Rewriting Love in the Renaissance

Overview

This course will explore the development of the amorous lyric in Golden Age Spain through the study both of major and minor writers of that period. Close readings of these poets will raise questions about poetic canons, intertextuality and the practice of imitation in the Renaissance, relations between poetry and nationality. Emphasis will be placed upon the function of classical mythology both as allusive reference highlighting individual poetic concerns and as social indicator reflecting Spain's changing perception of its place in the World.

Learning Objectives

To familiarise students with a crucial period of Spain's cultural history, a detailed critical understanding of the work of representative poets.

Skills

Enhanced appreciation of an important literary genre of Golden Age Spain, close reading skills; the ability to relate poetic texts to a cultural context and developing tradition.

Assessment

None