Readings:

d’Urfé, L’Astrée (part 1)

Sorel, Francion

Scarron, Le Roman comique

Lafayette, Zayde

Lafayette, La Princesse de Clèves

Course Description:

Romance vs. novel.  It’s one of the most basic distinctions in literary history, and it goes back a good 350 years:  the old, obsolete form is replaced by the modern.  But is the narrative sound?  We’ll be reading a selection of classic and recent criticism on the topic and five celebrated works that may or may not document the transition from romance to novel: d’Urfé’s L’Astrée, Sorel’s Francion, Scarron’s Le Roman comique, and two works by Lafayette, Zayde and La Princesse de Clèves. All primary and most secondary works will be available in English for those who need them.

Section times and locations in the Schedule of Classes