RI H2 Literature 9509 Unseen Renaissance Literature Summary

Raffles Institution Y6 Literature 2024 (Arts/Science) Renaissance Unseen Renaissance Unseen – Summary Lecture Today’s lecture is meant to act as a summary for the material we have covered in class, and give you some concrete handles with which you can approach the Renaissance Unseen. This is in light of the upcoming TPs, so that you have some frameworks for revision, and things to pay attention to. We are going to do that by looking at the historical context of the English Renaissance, because that will alert us to the general patterns which are present in the texts we study. Principles and patterns of the classics We know that the English Renaissance grows out of the general Renaissance movement of the rediscovery of the classics. The classical aesthetic was built on the elements of order, balance, proportion, and symmetry. The golden ratio, first mentioned by Euclid (the most prominent mathematician of Greco-Roman antiquity, best known for his treatise on geometry, the Elements), is an expression of this.The golden ratio, also known as the golden number, golden proportion or the divine proportion, is a ratio between two numbers that equals approximately 1.618. It became known as a mathematical distillation of what was aesthetically pleasing, with architects, artists, and various other professions either discovering the golden ratio in nature, or employing it in their creations. It is one of the ways the elements of order, balance, proportion, and symmetry were achieved. When it comes to Renaissance literature, then, we should also look for the adherence to the proverbial golden ratio in the texts we come across. A sensitivity to these classical elements is what we aim to develop. The Parthenon in Athens, a temple dedicated to Athena. The golden ratio. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

What is rhetoric? The root of the word rhetoric is the Greek word “rhētōr ”, which means ‘the speaker in the assembly’. Rhetoric is the art of using language for persuasion, in speaking, writing, and especially in oratory. The Classical theoreticians codified rhetoric very thoroughly. With the Renaissance rippling through Europe, this would become a core part of the classical education that was extremely fashionable at the time. Peter Womack expresses it neatly when he says that the conventionally stated aim of rhetoric was ‘the moving of men’s minds’: it was meant to be effective in having an effect on the thoughts and perceptions of those who heard it. It was thus an instrument of influence: when religious and political codes were enforced, or altered, or contested, it was through the medium of rhetoric. (English Renaissance Drama, 2008.) Here is an extract about Renaissance culture, which serves as a primer on the history and nature of rhetoric. Rowland, Ingrid D. “High Culture”. A Companion to the Worlds of the Renaissance, edited by Guido Ruggiero, Blackwell Publishing, 2007, pp. 321-324. In the fi