FR 301LEC—Survey of French Literature I

Introduces students to major currents of French literature and thought in selected readings from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Classical period, and Enlightenment. The study of epic (La Chanson de Roland), romance (Yvain ou le chevalier au lion), autobiographical writing (Montaigne’s Essais), classical tragedy and comedy (Racine and Molière), the novel (La Princesse de Clèves and Candide), philosophical writing (selections from Descartes, Pascal, and Rousseau), and poetry (selections from Charles d’Orléans, Villon, Du Bellay, and Ronsard) emphasizes both literary and philosophical traditions, as well as textual interpretation.