preview

The Importance Of The Renaissance And Why Is It Important?

Better Essays

What is the Renaissance and Why is it Important?
“In Discussion: The Renaissance”

“What a piece of work is a man! . . . in form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel.” –William Shakespeare, from Hamlet. At the core of Pater 's study of the Renaissance lies the maxim l 'art pour l 'art, or "art for art 's sake." Originally championed by nineteenth-century French aesthetes, this notion of art as an end in itself helped shape Pater 's conception of a life dedicated to aesthetic appreciation. In Pater 's view the importance of the Renaissance, as of all culture, lies in its power to stimulate the human spirit, to inspire the individual to make the most of his or her life. By establishing a critical relationship with the Renaissance that is in many ways deeply personal, Pater in essence makes it his own and reshapes it according to his own unique interpretations( Pater). At the same time, throughout the work Pater suggests that any philosophical, ethical, or social system that requires the individual to sacrifice his or her subjective appreciation of the world is false and not worth inhabiting. The Renaissance, then, is primarily a statement of Pater 's unique passion for art. Pater 's aesthetic philosophy finds its most eloquent articulation in the book 's "Conclusion." Here Pater sets forth his personal interpretation of the meaning and purpose of art. In this brief essay he wistfully describes modern life as transitory and indefinite, a realm in

Get Access