The Poet and the Revolution
Why did the Poet emerge as a spiritual guide in the years after the French Revolution of 1789? Why did these years witness the flowering of Romantic poetry? And why did Romantic poetry begin as prose phenomenon in France? These questions will animate our study of an often overlooked period in French literary history, but one that was of crucial importance to modern forms of literary expression and political reflection. We will examine the relationship between poetry and history; between the poetic and the spiritual; and between the Poet and the People. Finally, we will consider the ways in which these particular authors challenged social and literary conventions and expressed an oppositional political and cultural agenda through their writing.
Additional Information:
French R1B fulfills the second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement in the College of Letters and Science. Class conducted in ENGLISH.