Unit+2+Renaissance+and+Reformation

Unit 2 European Literature: Renaissance and Reformation

Overview:
> //Note: More works have been listed than can be covered; the teacher is encouraged to select from the list so that students may analyze certain works closely while gaining a broad sense of the era. It is possible, for instance, to focus entirely on Rabelais or Boccaccio, with only a few additional short works for contrast; to consider a philosophical work in relation to a literary work; to focus on the idea of divine proportion as expressed in literature, art, and mathematics; or to consider a variety of Renaissance works. The unit should include close readings so that students may observe how Renaissance literary forms find parallels in art and reflect religious, philosophical, and aesthetic views.//
 * Students consider Renaissance writers’ interest in ancient Greek and Latin literature and myth; their preoccupation with human concerns and life on earth; their aesthetic principles of harmony, balance, and divine proportion; and exceptions to all of these. This leads to a discussion of how literary forms themselves reflect religious, philosophical, and aesthetic principles. As students compare the works of the Renaissance with those of the Middle Ages, students recognize the overlap and continuity of these periods. In addition, they consider how the outstanding works of the era transcend their time and continue to inspire readers and writers. The English Renaissance of the seventeenth century includes additional works by William Shakespeare. In their essays, students may analyze the ideas, principles, and form of a literary work; discuss how a work bears attributes of both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; discuss convergences of Renaissance literature and arts; or pursue a related topic of interest.

Focus Standards:

 * **RL.11-12.4:** Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
 * **RL.11-12.6:** Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
 * **RI.11-12.1:** Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
 * **RI.11-12.2(a-f):** Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
 * **W.11-12.2:** Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
 * **SL.11-12.4:** Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range or formal and informal tasks.
 * **L.11-12.4(a-d):** Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on //grades 11–12 reading and content//, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Suggested Student Objectives:

 * Read novels, literary nonfiction, stories, plays, and poetry from the Renaissance era, observing the continuity from the Middle Ages as well as the departures.
 * Identify and investigate allusions to classical literature in Renaissance texts.
 * Explore how a concept such as symmetry or divine proportion is expressed both in literature and in art.
 * Discuss Renaissance conceptions of beauty and their literary manifestations.
 * Explore how Renaissance writers took interest in human life and the individual person.
 * Explore the playful, satirical, irreverent aspects of Renaissance literature—in particular, the writing of Rabelais, Boccaccio, and Shakespeare.
 * Consider how literary forms and devices reflect the author’s philosophical, aesthetic, or religious views.
 * Write an essay in which they (a) compare a literary work with a work of art; (b) compare a Renaissance work with a medieval work; or (c) relate a literary work to a philosophical work.


 * Potential Resources:**

//**The Tempest**// //**[|The Tempest: No Fear/Side by Side]**// //**[|Montaigne's "Of Cannibals" Chapter 3; Supplementary Materials]**// //**[|Shakespeare on Global Colonialism by Katherine Frank]**// //**[|Film Adaptations]**//


 * SUGGESTED WORKS **

Literary Texts

__ Novels __ // i // //The Life of Gargantua and the Heroic Deeds of Pantagruel// (Books 1 and 2) (Francois Rabelais) //The Decameron// (Giovanni Boccaccio)

__Drama__ //The Jewish Women (Les Juifves)// (Robert Garnier) //Nine Carnival Plays// (Hans Sachs) //Henry IV, Part I// (William Shakespeare) //The Tragedy of Macbeth// (William Shakespeare) //Richard III// (William Shakespeare)

__Poetry__ //Dark Night of the Soul// (Saint John of the Cross) *excerpts "The Nightingale of Wittenberg" (Hans Sachs) //The Faerie Queene// (Edmund Spenser) *excerpts Sonnets 29, 30, 40, 116, 128, 130, 143, and 146 (William Shakespeare) "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (Christopher Marlowe) "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (Sir Walter Raleigh)

Informational Texts __ Essays __ // On the Divine Proportion (De divina proportione) // (illustrations only) (Luca Pacioli) // Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects // (Giorgio Vasari) "On Introducing Shakespeare: Richard III" (Charles A. Pennel)

__ Art, Music, and Media __ Sandro Botticelli, //Primavera// Leonardo da Vinci, //Vitruvian Man// Leonardo da Vinci, //Mona Lisa// Michelangelo, //David//