The term “Renaissance” means “rebirth.” But rebirth of what? In this class, we’ll look at the new ways in which English writers began to explore familiar questions about the nature of desire, the limits of power, and the relation of individuals to structures of community, family and faith. How might emergent forms like the public stage play or the epyllion - an imitation of sexy Classical myths - allow writers to work through these questions, while simultaneously reinventing what literature is and does? Reading and thinking together, we’ll encounter girls disguised as boys, sonnets about animals, and men who fall in love with statues. Believe it or not, this is the stuff that shaped English literature.
Taught by Dr. Dianne Mitchell.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: British Literature to 1660