Syllabus
Introduction. Man in French literature.
Principle literary movements. 17th century in general. Historical context.
Philosophical, artistic and literary athmosphere. Classicism. Language, French Academy, Préciosité (preciousness).
Philosophical frame. Descartes, Pascal.
Impact on literature. Literary genres of Classicism.
Tragedy, Pierre Corneille. Jean Racine and his conception of a man.
The predestined man. Molière. Classical comedy, major comedies, his ideas on theatre.
La Rochefoucauld. La Bruyère.
The quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns Passage from the 17th to the 18th century. Summary
Annotation
The French literature of the 17th Century. Baroque/ Classicism, genres (tragedy, comedy); aesthetic criteria.
Prominent writers.