This lesson focuses on the Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay and two of his poems: "If We Must Die" and "The Tropics of New York." It offers a short bio and links to the two poems, and then explains the style and meanings of the poems.

Fantastic, multimedia introduction to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. Rich graphics make the intellectual material more accessable. Sections discuss the anti-semitism and perception of usury during Shakespeare's time, as well as the...

Biographies of the Popes governing the Roman Catholic Church in the 12th-18th centuries. Entries range from minimal to very extensive.

The Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress contain approximately 3,500 items documenting the history of Western music from the medieval period through the modern era.

Use this comprehensive site to learn more about English Renaissance Literature. This site is a gold mine of information. It has several essays that illuminate this genre. Find out more about this period in literature through this...

This exhibition of drawings from the Renaissance contains numerous examples of figurative, architectural, and decorative subjects. Short explanatory notes provide the historical and artistic context of similarly themed works. A useful...

Provides a detailed look at the Renaissance movement. Content includes a focus on important Renaissance political leaders, religious figures, authors, artists, scientists, philosophers, and composers.

This site from ibiblio.com explains the Renaissance, not only as a time period, but as how it changed thought, writing, and art throughout Europe. See links to Renaissance in Italy, Germany and Netherlands.

Focus on the emergence of the printing press and bookmaking. Humanism and other new philosophies of the Renaissance mentioned as well. Also, check out other links to learn more.

Read about how the Renaissance played out in European countries outside of Italy. Users can follow links to further information on the Elizabethan Era, William Shakespeare, the Reformation, and other connected topics.

An account of the Renaissance as it was expressed in Italy, with links to videos on the subject aired on History, the cable television channel.

Gain knowledge of how exploration, mapping, and voyages of the Renaissance period shaped and changed our understanding of the modern world.

A description of life in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance, the emergence of humanist thought, and of how the Renaissance got its start in Italy. The Lorenzo de Medici's important role as a patron of the arts in Florence is...

Overview of the motives behind the exploration of the "new world" during the Renaissance. Discusses the trading that took place between the "new world" and Europe and various riches offered in Mexico and Latin America.

Describes the society of the Middle ages and the effect of the Plague on these societies of the Renaissance.

Useful for research and for focusing on women's writing during this influential period, this article includes a lengthy bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

In the sacred architecture of the Roman and Byzantine empires, domes were viewed as symbols of heaven. Correggio merged this symbolism with the Renaissance's fascination for three-dimensional illusion. He transformed the dome of the...

Etruscan temple design had a huge impact on Renaissance architecture and one can see echoes of Etruscan columns in many buildings of the Renaissance and later in Italy. View pictures and read the history behind these temples in this...

The scene of the three wise men offering gifts to a newborn Jesus was widely painted during the Renaissance era, so how did painter Sandro Botticelli create a version that's still well known today? James Earle describes who and what set...

Detailing the history of the renaissance instrument the cornetto, this site provides some interesting information about how it was made and how it was played.

Printed images of the major architectural monuments and sculptures of ancient Rome spread knowledge of classical antiquity throughout Europe. The "Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae" (the "Mirror of Roman Magnificence") represents a...

Review these two maps of Italy during the Renaissance from the Perry Castaneda Collection. Zoom in to see the details of a map of the Milanese under the Visconti and one of the Republic of Florence.

Kids learn about the beginning of the European Renaissance in history. Learn how the European Renaissance got started?

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art this page details the Renaissance engraving of the "Farnese Hercules" by the transplanted Dutchamn to italy Jacob Bos in the 16th century; with a description and images of the engraving.