Medieval and Renaissance Love Poetry

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Next to religion and war, no topic seemed to capture the imagination of medieval and Renaissance England quite as much as romantic love. Thus, this course seeks to read a survey of exemplary medieval and Renaissance love poetry, asking as we go along: What are the features of the medieval and Renaissance love poem? How do we write about and analyze these poems? Did medieval and Renaissance writers think of romantic love in the same way we do? What can medieval and Renaissance writing about love tell us about the social, cultural, and political environment in which it was written? And, finally, can medieval and Renaissance love poetry provide modern readers with new conceptions for thinking and writing about romantic love in our own age? This course will particularly rely on historicist methods of literary analysis, including gender and sexuality theory. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to respond to the poetry we read through both critical and creative means, though the final product for all students will be an argumentative research essay. Each week will also include at least one short in-class lecture and interactive exercise on a writing strategy/skill in order to prepare students for the final paper. All readings will be provided in modern English.