Renaissance

During the 17th century in North America there existed several classes of people. Each class had their own varying of freedom. During this period North America rapidly evolved from an experiment of sorts to a powerful colony with a multicultural immigrant base. As the colony evolved so did the social structures of its people. Whether it was with women, Indians, indentured servants, slaves, puritans or property owners each class had their own distinct version of freedom. The backbone behind the growth of the American Colony was the labor force, which was necessary to harvest such rich and large farms and plantations.

During the 17th century this labor force primarily composed of indentured servants and slaves. Many Englishmen came to the new world as indentured servants on seven-year deals where they worked to gain their place and freedom. While under contract they were treated similar to slaves of the time. Like slaves they could be acquired or sold as well as punished corporally. It wasn’t until the latter 17th century when laws were put into place to differentiate between indentured servants and slaves. These distinctions were largely based on race.

Though slavery wasn’t nearly as widespread as the next two centuries it still had no bearing on a slave’s life. Slaves of in North America lived with absolutely no freedom whatsoever. Indian and women were two of the other restricted classes within 17th century Indian society. This timeframe was absolutely catastrophic for Indians across the board. The introduction of disease by the European influx of settlers had an apocalyptic effect on the population of the Indians. Many tribes sustained losses as heavy as 90% of their populace.

While most Indians have individual freedoms within their specific tribes, as a whole their lands were being stolen and their very survival was at stake. While women in the colony certainly did suffer as badly from disease, that doesn’t mean life was rosy either. Based on the English common law of coverture, women couldn’t even individually own property if married. Essentially anything women owned was actually owned by their husbands by right. Along with not having the right to property they also did not have a right to vote, and were expected to be obedient in a male driven society.

On the other end of the freedom spectrum from the aforementioned lie the Puritans and Landowners. While women in puritan society had a similar role as describe above, the men were closer to actual freedom. The men in good standing with their society could do what he practically wanted within the bounds of the puritan norm. However they rather took to persecution within the ranks. The most famous example being the Salem Witch Trials and the circumstances that led to one of the earliest women’s religious leaders Anne Hutchinson. Landowners, when it comes to freedom in the 17th century had the direct opposite experience of slaves.

They could vote, earn, and own property at will. Many of our nations forefathers are descendants of these early landowners. Contrary to popular belief even the wealthy ones were more likely to be a hard worker with long hours than British gentlemen that most would imagine. The melting pot that is now modern North America had its roots sown in the 17th century. There were a great many classes of people seeking a new beginning either by choice or need. Whether they were indentured servants, slaves, women, Indians, puritans, or landowners each class had different grades of freedom in their life.

Romantic poetry began with French Revolution in 1789. Romantic period is based on freedom of thought. The transition from structured form to imagination and individualism. Romanticism is means return to nature. Another means we can say ; everything take place around nature. In that period supernatural things is our imagination. Nature is the most significant subject in this period. Writers inspire from the nature. In that period William Wordsworth one of the most important poet in romantic period. ‘Romanticism (also the Romantic era or the Romantic period) was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850.

Partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, it was also a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenmentand a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education and the natural sciences. Its effect on politics was considerable and complex; while for much of the peak Romantic period it was associated with liberalism and radicalism, in the long term its effect on the growth of nationalism was probably more significant.’ In that paragraph it is told about romanticism. When we read that paragraph we will understand how the improve and which area the improve romanticism.

William wordsworth is one of the most important poet in romantic period. He use simple / clean language. His poem are based on nature. William wordsworth beliefs in healing / cureing power at nature. According to William wordsworth ; Nature is the best teacher. We may learn everything from nature. For instance ; He wrote I wandered lonely as a cloud. I wandered lonely as a Cloud

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of dancing Daffodils;
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.

The poem is rich with imagery and in the first stanza, he describes the scene as he wonders ‘as lonely as a cloud.’ He compares himself to a solitary could that is floating over valleys and the hills and then he sees a ‘crowd’ of golden daffodils which are under the trees and beside a lake and dancing in the breeze. He is admiring the beauty around him and capturing a beautiful snatched moment in time that nature has presented to him. So that he issues love of the nature.

Willam wordsworth wrote Lyrical Ballads with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads is a collection of poems. Its first edition was first published in the 1798. ‘The most of the poems in Lyricall ballads were written by wordsworth , four poems were contributed by Coleridge including his most poem ‘The Rime of Ancient Mariner.’’ The Lyrical ballad is said to have begun the movement of romanticism in english poetry , the basic idea was to take the art of poetry into the reach of common people , in aspect of language and feelings.

‘Its second edition was published in 1800’ , contains some more poems by Wordsworth , in this edition he also added a preface in which he described his thoughts and understanding on poetry. The Lyrical Ballads hold a very important place in english literature, as it significantly tried to change the course of english poetry and made it to be easily understood by common people. Here I am pasting both the first and the second edition of Lyrical ballads , which are freely available on my places on many places.

, a period which pned from the 1830s to the end of the Civil War, is widely acknowledged as the establishment of America’s literary history. Despite their usage of classical styles such as Romanticism and Gothicism, the writers of the aforementioned era (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville) succeeded in producing original works that were eventually regarded as the foundations of American literature (Michaels and Pease, 1989, p.127).

The writings of these authors were noted mainly for their deviation from the restraints associated with established writing and philosophical disciplines, as well as criticism of prevailing norms and standards. Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), for instance, spoke out against Puritan hypocrisy (Gedge, 2003, p. 101). Thoreau’s works, which constantly emphasized the virtue of simplicity, challenged the American values of conformity and success in terms of monetary gain (Kirklighter and Okawa, 2002, p. 60).

In the process, the American Renaissance reflected the transition of the United States from being a British colony to a sovereign nation (Michaels and Pease, 1989, p. 10). The independence of their country left the Founding Fathers with the task of creating a political identity that was different from that of Great Britain. The writers of the American Renaissance, meanwhile, felt the need to declare cultural independence from Britain (Madsen, 1998, p. 70). To attain this goal, they came up with an “American style” of writing. The United States in the Antebellum Era

The 18th century was characterized with immense optimism on the part of the American people. The triumph of the American Revolution instilled in them a buoyant belief in human perfectibility (Cirtautas, 1997, p. 66). They likewise embraced democracy and its lofty ideal of equality regardless of class and education (Dietze, 1995, p. 59). Technological advances such as the telegraph, the railroad, the steamship and the turnpike resulted in immense economic growth by making the exchange of goods and services faster and more efficient (Abrams, 2004, p.

17). Innovations like photography and powered presses stimulated the growth of American cultural life through the mass production of inexpensive books, journals and newspapers (Benesch, 2002, p. 56). The above-mentioned achievements, however, failed to address certain needs of American society. Despite its strong emphasis on egalitarianism, democracy failed to improve the lot of many disenfranchised Americans. In addition, several Americans became increasingly disillusioned with their culture’s fixation on material wealth and social respectability.

Worse, the institutions that were supposed to guide the American public – religion, government, school and the family – were either too indifferent or perpetuated the materialistic and pretentious nature of American society. “Jacksonian Democracy:” Democracy for the White Educated Male Although the Declaration of Independence held that “all men are created equal,” law and custom reserved this impartiality for the white educated male. Only white men from well-off families were allowed to pursue an education, own property and or vote. Women and African-Americans, in sharp contrast, remained marginalized.

White men can batter, rape and or kill slaves with impunity. Furthermore, the lack of incriminating evidence did not spare slaves from punishment for alleged crimes (Stone, Epstein, and Sunstein, 1992, p. 504). Such a flawed model of democracy was later referred to as “Jacksonian democracy. ” President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) was a leader of contrasting principles – he staunchly advocated popular democracy and individual liberty, as well as slavery and Indian removal (Tyler, 1944, p. 21). Despite his key roles in the War of 1812 and the First Seminole War, Jackson’s inaugural speech contained the following words:

I believe that man can be elevated…and as he does he becomes more God-like in his character and capable of governing himself. Let us go on elevating our people, perfecting our institutions, until democracy shall reach such a point of perfection that we can acclaim with truth that the voice of the people is the voice of God. (p. 22) Jackson’s ascension into high office despite his conflicting values was eventually used as a metaphor to describe the duplicitous form of democracy that prevailed during his time (Haskell and Teichgraeber, 1996, p. 192).

In the context of “Jacksonian democracy,” only the white educated male had the right to life, liberty and happiness. Women, the poor and minorities, on the other hand, had no other choice but to resign themselves to their disenfranchised state. While all human beings are supposedly born free, they are not necessarily equal. Richer and More Miserable Than Ever Even if the United States managed to obtain political sovereignty from Great Britain, traces of British societal norms are still present in American culture. Foremost among these customs are materialism and the fixation with outside appearances.

Many wealthy Americans openly flaunted their wealth by assuming lifestyles that both emulated and rivaled those of the European aristocracy (Craven, 2003, p. 287). In the process, they became the symbol of success, respectability and industry. The poor, on the other hand, were dismissed as lazy and ignorant. Such a way of thinking proved to be very erroneous – most economic opportunities in Antebellum America were available only for white men. This, however, was not an assurance that they would have a decent life. Many entrepreneurs, especially plantation owners in the South, preferred slaves over hired hands.

Furthermore, many white laborers were subjected to appalling working conditions. They toiled for nearly 14 hours a day in unsafe workplaces for wages that sometimes come in the form of cheap liquor (Reynolds, 1989, p. 352). Spiritual Emptiness Antebellum America saw the rise of Unitarian Christianity. The latter was a form of Christian humanism – it sought to realize the potential divinity in human nature. Unitarians believed that the highest form of worship was the celebration of human dignity through the discovery and maximization of an individual’s faculties and powers (Howe, 2007, p.

614). Thus, many American Protestants during the aforementioned era used the humanistic spirit of Unitarianism to nurture many aspects of their country’s intellectual life and social reform. Schoolteacher Dorothea Dix, for instance, campaigned tirelessly for humane living conditions in insane asylums. Another educator, Horace Mann, instituted several important reforms in the American public school system (Howe, 2007, p. 615). Some thinkers, however, felt disenchanted with the apparent coldness of Unitarianism.

They felt that Unitarianism were so rational that they failed to address the emotional and spiritual needs of their followers. Emerson, for example, called for a creed which was sensuous and integrative but did not rely on tradition. He believed that Unitarianism’s strict emphasis on constitution and institution further divided society by promoting the law of the many. Because Unitarianism neglected the integrated world of the imagination, there was a big possibility that the law of the many would turn into the tyranny of the many (Nigro, 1984, p.

45). The American Style of Writing: Breaking Away from the Status Quo The American Renaissance echoed the political, economic and social changes that were taking place in the Antebellum-era United States. Although the writers of the American Renaissance used classical styles such as Romanticism and Gothicism, their works reflected their deviation from the restraints associated with these writing and philosophical disciplines. Their writings likewise criticized prevailing norms and standards in American society.

In the process, the authors of the American Renaissance were able to challenge their audiences to confront the changes and responsibilities that are associated with sovereignty. Crossovers Many writers of the American Renaissance combined classical and contemporary styles in their works. As a result, they were able to openly discuss topics that were considered sensitive during their time. The writings of Whitman, for instance, were a blend of “romanticism (and) the open road of modernist form, vision and experiment” (McQuade, et al. , 1998, p. 1146).

Such a bold and contradictory manner of writing complemented his candor about sexuality. Whitman’s poem The Sleepers (1881), for example, candidly discussed the taboo subject of masturbation. Sex manuals in the 19th century warned that masturbation was an indicator of insanity. Clergymen, meanwhile, denounced the act as a sin. Masturbators, therefore, were referred to in the aforementioned poem as “sick-gray (onanists)” (Killingsworth, 2007, p. 45). The term “onanist” was an allusion to the biblical figure of Onan, condemned by God for spilling his seed upon the ground (Genesis 38: 8-10).

Contrary to popular belief during his time, Whitman regarded masturbation as normal. He hailed the masturbator as the natural man – the “spontaneous me” who was liberated from the repressiveness of convention. This release (“The souse upon me of my lover by the sea, as I lie willing and naked”) eventually culminated in the ejaculation of semen (“It has done its work – I toss it carefully to fall where it may”). Given Whitman’s aforementioned attitude towards masturbation, the poem viewed semen (“this bunch pluck’d at random from myself”) with nonchalance (Killingsworth, 2007, p. 45). Unmasking the Hypocrisy

Some writers of the American Renaissance attacked the deceitful norms of their society. The bigoted views of Puritan America on morality are one of the main features in The Scarlet Letter. A young woman named Hester Prynne was made to wear a scarlet “A” embroidered on her chest as punishment for adultery. Apart from having an illegitimate child as a result of her indiscretion, she also had to endure ostracism from her contemptuous neighbors. Her cruelest tormentors were the community’s Puritan elders, who believed that sin was something that should be punished and suppressed (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 44).

Hester’s paramour, Arthur Dimmesdale, made her face guilt and shame alone for fear that his reputation as a righteous minister would be tarnished (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 58). Dimmesdale was Hawthorne’s way of showing audiences that even the most respectable people can be guilty of the worst acts of wrongdoing. Despite his religious background, Dimmesdale had an extramarital affair with Hester, who happened to be a married woman. Worse, he refused to take responsibility for his fault. Although their religion espoused forgiveness and compassion towards sinners, the Puritan elders harangued Hester endlessly.

Hester and Pearl: Symbols of Change. Ironically, it was Hester and her illegitimate daughter Pearl who served as the symbols of change in The Scarlet Letter. It is revealed in Chapter V that although Hester was free to leave Boston and start a new life elsewhere, she opted not to (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 68). Indeed, leaving Boston for good seemed to be the best option for Hester – she could finally get rid of her scarlet “A” symbol and live as a respectable woman again. But running away meant acknowledging that the letter was a mark of shame and was therefore something she was trying to escape from.

Staying in Boston, on the other hand, meant that she was denouncing society’s power over her by not denying the existence of her past sin (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 67). Pearl also served as a reminder of the importance of individuality and honesty to one’s self. In Chapter XVIII, Hester and Dimmesdale finally decided to take Pearl with them and flee to the colony. Before leaving, Hester removed the scarlet letter and tried to throw it into the stream – it landed on the far side instead (Hawthorne, 1994, 172). Pearl however, refused to cross the stream until her mother promised to reattach the scarlet letter (Hawthorne, 1994, p.

180). Indeed, dishonesty with one’s self will remove characteristics that a status quo considers to be deviant, but are also integral parts of who an individual is. Conclusion The American Renaissance produced an American style of writing. The works that fell under this style deviated from the restraints associated with established writing and philosophical disciplines, as well as criticism of prevailing norms and standards. In the process, the writers of the American Renaissance succeeded in challenging their audiences to confront the changes and responsibilities that are associated with sovereignty.

As free people, they must create their own national identity instead of depending on British norms and standards. References Abrams, R. E. (2004). Landscape and Ideology in American Renaissance Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Benesch, K. (2002). Romantic Cyborgs: Authorship and Technology in the American Renaissance. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Cirtautas, A. M. (1997). The Polish Solidarity Movement: Revolution, Democracy and Natural Rights. New York: Routledge. Craven, W. (2003). American Art: History and Culture.

New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Dietze, G. (1995). In Defense of Property. Lanham: University Press of America. Gedge, K. E. (2003). Without Benefit of Clergy: Women and the Pastoral Relationship in Nineteenth-Century American Culture. New York: Oxford University Press US. Haskell, T. L. , & Teichgraeber, R. F. (1996). The Culture of the Market. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hawthorne, N. (1994). The Scarlet Letter. London: Penguin Books. Howe, D. W. (2007). What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press.

Killingsworth, M. J. (2007). The Cambridge Introduction to Walt Whitman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kirklighter, C. , & Okawa, G. Y. (2002). Traversing the Democratic Borders of the Essay. Albany: SUNY Press. Madsen, D. L. (1998). American Exceptionalism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. McQuade, D. , et al. (1998). The Harper Single Volume American Literature (3rd ed. ). Harlow: Pearson-Longman. Michaels, W. B. , & Pease, D. E. (1989). The American Renaissance Reconsidered. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Nigro, A. J.

(1984). The Diagonal Line: Separation and Reparation in American Literature. Bridgewater: Susquehanna University Press. Reynolds, D. S. (1989). Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive Imagination in the Age of Emerson and Melville (6th ed. ). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Stone, G. R. , Epstein, R. A. , & Sunstein, C. R. (1992). The Bill of Rights in the Modern State. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Tyler, A. F. (1944). Freedom’s Ferment: Phases of American Social History to 1860. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

The ancient Greeks were the first to introduce philosophical thought to mankind. When one thinks of Greek philosophy, three individuals come into mind – Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in this order. Plato was Socrates’ protege and Aristotle that of Plato. These men not only enlightened men with their brilliance but also helped provide moral guidance to society for this was the role of philosophers whose wisdom was valued and sought for from the lowliest citizen to that of kings. This was all but forgotten during the time of the Romans and the Middle Ages.

The Renaissance saw the return of classical Greco-Roman culture in most respects but it fell short when it came to philosophical thought especially in the purview of politics. It was here that a new political thought emerged courtesy of Niccolo Machiavelli. Through his work, The Prince, Machiavelli did not only provide a theoretical framework for his patron, but would also be employed by future leaders who found his ideas not only practical, but very useful in helping them achieve their goals. The Renaissance period was the result of the Humanist movement that emerged during the waning years of the Middle Ages.

Prior to this, secular political philosophy was already existing during the Holy Roman Empire but the extent of its influence was rather limited because the academic field was wholly influenced by Christian scholasticism. The Humanist movement picked up momentum as it brought back classical ideas to supplant scholasticism. Those who held on to Christian values saw the Renaissance as the “return to paganism” which was not only evident in the art but in philosophy as well and Machiavelli was the one who stood out during this period with virtually no peer.

Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era of the Renaissance. This was the time the Popes, heads of the Catholic Church were influential enough to raise their own armies and waged war; wealthy Italian city-states, though enjoying relative autonomy from the prosperity they enjoyed were susceptible to attack and conquest by foreign powers such as Spain, France and even the Holy Roman Empire and this was further made complicated and to an extent convoluted with series of political-military alliances which continually changed as erstwhile allies and confederates changed sides on a whim and at any given time.

Moving forward beyond Machiavelli’s lifetime, this was also a similar occurrence in later centuries, thereby validating Machiavelli’s observations and ideas. This period was also characterized by political instability and volatility as governments rise and fall even though it had barely been around after its installation. This was the world of Machiavelli. Ironically, he himself was its victim when he was part of the republican faction that saw the expulsion of the Medici family from power and was banished into exile by the same family when it was restored to power.

It was during this time of exile that he wrote The Prince which he dedicated (ironically) to the Medicis, the very same people who banished him, as a way of currying their favor in ending his exile. The Prince emphasizes how a ruling prince, the title of the rulers of the city-states, can maintain control over all he governs. This is a rather tough balancing act as the prince needs to exercise control over the resources of the state in order to maintain it and at the same time meet the needs of his people.

That requires the prince being someone above reproach almost to the point of being infallible, whilst privately acting amorally to meet the goals of the state. Machiavelli based these from his observations as a Florentine diplomat, and his study of ancient history, particularly the history of the Roman Republic. It can be inferred here that by the time Machiavelli wrote The Prince, the ideas embodied here are not exactly new but something he revived based on his studies.

In this social and political milieu, Machiavelli observed the way people lived and had in mind a plan to “educate” or “enlighten” leaders how they should rule and even define their lifestyles if they wanted to stay in power longer. During his time, he noticed that most people were obliged to live virtuously as according to Aristotelian ethics. However, he dared to challenge this belief, saying that living virtuous lives does not necessarily lead to happiness. Machiavelli, in a sense of irony and apparently going against the norms, viewed misery as something useful which prince should capitalize on if they wish to rule longer.

Machiavelli states boldly in The Prince, “The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. As long as you serve their interests, they are devoted to you…Men are less nervous of offending someone who makes himself loveable, than someone who makes himself frightening…A ruler should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not inspire love, at least he does not provoke hatred. For it is perfectly possible to be feared and not hated.

” (quoted from Morgan 510) From this statement alone, one might think Machiavelli was trying to corrupt minds and undermine the virtues being practiced during his time by entertaining such a thought. But if one would only take an empathic look, The Prince does not dismiss morality, entirely. It somehow redefines morality in more pragmatic terms which is characterized by what is considered “acceptable cruel action,” but it must be decisive, swift, effective, and short-lived. It can be further inferred that Machiavelli saw how ironic it is to yield good results by performing “evil” actions.

However, one caveat here is that the “evil” Machiavelli used is not the same as ”evil” in the Judaeo-Christian sense of the word. For Machiavelli, cruelty should not be taken at face value or in absolute terms as had shown in one observation: “He (duke) put Mr. Remiro d’Orco, a man both cruel and efficient, in charge, and gave him absolute power. D’Orco in short order established peace and unity, and acquired immense authority. The duke decided such unchecked power was no longer necessary, for he feared the people might come to hate it. So he established a civil court, placing an excellent judge in charge of it.

” (quoted in Morgan 493-494) What this means is that “evil” or in this case, cruelty should not be taken at face value for what it denotes. Rather, cruelty is defined as repressive actions taken by the state, more often than not manifested in the use of force to make things happen. But in so doing, the prince, or any ruler for that matter, is justified in his actions because it accomplishes a goal which in this case it to see to the preservation of the state and society as a whole, thus giving meaning to the Machiavellian adage, “the ends justify the means.

” As a treatise, its primary intellectual contribution to the history of political thought is the realistic approach which sees how political realism clashes with political idealism and based on Machiavelli’s observations, the former prevails as the ideals based on classic Greek ideas of Plato and Aristotle tended to find no place in modern society where they used to emphasize the need for “enlightened” leadership or rule.

Modern-day rulers do not have that luxury of being enlightened and they find Machiavelli’s ideas making more sense. It is only rather ironic and unfortunate that those who subscribed to these ideas are those Machiavelli would not want to – tyrants, despots and dictators. His idea of a leader using “acceptable cruel action” came from the dictators of the ancient Roman Republic. If there is something this paper has proven, Machiavelli is not so bad after all.

It would appear that most of his ideas were taken out of context and given the impression he encouraged rule by tyrants when he actually was not. It was only a matter of pragmatism and to an extent prudence though not in the same level as Platonic and Aritstotelian thought. Works Cited Morgan, Michael L. Classics of Moral and Political Theory 4th Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1992.

The rise of Renaissance culture was predetermined by the assortment of disparate events and ideas surfacing during the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries. The most important concept to come out of all the innovative developments of the late fourteenth century was a renewed belief in the power and the majesty of the human being. An interest to individuality was a line of demarcation between the medieval period, where God was the center, and the epoch of Renaissance.

The Renaissance is viewed as culmination of a general rebirth of humanistic pursuits and a freeing of the artist from the restrictive dogma of the medieval Church. The status of art and the artist shifted significantly and our contemporary views on both are based very much on certain assumptions about the role of art in culture that were first developed during the Renaissance. It was in the Renaissance that the role of artist went from simple maker to that of creator (with individual genius) – the appellation once reserved only to God.

As a consequence, art took on even greater significance becoming not only an expression of its age and its means of production but also the very embodiment of genius. Filippo Brunelleschi fairly takes the place of such a genius. It was he, the Italian architect and sculptor, who made revolutionary discoveries in architecture. This Florentine was the first and perhaps the most distinguished of the Renaissance architects. The best support for the veracity of this statement is Brunelleschi’s solution for the dome of Florence Cathedral, the building that made him most complete and representative Renaissance artist.

The story of Brunelleschi’s success begins with his failure. In 1401 the competition for a pair of bronze doors for Baptistery was announced (Web Gallery of Art). This was to be one of the greatest competitions at the age, and it pitted two of Florence’s most talented young artists against each other: Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. The competition asked each artist to submit design of cast bronze around the subject of the sacrifice of Isaac. Brunelleschi lost the bid. But this perhaps initial loss was the Renaissance’s gain in that his later discoveries in architecture were to prove revolutionary.

At the time of competition the Florence Cathedral was still unfinished. The problem was how to successfully bridge the enormous area of central tower without the use of flying buttresses, which were out of question because of their obvious incompatibility with the beautiful Romanesque marble exterior. Brunelleschi studied many ancient building projects in Rome such a Parthenon and suggested that a dome could in fact be built without the visual distraction created by buttressing. His answer was the implementation of classical vaulting techniques.

Thus Brunelleschi’s innovative design provided further evidence of the new sensibility of Renaissance art. Brunelleschi understood that the principles of buttressing were useful in spreading the enormous weight of a dome over a greater expanse – thereby alleviating much of stress on the walls and foundation of the structure. He thus concluded that the tall supporting walls of the dome had to be constructed with tribunes, small offshooting extensions from the original walls, which would act as the original buttress, to disperse weight over a wider area.

In this way Brunelleschi manipulated the basic tenets of medieval cathedral construction to better serve the interests of the new church. Clearly, however, it was the dome itself that created such awe among the Florentines. No structure like it had been attempted in Europe since antiquity, and never before on such an immense scale. In 1420 he began to build the Cathedral dome, a vast octagonal structure crowned by an enormous lantern designed by Brunelleschi alone.

His solution was to create a dome within a dome, which would further support the exterior weight effectively while removing the need for interior armatures or any other superfluous accessories that would distract from the simplicity of the construction. The outer dome was thus constructed as a light skin or cover, exhibiting great visual authority over the Florence skyline. The use of “spiraling courses of herringbone brickwork, iron chains and sloping masonry rings to bind the dome together, and ribs joining the shells” (King, 87) are his inventions, although owe much to his studies of Roman structures.

Brunelleschi’s genius lay in his abilities to combine ancient and modern aesthetic, architectural, and engineering principles. The result was a resurgence in dome architecture, since now architects possessed both the skill and technical know-how to attempt structures which had only years before been thought impossible. In the words of Vasari, Brunelleschi “was sent by Heaven to invest architecture with new forms, after it had wandered astray for many centuries” (Vasari, 104).

The ‘new forms’ were those of Classical antiquity, which Brunelleschi applied to such building types as cathedrals and basilican churches for which there were no ancient precedents. In these schemes he was the first since antiquity to make use of the Classical orders; at the same time he employed a proportional system of his own invention, in which all units were related to a simple module, the mathematical characteristics of which informed the entire structure. Brunelleschi worked almost exclusively in Florence, and many features link his architecture with the Romanesque heritage of that city.

Nevertheless, he was beyond question responsible for initiating the rediscovery of ancient Roman architecture. He understood its inherent principles and he employed them in an original manner for the building tasks of his own day. So what we may conclude from Brunelleschi’s technical breakthrough that in the best way complied with Renaissance requirements? First, it must be remembered that had it not been for the renewed interest in Classical thought and culture, it is doubtful that artist like Brunelleschi would have sought inspiration from Roman architecture such as a Pantheon.

It was not that artists and architects had not been interested in such building solutions before Brunelleschi comes on the scene, but simply that most looked toward more spiritual and divine art forms. Brunelleschi’s dome is by design a stable and symmetrical structure. It possesses attributes that visually mimic the emerging Renaissance ideas of harmony and equilibrium over the obedience and superstition that had marked the previous age. In this way, the innovative dome construction situates itself as a vivid reminder of the greatest influences its creator had in his time. Works Cited Page

King, Ross Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, New York: Walker and Company, 2000 Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Artists. Transl. by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998 “Brunelleschi’s Biography” from Web Gallery of Art Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://www. wga. hu/frames-e. html? /bio/b/brunelle/biograph. html “Brunelleschi’s Cupola” from Florence Art Guide Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://www. mega. it/eng/egui/monu/bdd. htm “Filippo Brunelleschi” from Wikipedia Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi