The Conception of Human Desire in the Renaissance Drama
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The Renaissance was by no means a sharp break with the morality and philosophy of the Middle Ages. Even the greatest changes are slower and less complete than we like to imagine. Thus, though the Renaissance asserted men's right to pursue the satisfaction of human desire, the Renaissance drama has a theme of the vanity and transitoriness of all earthly desires and achievements. This paper explores the conception of human desire in the Renaissance drama by examining Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Jonson's The Alchemist and Volpone. At the cost of his soul, Faustus chooses to fulfill his aspiring desire, and falls into eternal damnation. Mammon's desire for the power of gold brings about his self-destruction along with the defeat of the gullible public. Volpone's desire is also gradually aggravated until it falls into its own trap. In the Renaissance terms, human desire can be defined as a driving force for self-realization, but it more often than not results in the disintegration of human society and its members' failure. Compared with the modern attitudes about human desire, those of the Renaissance are more sceptical and negative. The Renaissance drama warns its readers of the danger of human desire before they affirm the positive aspect of human desire.
Abstract
The Renaissance was by no means a sharp break with the morality and philosophy of the Middle Ages. Even the greatest changes are slower and less complete than we like to imagine. Thus, though the Renaissance asserted men's right to pursue the satisfaction of human desire, the Renaissance drama has a theme of the vanity and transitoriness of all earthly desires and achievements. This paper explores the conception of human desire in the Renaissance drama by examining Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Jonson's The Alchemist and Volpone. At the cost of his soul, Faustus chooses to fulfill his aspiring desire, and falls into eternal damnation. Mammon's desire for the power of gold brings about his self-destruction along with the defeat of the gullible public. Volpone's desire is also gradually aggravated until it falls into its own trap. In the Renaissance terms, human desire can be defined as a driving force for self-realization, but it more often than not results in the disintegration of human society and its members' failure. Compared with the modern attitudes about human desire, those of the Renaissance are more sceptical and negative. The Renaissance drama warns its readers of the danger of human desire before they affirm the positive aspect of human desire.
참고문헌 (18)
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