1.1 - Literature Flashcards
Who was Petrarch?
First great figure of Italian Renaissance letters and first important representative of Italian Renaissance humanism. He was a scholar and prolific writer, whose work simultaneously reflects the philosophy of Greek antiquity and the new ideas of the Renaissance.
What was Petrarch´s philosophy?
He positioned himself at the beginning of a new literary and artistic area, one that placed greater emphasis on human achievement. Without rejecting the importance of spirituality and religious faith, he celebrated human accomplishment as the crowning glory of gods creation but praised human beings for their achievements aswell.
Petrarchs work is poised between 2 powerful intertwined impulses, which ones?
The religious moral impulse of the early medieval thinkers and the humanist dedication to the disciplined study of ancient writers, coupled with a desire for artistic excellence.
What did Petrarch think of early Latin literature?
He was affected of the elegance and beauty of it. However he disliked the Latin of the Middle Ages, seeing in it a barbarous falling off from the heights of eloquence exemplified by ancient Roman writers.
What was Petrarchs goal?
To revive classical literature rather than absorb its elements into contemporary Italian civilization. For him, ancient culture was not merely a source of scientific information, philosophical knowledge or rhetorical rules, it was also a spiritual and intellectual resource for enriching the human experience.
