Close
Description
Love in the Renaissance
In this module, we will work on Renaissance discourses of love: we will read the love poetry of Pierre de Ronsard (Les Amours, 1552-84) and Louise Lab茅 (Sonnets, 1555), as well as Marguerite de Navarre鈥檚 collection of short stories, the 贬别辫迟补尘茅谤辞苍 (1559). (We will start with Ronsard, followed by Lab茅, and then Navarre.) This will be an opportunity to explore key aspects of the period: love, of course, its different conceptions, themes and rituals; but also sex; eroticism; the representation of women and the body; poetry and the visual arts; imitation; petrarchism; neoplatonism.
In doing so, we will pay particular attention to three questions: How is it possible for a poet to do new things by imitating other poets, and to express something apparently as intimate and subjective as love by repeating familiar forms, words and images? What happens when women write in forms that had traditionally been used by men, and from passive objects of desire, suddenly become the active subjects of an erotic and artistic discourse? What do these literary texts tell us about the social and cultural history of love and sex in the Renaissance?
This module is delivered partly in French and partly in English.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
听