriage,
Milton’s Paradise Lost examines, among other
things, the relationship between Adam and Eve. While Adam and Eve’s
relationship had been explored in a variety of mediums, such as in painting,
poetry, and prose, prior to Paradise
Lost, Milton’s portrayal of Adam and Eves relationship is important in
that it reflects the Puritan doctrine that was emerging in England in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
As a further reflection of the Puritan influence upon
Milton’s depiction of conjugal love, Milton attributes the notion of virginity
as being superior to married sexual intercourse to Satan. Specifically, Milton
states, our maker bids increase, who bids abstain/ But our destroyer, foe to
God and man? (IV, ll. 748-749), insinuating that while God encourages conjugal
love, Satan, who is naturally inclined to thwart both God and humankind,
attempts to further the belief that God opposes conjugal love and earthly
pleasure.
Humanism:
Humanism is a group of philosophies and
ethical viewpoints which highlight the value and actions of human beings which
individually, mutually and generally prefers individual opinions and evidence
over established dogma or faith. Being a humanist
means trying to behave civilly without expectation of rewards or punishments
after you are dead. Humanism assumes human beings as the makers of their own
destiny.
Humanism was the
characteristic of renaissance that focused on revival of classical letters,
individualistic and classical spirit and emphasized greatly on secular
concerns. It emphasizes on love of nature and the dignity of man. Humanism is a
philosophy that sees problems of human life with a rational thought without the
influence of secular or religious institutions. In short humanism supports the
liberty of mankind.
Pioneer of Humanism:
Petrarch is believed to
be the pioneer of humanism. He was an Italian poet and writer of the Trecento.
He had a great influence over the humanistic movement. Petrarch was being
called “Spiritual father” by his successors. He was greatly influenced by
Cicero, a Roman philosopher, and used his style in his own Latin writing.
Later, Petrarch also wrote in vernacular.
·
His writing was used to shape the modern Italian language.
·
He formed a bond between the Middle ages to the Renaissance.
·
He believed that humanity could once more reach the altitudes
of past accomplishments.
Reflection of Humanism in Paradise lost:
There are various
aspects in Milton’s Paradise lost which tell us about the impact of humanistic
ideals on the writings of Renaissance period. Paradise lost deals with the
self-worth of man, his freedom of choice and his internal struggles.
Humanism basically
means spirit of freedom and that spirit of freedom is quite visible in Milton’s
Paradise lost. As Satan having humanistic traits is happy and satisfied even in
hell because he is free there to rule. Following lines from the poem tell us
the humanistic approach of Milton in Paradise lost:
·
“Better
to reign in hell, then to serve in heaven”
We can feel spirit of
freedom, spirit of humanism in this line, as Satan is really concerned about
his own value and feelings that’s why he preferred to rule in hell than to
serve in heaven.
·
“The
mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell
of heaven”
Here again we notice
that Satan is focusing on his individual thoughts and power. We don’t observe
any reference to religion.
·
“Receive
thy new possessor”
In the above phrase we
see that Satan is conversing with hell. He shows his possessive trait by saying
to the hell:“Welcome your new ruler”.
References
http://franklaughter.tripod.com/cgi-bin/histprof/misc/puritan.html
https://neoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/blending-of-renaissance-and-reformation-in-paradise-lost-book-i/
Thank you very much ..
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