Dealing with the literature, art, and thought of the second half of
the sixteenth century, this course will be divided into three
large units:

I.  Ronsard's Poetic Revolution: theories of lyricism; the odes,
sonnets, and hymns; poetry and music; art of the "High Renaissance"

II.  Literature in an Age of Crisis: skepticism and the reevalutation
of early humanist postulations (Rabelais: Le Tiers Livre);
Mannerism; literature and the Reformation (Ronsard, D'Aubigné); court
poetry and the refuge of myth (Desportes); metaphysical poetry
(Sponde)

III.  The Pursuit of Order: Montaigne's Essais.

In addition to the careful preparation of the assigned readings,
students will write a paper on an assigned topic dealing with poetry.
There will be a final exam to be written in the comfort of one's
domicile.