1:00-2:15P   TR   BH 142

Conceived as an introduction to French literature, this course will seek
to provide a basis for further study by developing skills in literary
interpretation, as well as improving skills in spoken and written French.
We will begin with a study of the poetic tradition in  France, tracing the
evolution of the love theme from the Petrarch-inspired lyrics of the
Renaissance to the great 19th-century Romantic and Symbolist poets,
concluding with a sampling from the 20th century.  Turning to theater, we
will take up Jean Anouilh'sBal des Voleurs, a delightful comedy
involving less-than-expert thieves, a canny dowager, disguise, masquerade
and the inevitable outcome of such a mix: true love.  We will also be
attentive, however, to the ways in which Anouilh's comedy explores the
nature of theater and the theatrical.
We will then take up a third genre, the novel; through Camara Laye's
coming-of-age narrative, L=Enfant Noir, we will retrace certain
universal experiences set in the unfamiliar context of West Africa:
childhood admiration for the father, love for the mother, school days,
friendship, first love, exposure to death, and departure from home. Such a
combination of the familiar and the exotic will shape our perspective as
we explore questions of narrative form.
We will conclude the semester with several short storieC-including Camus's
searching depiction of a moral decision in a story from his collection,
L=Exil et le RoyaumeCproviding an appreciation of the very different
esthetics at work in shorter narratives. There will be a variety of
written exercises, including a 7-page paper, as well as midterm and final
exams.
One last point: you have just had your last contact with English!