Explore how Renaissance critics reestablished poetry as art, not a mere handmaid to theology. It traces the rise of a modern aesthetic and the Italian influence on literary theory.

This book lays out the core question of Renaissance criticism: how to justify imaginative literature. It shows how medieval doubt about poetry gave way to a systematic effort to restore beauty, honor the ancient tradition, and place literary art at the center of human life. The discussion moves from mediaeval views to the eighteenth‑century revival of classic principles, highlighting the shift from theology and philosophy to aesthetics as the guiding criterion for poetry.

Understand why early critics challenged Aristotle and how Italian humanists pushed a national, Christian, and literary new direction
See how poetry is framed as imitation, life, and function within a developing theory of drama, epic, and lyric
Learn how the Renaissance fostered a distinct national literature and the rise of the vernacular as a valued medium
Follow the transformation of criticism from medieval constraints to modern standards of beauty and reasoning

Ideal for readers of literary history, Renaissance thought, and the development of modern criticism.

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