French 230: Romances and Novels

Romance vs. novel. It’s one of the most basic distinctions in literary history, and it goes back a good 350 years: the old, obsolete form is replaced by the modern. But is the narrative sound? We’ll be reading a selection of classic and recent criticism on the topic and five celebrated works that may or may not document the transition from romance to novel: d’Urfé’s L’Astrée, Sorel’s Francion, Scarron’s Le Roman comique, and two works by Lafayette, Zayde and La Princesse de Clèves. All primary and most secondary works will be available in English for those who need the option.