Renaissance Sonnets

Did you know that the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1450 made the mass production of books possible for the first time in history? As you discovered in the Historical Connections topic, the Renaissance's influence extended to literature, which became widely available to the public thanks to the printing press. In the topics that follow, you will explore the dominant forms of literature during the Renaissance, which were poetry and drama. In this particular topic, you will focus on poetry and explore poetic form, common themes, and how Renaissance poetry reflected the culture of the time.

Essential Questions

• How is culture reflected in literature?
  
• What important forms of poetry were represented during the Renaissance?