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Modern French Poetry

Overview

Module description

This module aims to introduce you to nineteenth- and twentieth-century French poetry through close reading of samples of poetry by Baudelaire, Verlaine, Apollinaire and Eluard. You will learn the rules of classical versification, and then explore how it 'breaks down' - from Baudelaire through Verlaine to Apollinaire/Eluard - into free verse.

This course will be taught primarily in French, and the primary texts will be studied in French.

Indicative module content

  • Apollinaire: selections from Alcools and Calligrammes
  • Baudelaire’s prose poems; Les Fleurs du mal
  • Eluard, Capitale de la douleur
  • Verlaine, Fêtes galantes et Romances sans paroles