How did the Renaissance Change Everything?

Although some may argue that the Renaissance had no effect on manr's view of the world, the different factors of it really did. During the Middle Ages, everyone was closed-minded and had no connection to the arts and humanities. They believed everything their priests said and were very limited in education. However, the art of Da Vinci, the literature of Shakespeare, and other authors, as well as the science and philosophy of Copernicus changed manr's view greatly. Their works provided education for the rest of the world and their countries. The visual arts played a major role in changing manr's view. The [clearest] evidence of the break with medieval culture comes from the visual arts (Rabb. 2006, Doc A). Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the leading artists during the Renaissance. He worked for the Duke of Milan designing artillery as well as creating paintings. Before the Renaissance, medieval artist, Duccio di Buoninsegna created art with religious symbols. His piece Madonna Enthroned Between Two Angels, was a piece was more spiritual than Mona Lisa. This scene was to illustrate that of the Bible. It represented Mary and Jesus as not important. They were seen as spiritual beings instead of actual people. This was just how medieval artists were, they did not use emotions. Renaissance one begins to feel stronger emotions in the subjects (Rabb, 2006, Doc A). This is true in because the Renaissance focuses on emotion and people. One begins to notice the emphasis on symbolic representation (Rabb, 2006, Doc A). Da Vincir's Mona Lisa does just that. It brings out her human qualities and has nothing to do with religion. Mona Lisa was intriguing and made to look as though she was thinking. It made the viewers see her as an actual human being. Literature was also an important aspect of the Renaissance that played a part in changing manr's view. During the Renaissance, an English play called Everyman was written. This play was of medieval/Middle Age background. It causes the viewer to think negatively on themselves. Ye [man] think sin in the beginning...which in the end causeth thy soul to weep (unknown, 1485, Doc B). This author is telling us that man only thinks about sin and regret until it is too late. Shakespeare, however, brings light to manr's new view of positivity. What a piece of work is a man!... how noble how infinite in faculty admirable like an angel (Shakespeare, 1601, Doc B). Shakespeare tells of how wonderful everyone is. He gets people to think positively. Last but not least, science and philosophy changed the views of man as well. Ptolemy was a Roman astronomer who had no idea what he was doing. He believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system (Geocentric Universe). Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who later proved him wrong by saying the Sun was the center of the Universe. This was just one of the examples of the power the Renaissance had. In 1512, German astronomer, Johann Regiomontenus, proposed a woodcut saying that the different parts of the body were governed by the zodiacs or stars. Later during the Renaissance, Andreas Vesalius, dissected human corpses to create an accurately portrayed drawing of the human body and its insides. Science bloomed during the Renaissance and greatly changed manr's view. In conclusion, one can see that the expansion of educational resources during the Renaissance helped to change manr's view on the world. By allowing for better education and mass communication/production, people were able to become more open-minded. Because of this, great thinkers of the Renaissance were able to create art, literature, and scientific theories that would soon greatly help broaden the minds of others, eventually changing their views on the world.

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