Modernismes poétiques

Poetry begins with (more) white space on the page. The modernist remaking of poetry - beginning somewhere in the second half of the 19th century and lasting more or less through the first half of the 20th – brought about an exponential increase in the volume of that space, and in various other extensions of it (e.g. into design and drawing, into the unconscious). The course will briefly examine the origins of those transformations in the 19th century and follow through their ramifications in poets such as Apollinaire, the Surrealists, Cocteau, Bataille and Ponge. Taught in French. Prerequisite: a course at the 0600- or 0700-level or equivalent proficiency. Contact the instructor to verify your proficiency if you have not taken French at Brown.