Although romanticism, a large European literary and artistic movement, was not born in France, but in England and Germany, French romanticism holds a privileged place in the history of European literature. This course will explore, through the reading of selected texts and complete works, the main themes of romanticism (assertion of ego and sensitivity, passionate love and energy, freedom, disenchantment and nostalgia), but also reflect on what specifically constitutes French Romanticism (in poetry, theater, novel…).
Method of presentation:
Lecture and discussion.
Required work and form of assessment:
Regular attendance and class participation (10%), homework (25%), mid-term (25%), and final examination (40%).
content:
Foreign and domestic sources of French Romanticism.
Triumph of the ego and the “Mal du siècle”.
Romantic poetry : from the Great Romantics (Hugo, Lamartine, Vigny) to other romantic authors (Nerval, O’Neddy).
The romantic novel as a novel of energy: Balzac and Stendhal.
Romantic drama: the example of Hugo’s Hernani.
Required readings:
Hugo, La Légende des Siècles, Hernani.
Balzac, La Peau de chagrin.
Stendhal, Les Chroniques italiennes, specifically « L’abbesse de Castro » and « Les Cenci ».
Recommended readings:
Philippe Van Tieghem, Le romantisme français, PUF, coll. « Que sais-je ? », 1992.
Jacques Bony, Lire le romantisme, Armand Colin, coll. « Lettres Sup », 2005.
French Romanticism
Although romanticism, a large European literary and artistic movement, was not born in France, but in England and Germany, French romanticism holds a privileged place in the history of European literature. This course will explore, through the reading of selected texts and complete works, the main themes of romanticism (assertion of ego and sensitivity, passionate love and energy, freedom, disenchantment and nostalgia), but also reflect on what specifically constitutes French Romanticism (in poetry, theater, novel…).
Lecture and discussion.
Regular attendance and class participation (10%), homework (25%), mid-term (25%), and final examination (40%).