Department of French and Italian

This course explores the literary achievements of sixteenth-century France, the Renaissance. We will begin with Marguerite de Navarre’s collection of short stories, l’Heptaméron, which focuses on the social relations of men and women, both in the stories and among the storytellers. Then we will read the lyric poetry of the Pléiade, especially the sonnets of Pierre de Ronsard, prince of poets, and Joachim Du Bellay. Then we will study some historical and political documents of the French Wars of Religion, including the edicts of religious tolerance promulgated by the kings of France. We will conclude with Michel de Montaigne’s Essais, which weigh the challenges of thinking, writing, and living in a time of religious war. Students will write and rewrite two essays and take a final exam. The class will also visit the Lilly library to see what books looked like in the Renaissance.

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