Human Nature In Hamlet

Thus, it was unsurprising to find that Pope Sixtus IV built a library that still remains as one of the richest repositories holding ancient, medieval documents. This movement of humanism was largely praise because the viewed humanity through a Christian lens as Renaissance humanists strongly believed that men and woman were made in the image and likeness of God. For example, Pico Mirandola represented man as one in possession of great dignity in his essay, ‘On the Dignity of Man’. Further, Renaissance humanism caused individuals to become increasingly self-conscious about their current lifestyles and their realization of human potential. Humanism heavily influenced much of the Renaissance culture, causing people to depend upon intellect its role in humanity breakthroughs.

In the late 1400’s Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola lead society into a new era of humanism emphasizing individualism, which Fiero defines as, “The affirmation of the unique self-fashioning potential of the human being”(385). In “Oration on the Dignity of Man,” Pico begins his essay by displaying the Renaissance view of individualism by referencing man as, “The intermediary between creatures, that he is the familiar of the gods above him as he is lord of the being beneath him; that by the acuteness of his senses”(12-14). As the writing

Before the early thirteen hundreds, there was a time called the Midieval era, where life was devoted and owned by the church. People were lied to by the thought of paying and working to go to heaven. When the thirteen hundreds came, alongwith it cam the renaissance that lasted until the late sixteen hundreds. The renaissance had a very important movement that changed all of Europe. Many new cultures and ways of life had changed because of this era, and one of the bigger ones is called Humanism. Humanism caused a very large impact on a person’s thoughts, actions, and art.

During the time of the Renaissance, the nature of man, in Europe, went through a rebirth. The idea that the nature of man is unique upon the person was established. The core basis of all men is not the same. Different men are comprised of various types of talents, and not every person has the exact same talents. In addition, human beings strive to live their lives a certain way, which is usually different from their neighbor.

The Italian humanism was able to change an individual's role of society through education, civic humanism, and individualism in art. In the Middle Ages the world was barbaric, but the Renaissance was able to transform many individuals into civilized citizens for their community, civic humanism. Individualism and secularism are both important aspects of the Italian Renaissance that derived itself from humanism.

In thousands of years of history, people’s view of man changes overtime. One part, in particular, the time of the Renaissance changed man’s view of man. The Renaissance was a time of prosperity which started from 14th to the 17th century. The Renaissance first started in Italy and later spread to Europe over three hundred year course. During 1350 to 1650, the Renaissance changes Italians and Europeans’ view of man from studying previous works of the Greeks and the Romans. The Renaissance changed man’s view of man by astronomy, anatomy, and culture.

The way people thought of humans drastically shifted in the Renaissance from the “humans only live to serve god” idea in the Middle Ages to the “humans are great and capable beings” of the Renaissance. Clearly, the Renaissance changed they people thought of the human

Beginning roughly around the year 1400 an era in Europe began; one that would shape the ideas and the lives of men. This era of rebirth or renaissance came within the fifteenth century through the revival of classical texts. One central effect of the Renaissance was the production of a new intellectual idea: humanism. Humanism being defined as a, “[t]erm invented in the 19th century. . . [regarding] developments relating to the revival of Classical literature and learning in European culture from roughly 1300 to 1600” left its mark on all of Europe leaving nothing untouched not even the artist. Both northern and southern art would be affected by humanism but in different ways ranging from changes in the human form, new choices of

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

William Shakespeare pessimistically argues in his tragic play, Hamlet, that humans’ evil predisposition towards disingenuity leads to the degeneration of the individual due to the severance of relationships and the demise of self-respect. According to Shakespeare, human nature is such that humans misdirect, scheme against, or outright lie to others to further self-serving ends that ultimately do more harm than good. Throughout the play, Shakespeare employs contrasts and metaphors to demonstrate how dishonesty destroys trust and results in the demise of vital human connections with both family and friends. When individuals use deception to satisfy selfish desires, Shakespeare argues that this results in the death of an individual’s peace of mind. He uses personification of the soul and condemning diction to depict how duplicitous practices result in oppressive guilt.

During the shift from the middle ages into the Renaissance period new conceptions of the individual and the human mind quickly came to light. Although art in the Middle Ages was centered predominantly on religion and faith, the incoming art of the Renaissance underwent a drastic change. A vast amount of these changes mainly focused on individualism, secularism, and humanism. Following the collapse of the feudal system, thoughts of individualism quickly rose when people realized that they didn’t have to adhere to a specific group.Throughout the beginning of the Renaissance, religious figures and the Catholic Church began to lose authority which conducted in new ideas of secularism. Comparably, humanistic art and notions became preeminent when individuals focused on glorifying the human body, learning more about it and inclined more towards realistic art.

At first, humanism was actually thought by some to be a way of validating and supporting the Church. With man being viewed as the measure of all things, and man being created in the image of God, it would be shown how God is perfect in every way. Pico della Mirandola's literary work Oration on the Dignity of Man is a clear example of how the early goal of humanism was to create a better understanding of God, stating how humanity is the apex of creation, creating a link with the world of God and of the creation (Cunningham 24).

Humanism describes the emphasis that was revived in the Renaissance when the Liberal Arts were used to distinguish man from beasts. Through letters--or scholarship--was sought a rebirth of spirit and spiritual freedom and justification of the claim to rational autonomy. In essence, the Renaissance was a revival of the capacities and powers of the ancients.

The gigantic effect that education had on Renaissance society was greatly stimulated by the new development of humanism. Humanism was responsible for the curiosity of many intellects during the Renaissance, which ultimately led to the discoveries and developments that made the Renaissance such a remarkable time. It proposed a different way of thinking, unprecedented by scholars. Without humanism and the educational interest that it brought about, the Renaissance would not be known as the explosion of culture that it is considered today.

The new evaluation of the individual’s worth and the new conception of the individual’s relation to nature, which were to become the central motifs of the Renaissance, can be seen graphically in the paintings of artists like Piero della Francesca, Donatello, and Michelangelo. The individuals in their portraits and sculptures were the center of attention and were portrayed realistically, thereby glorifying man. More specifically, Michelangelo’s statue of David portrays man’s power and beauty (David, Spielvogel, 324). Linguists and philosophers also expressed this idolization of man. Pico della Mirandola, author of the “Oration on the Dignity of Man,” wrote that God addressed man saying, “‘Though shalt have the power to degenerate into the lower forms of life, which are brutish. Thou shalt have the power, out of thy soul’s judgment, to be reborn into the higher forms, which are divine’” (Mirandola, 411). Therefore, man’s understanding of his potential as an individual led to an increased emphasis on humanism in all aspects of Renaissance society.