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In Geoffrey Chaucer's, "The Canterbury Tales," characters tell stories and he who wins gets a reward. Each story is different and is told from a different perspective. Some stories involve the ideas of each character, some being members of the church. All are stories told from the human perspective. In Dante's "Inferno," there are many spiritual characters that play a large role in the story, though they are not the entire focus.
The Canterbury Tales
Inferno (The Divine Comedy, #1)
In Montaigne's "Of Cannibals," he describes the actions of a "barbaric" group of people. The way they treat their enemies, by killing then eating them, may seem rather severe, but they do it swiftly and only after treating their enemy as a friend until that day comes. Montainge writes about the actions taken by his society as more barbaric than that of the cannibals. The ideas of the church, involving the fact that killing is wrong, are not directly written, but can be referenced in his writing.
Both of Shakespeare's Sonnets 130 and 138 are written about a woman who Shakespeare is in love with, but does make many negative comments on her looks, personality, and other features. He specifically states that there are perfumes that smell better than the reeking breath that escapes the mouth of his mistress. While he mocks her left and right, he still loves her and there is not a single mention of religion and the issues involving the church. Both pieces only focus on the human aspect, making sure to not tie in God and the views of the church.
The ideas of humanism both build upon and break away from the ideas of the Middle Ages. While Humanism builds on the idea that humans can transcend to the world of Heaven or fall into the depths of Hell, it also relies on the basis of attempting to somewhat remove religion from literature and focus more on the human aspect of the writers' surroundings. While Humanism does both, it more breaks away than it adds on.
Middle Age vs. Renaissance Literature
In the Middle Ages, much of the literature involved views about the church and religion, ideas about the society, and some philosophical insights. In the Middle Ages, much of the literature written was focused on the ideas of humans being able to transcend the physical realm. Ideas of philosophy and those involving the capabilities of humans were more introduced in the Renaissance Era.
Sonnet 292
Hamlet
The Prince
To the Reader
Of Cannibals
Sonnet 130
Sonnet 138