Balti state university a. Russo chair of english philology

 
2. The first period of Renaissance in English literature. The Humanists. 
 
The literature of this period was greatly supported by the art of printing that acquired a 
movable type. Printing made books plentiful and provided more opportunities for reading and 
learning. The best writers of that time were Chaucer‟s imitators. They were more Scottish than 
English. Among them were W. Dunbar (1460-1555), Gavin Douglas (1475 – 1522), Sir David 
Lindsay (1485 – 1555), etc. /1 (Norton Anthology of English Literature p 414 

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A new current appeared in English literature during this age which was the Humanism.  The 
primary concern of the humanists was the education of man, which as they considered was 
primordial in man‟s improvement of life. They gave consideration to man‟s social status, realizing 
that the development of
society depended on man. They struggled for the abolishment of medieval 
relations in society, for freedom of thought and action. The humanists introduced new thoughts 
and ideas which proclaimed man‟s freedom, happiness and power. They considered that man is the 
creator of his fate. In connection with this were written many treatises on education, family 
relations and public service. The founder of this movement is considered to be Thomas More, who 
is best known to the modern reader by his famous philosophical work Utopia.
 
 
Thomas More (1478 – 1535)
- the greatest humanist of the Age 
Thomas More was one of the first and greatest humanists of Renaissance. He was born in London in 
1478 and received education at Oxford. He began his life as a lawyer and later became a Member of 
Parliament. He was the first who wrote on social and political subjects in English. He wrote both in 
English and Latin. Among his writings in English are: discussions on political subjects, biographies 
and poetry. His style was simple and colloquial with an unaffected ease. The work by which he is 
best remembered today is “Utopia” (1516) in which the author reveals the sordid sides of English 
life and comes up with a plan for a Common Wealth. The work is divided into two books. In his 
first book the author gives a profound and truthful picture of the people‟s sufferings and ways out of 
the social evils characteristic for England at the beginning of the 16
th
century. The author meets in 
Flanders a sailor who used to sail with the famous geographer Amerigo Vespucci. The man had 
visited many countries, and coming to England he remained astounded at the cruelty of English 
laws and at the poverty of its population. With great regret he draws the conclusion, saying: “Your 
sheep that used to be so meek and tame and so small eaters have now become so great devourers… 
that they swallow down the very men themselves…” 
The disastrous state of things in England puts on the sailor‟s mind the idea of a Common 
Wealth, which he had seen on the island of Utopia. The second part of the book contains the 
description of life on this island. It looks like a real fairy tale in which people own everything in 
common and enjoy complete economic equality. Labour is the most essential feature of life on 
Utopia. Everybody is engaged in useful work nine hours a day, after which they indulge in sports 
and games, spending much time learning. Education and all the sport facilities were free of charge, 
giving equal rights to all its members. Women are supposed to develop their intellectual abilities 
getting education and being involved in social work, free of household duties. 

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It is quite evident thus, that the ideas revealed in Utopia were truly humanistic. After this 
work, a tendency appeared in literature – to write fantastic novels on social reforms, which were 
characteristic for many countries. This work was translated into all European languages and was a 
revolutionary attempt to change man‟s mentality and way of life.