Renaissance Literary Forms: Miscellanies and Humanist Dialogue
Miscellaneous Humanistic Writings
Miscellaneous humanistic writings are collections that mix a variety of topics. These works, similar to books of notes but conceived as a unified book, have ancient roots in the work of Valerius Maximus, entitled Facta et Dicta Memorabilia. In this work, sections were collected into neat anecdotes and deeds of ancient Roman and some Greek characters.
Renaissance Models of Miscellany
In the Renaissance period, miscellanies can be found in several models:
- Collections of Maxims, Sayings, Sentences, or Aphorisms: The fundamental idea of the miscellany is constituted by a selection of interesting literary items. The concept of sayings suggests two types of wisdom: the wisdom of the wise and the wisdom derived from custom. Erasmus, for example, created a collection of maxims, beginning with a brief collection of rare words or phrases, and then providing an analysis in relation to society and the mind. These were small studies that grew into ongoing issues.
- Collection of Curiosities: Here, the author presented a mixture of different types of curiosities, explained in prose. The interest lay in the exotic. A common problem was that humanists often accepted ancient sources as true, leading to a multitude of errors and falsifications. Pedro Mexia wrote a huge collection entitled Silva.
- Reflective Works (Test): This form allowed for much greater reflection, where the relationship between the text and the character was much more extensive.
The Humanist Dialogue Genre
The Dialogue is a genre that humanists developed extensively in Latin, achieving huge development and importance regarding the transmission of ideas. Classical models include:
- Socrates and Plato: A model consisting of questions and answers using maieutics.
- Cicero: Where the thrust is a teacher who imparts a lesson to the student, and the issues are purely political and moral philosophy.
- Lucian of Samosata: A satirist who ridicules elements of ancient life (e.g., dialogues of the gods, of courtesans). This model provides a gentle humor.
While the genre was gentle in the seventeenth century, during the eighteenth century, the dialogue became increasingly critical.
Notable Humanist Authors and Dialogues
- Poggio Bracciolini: Wrote De Avaritia, demonstrating the importance of giving the genre a humanistic imprint.
- Alberti: Performed dialogues in Italian (e.g., Family) and Latin (e.g., Momus), often dedicated to the most important families.
- Juan Luis Vives: Wrote a series of short, simple dialogues in Latin as exercises, entitled Exercitatio Linguae Latinae, intended to teach Latin. This work had a great number of impressions.
- Castiglione: Authored The Courtier.
Narrative Techniques in Humanist Dialogue
A humanist dialogue adheres to literary rules that mimic a real conversation. In works such as Castiglione’s The Courtier, the dialogue is guided by a narrator who witnesses and accounts for the action. Another example is Erasmus’s dialogue between the Abbot and the Young Man, where there is no narrator, but the caricatured characters themselves build the scenery and conversation.
To enhance the image of a real conversation, the humanist dialogue often features a narrator who is present but not involved, responsible only for taking notes and recording the discussion.
The structuring of the book often involves a series of dialogues or discussion groups, where each night a specific topic is discussed, meaning each day corresponds to a book. The scene is typically set at the desktop after the Duke has retired to bed. The conversation often progresses through dialogue games.
Within the characters, the Duchess and her first lady are often given greater importance. They are intellectually outstanding and often govern the conversation, setting the pace and even deciding when to end the discussion. These resources are useful for returning to the feel of a real dialogue, helping to stop the conversation mid-flow, as often happens in real life. While using such elements, the text still manages to convey a general idea of the subject matter.