Aims

Knowledge of German Romanticism. The student will be able to understand and analyse romantic literary texts as aesthetic documents of their time.

Main themes

This course is devoted to German Romanticism (literature and painting). The following themes will be examined through the analysis of literary texts: the main genres of the movement ("fragments," lyrical poetry, literary tale…); some of its great myths (the Golden Age, the Fall, Lorelei and her sisters etc.) and symbols (water, the flower, the child, the language of nature, etc.…) as well as the vital importance of creative imagination. The principal figures of the movement will be presented through the texts analysed.

Content and teaching methods

- Introduction (fundamental notions, different stages);
- The literary tale - the Golden Age - Novalis and Fouqué;
- The Romantic painting (Philippe Otto Runge and Caspar David Friedrich) - the motif of the flower - the hieroglyph as romantic form of the symbol - the influence of Jakob Böhme;
- The narcissistic reverie - das unheimliche (Eichendorff);
- The language of nature (Eichendorff and others);
- The intrusion of the spirit world into ours (Arnim, Kerner).

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Evaluation : Exam. The student can also present a written paper.

Programmes in which this activity is taught

Other credits in programs