This module introduces students to major European writers from the fourteenth century. The works selected are novels, novellas, short stories and plays, all of which are significant on a European scale because they sparked particular movements, or were representative of crucial moments in literary innovation. Works are studied in a chronological order to convey the development of literary genres, forms, styles, contents and ideas. Ranging across Bohemian, German, French, Italian and Russian literatures, the module explores how authors from different nations contributed to a larger sense of European literature. Moreover, texts are located within historical and political contexts of European feudal rule and revolution.
Although the texts are studied in translation, students wishing to read them in the original language are welcome to do so. Students are also encouraged to compare different translations of the same work.
- Module Supervisor: Mary Mazzilli