Nature In The Renaissance Era
The Renaissance era was filled with an appreciation for nature in Europe. This was due to the fact that “in traditional Europe, the mass of the population derived its wealth and social status from the land. The extraction of the earth's produce had priority over all other activities” (Mendels 242). Because of this, nature was a fundamental part of society. Europe’s economy was based on human’s interactions with nature. During the Restoration, nature was still important but beginning thoughts of industrialization began to present themselves. This lead to an unstable representation of nature because there was an impending revolution coming. Eventually there was a shift in the importance of nature when machines and factories became introduced
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around the eighteenth century. People no longer had to live on farms to survive. Instead of nature being everyone’s job, it went to a select few. This drastic decrease in need for agriculture caused a shift in how society viewed nature. Nature started as being the most important aspect of human life then changed to not being involved in the average person’s life. This shift in the view of nature can be observed in the literature throughout the time periods. Throughout the literature nature shifts from being a place of appreciation to shame because of the increase in focus on industrialization in society. This causes nature to be shameful because it goes against the norm of factory life.
In Renaissance literature, nature is highly appreciated and filled with beauty and love this is because of how relevant it is to society at that time. Nature is portrayed with metaphors involving beautiful flowers and landscapes in Shakespeare’s sonnets. There is an abundance of nature throughout the sonnets and this symbolizes the abundance of nature in society at the time. Sonnet 18 opens with “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (Shakespeare 1-2). This comparison to nature shows how nature is viewed positively and the fair man is considered even more beautiful than nature. If nature was not considered beautiful, Shakespeare would not have used it as the comparison to try and compliment the fair man. In Sonnet 99 the speaker accuses the flowers of stealing their beauty from his lover. This is stated in the following couplet, “More flowers I noted, yet I none could see, / But sweet, or colour it had stol'n from thee” (Shakespeare 14-15). This comparison shows how the speaker thinks his lover is so beautiful that nature had to steal its color and smell from him. These positive comparisons to nature show how appreciated it is in Shakespeare’s time. This appreciation comes from the fact that nature fuels the economy.
Milton’s Paradise Lost further exemplifies the pure beauty that comes from nature. The story takes place in the Garden of Eden which is full of beautiful nature and God’s purest creations. This was a place where Adam and Eve are able to walk around without shame because sin had not yet infiltrated their world. The pre-sin world could be compared to the pre-industrialized world of the time period. In both situations nature is the central focus. Also, in the Garden of Eden there is an abundance of food. Adam and Eve are supplied with every type of fruit and vegetable they could imagine. This is comparable to the importance of agriculture during this time period.
Although industrialization did not really start until the eighteenth century, it began to be thought about during the Restoration era. These early thoughts of industrialization went against the societal norm that placed an extreme importance on nature. This caused those industrialization ideas to be secretive. Most of these thoughts of industrialization came from people involved in agriculture because they knew it would make their lives easier. These thoughts also caused instability in the representation of nature. Behn’s The Rover shows a shift away from nature being a shameless place. In this story the only scene with nature is when Florinda escapes to the garden to wait for Belville. Florinda is supposed to be set up to marry either the guy her father wants or her brother wants. Neither of these guys are Belville. She is secretly hiding in the garden to wait for him. This shows nature as a place to go when you are doing something secretive. This also exemplifies the desire to go against what is expected. This is similar to the thoughts of industrialization that would be considering going against what is expected. While she is waiting, Willmore shows up and attempts to rape her. This destroys the idea of nature being a pure and loving place and replaces it with nature being full of secrets. This ties into how the industrialization was beginning to be thought of and would be considered secret because it goes against what was considered normal at the time. After this event it is hard to clearly explain how nature is accepted which is similar to how a woman has conflicting thoughts about who is at fault after sexual assault. It is hard to decide if the beginning of industrialization causes the decrease in nature or if the decrease in nature causes the beginning of industrialization.
The explosion of industrialization began to take over Europe during the eighteenth century.
This lead to a more modernized society and a decrease in the importance of nature. The industrialization caused a shift in how Europe’s economy functioned. Instead of having an agriculture based economy, Europe now had a more factory based economy. This shift caused less people to be involved with nature. Nature was no longer a part of the societal norm. There was no longer speculation of industrialization. It was actually happening. This shift in society lead to nature becoming the shameful topic as opposed to industrialization. Haywood’s Fantomina represents how the shift from purity to secrecy further morphs into nature being a place full of shame. This is shown in the scene where Fantomina goes into the woods to secretly have her baby. She tricks Beauplaisir into sleeping with her throughout the story with multiple disguises. When she ultimately becomes pregnant it symbolizes her loss of purity and is considered shameful because she was not married to him. This shame is why she runs and hides in nature to give birth. Nature being a place where she hides to do a shameful act can tie into how nature is no longer considered the norm due to the industrialization of Europe. Nature is considered shameful because everyone else is focused on the new
factories.
The shameful pregnancy strongly contrasts the idea of pregnancy in Shakespeare’s sonnets. In his sonnets pregnancy is viewed as the only way to fight against humanity’s biological clock. Pregnancy is viewed so positively in the sonnets that the first 17 are called the procreation sonnets. Sonnet 12 discusses the reality of morality and the necessity of childbearing.
The negative attitude towards aging is apparent from the opening lines of the sonnet. It reads, “When I do count the clock that tells the time, / And see the brave day sunk in hideous night” (Shakespeare 1-2). He’s equating the passage of time with the change from brave day to hideous night. These contrasting adjectives further emphasize his opposition to the passage of time and getting older. He continues by using metaphors and personification involving nature to describe the passage of time and the effects of aging. This is best exemplified in the following lines:
“When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard” (Shakespeare 3-8).
According to Shakespeare, “And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence / Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence” (Shakespeare 13-14). This shows how he believes childbearing is the only way to protect oneself from the cruel reality of time. Pregnancy is valued highly in this text as opposed to how it is shamed in Fantomina. This is symbolic of how an abundant crop would be valued during Shakespeare’s time due to the importance of agriculture. Fantomina’s secret pregnancy ties into how nature is more of a private institution in the eighteenth century. In conclusion, the industrialization of Europe caused a shift from an agriculture based economy to a factory based economy. This shift is evident in Renaissance, Restoration, and Eighteenth Century literature. In the Renaissance literature nature is highly appreciated and this is due to the fact that agriculture is what fueled their society. During the Restoration, there is a sense of secrecy surrounding nature due to the beginning thoughts of the industrialization. This shift ends in the Eighteenth Century with the start of industrialization. This causes nature to lose its spot as the main focus of society. A sense of shame becomes associated with nature after this because it is no longer the societal norm.
around the eighteenth century. People no longer had to live on farms to survive. Instead of nature being everyone’s job, it went to a select few. This drastic decrease in need for agriculture caused a shift in how society viewed nature. Nature started as being the most important aspect of human life then changed to not being involved in the average person’s life. This shift in the view of nature can be observed in the literature throughout the time periods. Throughout the literature nature shifts from being a place of appreciation to shame because of the increase in focus on industrialization in society. This causes nature to be shameful because it goes against the norm of factory life.
In Renaissance literature, nature is highly appreciated and filled with beauty and love this is because of how relevant it is to society at that time. Nature is portrayed with metaphors involving beautiful flowers and landscapes in Shakespeare’s sonnets. There is an abundance of nature throughout the sonnets and this symbolizes the abundance of nature in society at the time. Sonnet 18 opens with “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (Shakespeare 1-2). This comparison to nature shows how nature is viewed positively and the fair man is considered even more beautiful than nature. If nature was not considered beautiful, Shakespeare would not have used it as the comparison to try and compliment the fair man. In Sonnet 99 the speaker accuses the flowers of stealing their beauty from his lover. This is stated in the following couplet, “More flowers I noted, yet I none could see, / But sweet, or colour it had stol'n from thee” (Shakespeare 14-15). This comparison shows how the speaker thinks his lover is so beautiful that nature had to steal its color and smell from him. These positive comparisons to nature show how appreciated it is in Shakespeare’s time. This appreciation comes from the fact that nature fuels the economy.
Milton’s Paradise Lost further exemplifies the pure beauty that comes from nature. The story takes place in the Garden of Eden which is full of beautiful nature and God’s purest creations. This was a place where Adam and Eve are able to walk around without shame because sin had not yet infiltrated their world. The pre-sin world could be compared to the pre-industrialized world of the time period. In both situations nature is the central focus. Also, in the Garden of Eden there is an abundance of food. Adam and Eve are supplied with every type of fruit and vegetable they could imagine. This is comparable to the importance of agriculture during this time period.
Although industrialization did not really start until the eighteenth century, it began to be thought about during the Restoration era. These early thoughts of industrialization went against the societal norm that placed an extreme importance on nature. This caused those industrialization ideas to be secretive. Most of these thoughts of industrialization came from people involved in agriculture because they knew it would make their lives easier. These thoughts also caused instability in the representation of nature. Behn’s The Rover shows a shift away from nature being a shameless place. In this story the only scene with nature is when Florinda escapes to the garden to wait for Belville. Florinda is supposed to be set up to marry either the guy her father wants or her brother wants. Neither of these guys are Belville. She is secretly hiding in the garden to wait for him. This shows nature as a place to go when you are doing something secretive. This also exemplifies the desire to go against what is expected. This is similar to the thoughts of industrialization that would be considering going against what is expected. While she is waiting, Willmore shows up and attempts to rape her. This destroys the idea of nature being a pure and loving place and replaces it with nature being full of secrets. This ties into how the industrialization was beginning to be thought of and would be considered secret because it goes against what was considered normal at the time. After this event it is hard to clearly explain how nature is accepted which is similar to how a woman has conflicting thoughts about who is at fault after sexual assault. It is hard to decide if the beginning of industrialization causes the decrease in nature or if the decrease in nature causes the beginning of industrialization.
The explosion of industrialization began to take over Europe during the eighteenth century.
This lead to a more modernized society and a decrease in the importance of nature. The industrialization caused a shift in how Europe’s economy functioned. Instead of having an agriculture based economy, Europe now had a more factory based economy. This shift caused less people to be involved with nature. Nature was no longer a part of the societal norm. There was no longer speculation of industrialization. It was actually happening. This shift in society lead to nature becoming the shameful topic as opposed to industrialization. Haywood’s Fantomina represents how the shift from purity to secrecy further morphs into nature being a place full of shame. This is shown in the scene where Fantomina goes into the woods to secretly have her baby. She tricks Beauplaisir into sleeping with her throughout the story with multiple disguises. When she ultimately becomes pregnant it symbolizes her loss of purity and is considered shameful because she was not married to him. This shame is why she runs and hides in nature to give birth. Nature being a place where she hides to do a shameful act can tie into how nature is no longer considered the norm due to the industrialization of Europe. Nature is considered shameful because everyone else is focused on the new
factories.
The shameful pregnancy strongly contrasts the idea of pregnancy in Shakespeare’s sonnets. In his sonnets pregnancy is viewed as the only way to fight against humanity’s biological clock. Pregnancy is viewed so positively in the sonnets that the first 17 are called the procreation sonnets. Sonnet 12 discusses the reality of morality and the necessity of childbearing.
The negative attitude towards aging is apparent from the opening lines of the sonnet. It reads, “When I do count the clock that tells the time, / And see the brave day sunk in hideous night” (Shakespeare 1-2). He’s equating the passage of time with the change from brave day to hideous night. These contrasting adjectives further emphasize his opposition to the passage of time and getting older. He continues by using metaphors and personification involving nature to describe the passage of time and the effects of aging. This is best exemplified in the following lines:
“When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard” (Shakespeare 3-8).
According to Shakespeare, “And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence / Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence” (Shakespeare 13-14). This shows how he believes childbearing is the only way to protect oneself from the cruel reality of time. Pregnancy is valued highly in this text as opposed to how it is shamed in Fantomina. This is symbolic of how an abundant crop would be valued during Shakespeare’s time due to the importance of agriculture. Fantomina’s secret pregnancy ties into how nature is more of a private institution in the eighteenth century. In conclusion, the industrialization of Europe caused a shift from an agriculture based economy to a factory based economy. This shift is evident in Renaissance, Restoration, and Eighteenth Century literature. In the Renaissance literature nature is highly appreciated and this is due to the fact that agriculture is what fueled their society. During the Restoration, there is a sense of secrecy surrounding nature due to the beginning thoughts of the industrialization. This shift ends in the Eighteenth Century with the start of industrialization. This causes nature to lose its spot as the main focus of society. A sense of shame becomes associated with nature after this because it is no longer the societal norm.