Renaissance and Medieval Period

Renaissance and Medieval period

The renaissance brought about a time of new thinking and new ideals for the world as a whole. During the renaissance there was increased focus on detail and education for all. This new focus lead to many advances in civilization and the quality of work produced at this time. The most notable change was with literature and the arts. Renaissance as a word means rebirth. (Renaissance ,Dictionary.com) This symbolizes how many of the ideals and arts of the previous time periods of the greeks and the romans resurfaced in western Europe as major cultural elements. In literature this meant a move away from holy and divine meanings and more emphasis on the human elements that drives us all.

During the renaissance there was more focus on humanity and what makes our lives on earth better rather then what we must do here to have a wonderful afterlife. (Renaissance Literature, The literature network) What also helped this new thinking was new technologies. The printing press was the single most important technological achievement of this time period allowing books to be for the first time mass produced and distributed.

No where can we see the influence of the renaissance better then in the works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's plays focused not on spiritual elements but rather on humans lust and desires. The play Macbeth is a prime example of Shakespeare's human elements in play with how Macbeth gains his power only to be destroyed by the very prophecy and actions he believed in. (William Shakespeare, Welcome to Shakespeare Literature)

Another great example of humans elements in plays would be Romeo and Juliet. Here we see two lovers that by status could never be together. Their love however is so strong that they break these barriers to be together and end up dying for one another. This is a prime example of human lust and love that was being explored in more detail during the Renaissance.

Shakespeare's plays and the ideals of the renaissance are a far cry from the ideals of the medieval period. During this time period it was believed that are life on earth was just a stepping stone to a better life in heaven. This lead many to focus only on the afterlife and not the present physical life. The emphasis in this time period was on god and the spiritually aspects of our world and not on the humanity elements.

During the medieval era literacy and education were hard to come by. Because of the lack of a printing press books had to be hand written which meant that they were also very expensive. Because of this only wealthy people owned books and were able to read and write. This caused all the power to be held by wealthy people and thereby making living a very hard condition for lower people. Anther effect of a lack of a printing press meant that in order for people to learn the bible it would need to be read to them by members of the