The quote, “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel! In apprehension, how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights neither me nor woman either" personifies the Renaissance spirit because of the newfound interest in the world that it professes (Shakespeare). This period begins in the 13th century, where a combination of political, social, economic, religious, and cultural factors all affected changes occurring in art in the European period known as the Renaissance (Bishop).. These changes occurred first in Italy, where the growth of a religious culture sparked an interest in the classical past. From the social, economic, and religious discord of the 14th century, came a new interest in human values and the natural world (Bishop).
When I think of Renaissance art, music, and theater, I think of the renewed interest in nature and beauty. Paintings born during the height of the Renaissance often depicts the classical myths or religious figures but in a more realistic way than they were previously depicted (Bishop).. There is often still an idealized beauty, yet the forms are distinct human with attention given to dimensionality and proportions (Bishop). Previous types of artwork were typically very flat in appearance with exaggerated porportions (Bishop).. The function of art is to explore concepts of beauty in a natural sense. Music and theater move away from a simply upper class audience, to be enjoyed by the masses. Art was often used to tell stories to those who were illiterate (Bishop). Art became something much more attainable to the all.
However, I also find the quotation rather ironic considering that “Hamlet” is about the darker side of human nature: jealous, revenge, and murder. Little of the quest to understand the natural world is expressed in Hamlet, excluding this statement. Although the plot does examine the “unbeautiful” instances in life. Everyone had previously thought that the king died as the result of snakebite. However when the king comes back from the dead as a ghost, we learn that he actually was murdered by Claudius who had poisoned the king (Shakespeare). This act revealed only to Hamlet set him on his path of revenge (Shakespeare). The “unnatural” nature of the king’s death is a key theme throughout the work. Shakespeare shows the upper class population in a very flawed, yet realistic manner. The characters are not idealized, and fall victim to their sins and emotion. This humanistic quality plays into the Renaissance ideas that were prevelant in that time period. Shakespeare developed characters that everyone could relate to no matter if they were upper class or lower class.
Overall, I find this style to illustrate the beginning of a new era of art. One does not have to be religious to respect art from this time, merely interested in beautiful art telling a fascinating story. These pieces give an insight into how society was during this time period. The influence of the Church was instrumental, yet we see artists are beginning to implement their own styles and techniques into the traditional subject matters.
Bibliography:
Bishop, Philip E.. Adventures in the human spirit. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.
Shakespeare, W. (2010) Hamlet Penguin Classics Print.
