Renaissance Poetry (331-0-20)
Topic
The Reinvention of Love in Renaissance Poetry
Instructors
Wendy L Wall
Meeting Info
University Hall 412: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
The love poetry of the English Renaissance invites the reader into worlds of fantasy, confusion, seduction, despair, and faith. In this seminar we will ask: how did poets explore the emotional chaos caused by love by delving into other issues-- how to express feeling in writing, how to get ahead in the world, how to believe in intangibles, and how to "possess" others imaginatively? How were the seemingly private issues of love deeply intertwined with power brokering, religious struggles, sexual politics, race, nationalism, and gender identity? When did love cement social bonds and when was it an unruly force that seemed to unravel the very fabric of the self or the nation? And how did poets investigate and express love by creating a mash-up of inherited conventions, philosophies, and beliefs? We'll tackle these questions by reading poetry in the context of early modern religious controversies, court politics, colonialism, same-sex desire, feminism, medical theory, and science.
Teaching Method
Discussion.
Evaluation Method
In-class presentations, papers, projects.
Class Materials (Required)
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Sonnets and Poems ISBN: 9780199535798
All other texts will be available at: Amazon and on the Canvas class site.
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area