文艺复兴时期文学(英文).docVIP

RENAISSANCE LITERATURE Voyages to New Worlds Since the times of the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries, Europe had been trading with the East. There was an increased demand for exotic Eastern spices, cloth, and wood, which created new wealth for traders and merchants Voyages to New Worlds The Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 temporarily blocked the overland route to the East, so new trade routes were needed. People started to explore. 1492―Italian explorer Christopher Columbus attempted to reach the east by sailing west across the Atlantic. 1498―Vasco da Gama, commissioned by Portugal, opened an Eastern trade route to India 1519 Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan―in search of a western trade route for Spain―sailed around South America into a vast ocean he called the Pacific Humanism: An Emphasis on the Individual Medieval philosophers’ systems of thought was mainly centered around God and questions of religions. Humanists were interested in human values, and they revived the study of classical Greek and Roman art, literature, history, and philosophy. Humanism: An Emphasis on the Individual Humanists nurtured classicism in the arts―the application of Greco-Roman principles such as reason, balance, and moderation. The Arts in the Renaissance Wealthy Italian merchant families used their riches to support the exploration of human thought and imagination. They became patrons of the arts, financing the works of writers, musicians, philosophers, and other artists and thinkers. The Arts in the Renaissance The works of Renaissance artists clearly expressed the belief that humankind is the measure of all things. Giotto (Italian painter) developed a new style of painting that emphasized natural-looking forms instead of flat, stylized figures. Michelangelo was fascinated with the shape, substance, and power of the human body. The Arts in the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most imaginative and gifted figure of the Renaissance. He was an invent