Module Identifier FR22120  
Module Title NINETEENTH CENTURY FRENCH POETRY  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Professor David A Trotter  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Other staff Dr Heather M Williams  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   Seminar. 1 seminar per week  
  Lecture   1 lecture per week  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  60%
Semester Assessment Continuous Assessment: Two essays of 1500 - 2000 words each  40%
Supplementary Exam 1 x 2 hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3 examination if no continuous assessment submitted.100%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Students will acquire analytical skills: they will be able to read critically, with a sensitivity to language or 'textuality', and with a more sophisticated grasp of the relationship between form and content. The close attention to poetic language will provide a basis for subsequent study of twentieth-century literature and literary theory.

Brief description

This module aims to develop students' close reading skills, while also introducing students to an important episode in the history of European literature. The module will approach a key period in French literature in two different, even opposite ways: on the one hand it will recontextualize the works of poets, setting them against the backdrop of a historical context, and a literary tradition, and on the other hand it will trace the cultural legacy of this period of intense creative activity. The programme will culminate in a study of Mallarme, who has kept his place in the 'avant-garde' for a whole century, affording insights into twentieth-century culture. Lectures will provide the necessary technical knowledge (e.g. versification), and the historical (and literary-historical) context, while seminars will develop students' close reading, or commentary-writing skills.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Baudelaire, Charles Les Fleurs du Mal, Les Petits poemes en prose
Mallarme, Stephane (ed. Bertrand Marchal) (1992) Poesies Gallimard
Rimbaud, Arthur selected texts from
Gautier, Theophile selected texts from
Mallarme, Stephane "Igitur, Divagations, Un Coup de des" Gallimard
Mallarme, Stephane Poesies Gallimard
Baudelaire, Charles Fleurs du Mal edition n.e. . Oxf.U.P. 192835459
** Supplementary Text
Williams, Heather Barddoniaeth i bawb Ymddiriedolaeth Cronfa Goffa Saunders Lewis
Lloyd, Rosemary Baudelaire's world Cornell University Press
Richard, Jean-Pierre L'univers imaginaire de Mallarme Editions du Seuil
Pearson, Roger Unfolding Mallarme Oxf.U.P. 019815917X
Scott, Clive Translating Baudelaire Univ.Exeter P. 859896587
Lehmann, A. G. Symbolist aesthetic in France 1885-1895 edition 2nd . Blackwell,
Scott, Clive Riches of Rhyme Oxf.U.P. 019815853X
Marchal, Bertrand Religion de Mallarme Corti 2714302750
Austin, Lloyd James Poetic principles and practice Cambridge University Press
Durand, Pascal Pascal Durand presente Poesies de Stephane Mallarme Gallimard
Bowie, Malcolm Mallarme and the Art of Being Difficult Camb.U.P. 521218136
Lloyd, Rosemary Mallarme Grant & C. 729301974
Davies, Gardner Vers une explication rationnelle du Coup de des Corti
Robb, Graham Unlocking Mallarme Yale U.P. 300064861
Scherer, Jacques Grammaire de Mallarme A.-G. Nizet
Genette, Gerard Figures I Editions du Seuil 2020019337
Derrida, Jacques Dissemination edition n.e. . Athlone P. 485120933
Bowie, Malcolm "Baudelaire, Mallarme, Valery" Cambridge University Press
Leakey, F.W. Baudelaire Camb.U.P. 521369371
Ward Baudelaire and the poetics of modernity Vanderbilt University Press
Chesters, Graham Baudelaire and the Poetics of Craft Camb.U.P. 521225361
** Recommended Background
Austin, Lloyd James (1987) Poetic principles and Practice: Occasional papers on Baudelaire, Mallarme, Valery CUP
Bowie, Malcolm (1978) Mallarme and the Art of Being Difficult CUP
Bowie, Malcolm (ed) with Fairlie and Finch (1982) Baudelaire, Mallarme, Valery: New essays in honour of Lloyd Austin CUP
Davies, Gardner (1953) Vers une explication rationnelle du Coup de des Corti
Lehmann, A. G. (1950) The Symbolist Aesthetic in France 1885-1895 Blackwell
Marchal, Bertrand (1988) La Religion de Mallarme Corti
Richard, Jean-Pierre (1961) L'Univers imaginaire de Mallarme Seuil
Scherer, Jacques (1977) Grammaire de Mallarme Nizet
Scott, Clive (1988) The Riches of Rhyme Clarendon Press
Robb, Graham (1996) Unlocking Mallarme Yale Univ. Press
Pearson, Roger (1996) Unfolding Mallarme Clarendon Press
Lloyd, Rosemary (1984) Mallarme 'Poesies' Grant & Cutler
Derrida, Jacques (1972) La Double seance in La Dissemination Seuill
Genette, Gerard (1976) Figures Seuil

Journals
Killick, Rachael (1982) Mallarme' 'Quatorzains', Essays in French Literature, XIX pp. 17-33
Scott, David H.T. (1997) Mallarme and the octosyllabic sonnet, 'French Studeis' , 31 pp. 149-63

Web Page/Sites
** Supplementary Text
Essays in French Literature http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/EuropeanWWW/french/FrenchEssays.html
Forum for modern language studies http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=forum+for+modern+language+studies&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Nineteenth century French studies http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=nineteenth+century+french+studies&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Nottingham French studies http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=nottingham+french+studies&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Rimbaud, Arthur - selected texts http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/
French studies http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=french+studies&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Gautier, Theophile - selected texts http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5