French 419 — FLNG 473
French Literature of the Nineteenth Century

Professeur : D. Kress
Tel. 869-5252
Courriel: dkress@centenary.edu
Heures de bureau: 3:30-4:30 lundi et mercredi

Required texts in English:

French 419\

Texts in English:

Stendhal, The Red and the Black, Penguin
Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Penguin
Huysmans, Against the Grain

Texts in French:

Georges Sand, La Mare au diable
Hugo, Hernani
Maeterlinck, Pelléas et Mélisande
Zola, Thérèse Raquin, Livre de Poche ISBN : 978-2253010074
Ubu Roi, Alfred Jarry. Publisher: Livres Généraux (April 2, 2010) Language: French ISBN-10: 1153735768 ISBN-13: 978-1153735766

Much of the material will be provided online.

Welcome to one of the richest, most complex, and most rewarding periods of world literature! This course in nineteenth-century French literature is being offered for students who plan to major or minor in French. All of the readings will be in French and the assignments will be quite heavy. Do not take this course unless you are willing to do the work!. The goal of this course is to examine the literature of the major writers of the period; with this in mind, you should be prepared for a challenge.

Remember, for some of you, this is your senior seminar; I regard it as the crowning achievement of all you have undertaken at Centenary and expect for you to consider it your number one priority this semester.

*All classroom discussion will be conducted in French. If you have difficulty asking questions in class, formulate them at home. Be ready with questions when I call on you! I will give you a grade for class participation every day and I expect for you to contribute aggressively. Your questions or comments should reflect the work and thought that you have put into the day’s assignment and should show that you have made an effort to read and understand the material.

*Papers. There will be a paper due in this class of a minimum length of seven typed pages. Each student will prepare an explication de texte.. Double-space the lines and use MLA guidelines for notes (if you have any). You should choose a poem no longer than twenty lines. Students who have already written an explication will write a research paper instead.

  • Oral presentations. Each student will choose two of the authors we are reading in class and will give short presentations (7-10 minutes) in French on those writers. You are advised to practice your reports out loud before coming to class. Grammar mistakes, reports that are too short, and weak presentations will all have very negative impacts on your grade.
  • * N.B. Attendance. This is an upper-division course for students who attain to the highest levels of competence. Accordingly, absences and tardiness will have serious consequences on your grade. One point will be subtracted from your final average for every unexcused absence. A half point will be subtracted for students who arrive after the class begins. Excused absences are those cleared in advance or due to an illness which requires medical care.

*Special project for students enrolled in this class as a Senior Seminar (FLNG 473):

Theater: Each person enrolled in this class for Senior Seminar will choose one of the following works and prepare a 15-20 minute exposé (in French). Your presentation should include a summery of the work and a discussion of its place in literary history. (Why is it important?) N.B. Works which you have already read are not possible choices.

Romantic Theater:

Vigny: Chatterton
Hugo: La Préface de Cromwell
Hugo: Hernani
Musset: Fantasio or Les Caprices de Marianne

Realistic and Naturalist Theater:

Becque: Les Corbeaux
Dumas fils: La Dame aux Camélias

Psychological, Lyric, and Symbolist Treater:

Jarry: Ubu Roi
Maeterlinck: Pelléas et Mélisande
Villers de l’Isle-Adam: Axel
Curel: La Nouvelle Idole
 
Grading scale for French 419:

Oral Presentation(s) 20%
Paper 20%
Quizzes and written assignments 40%
Final exam 20%

Grading scale for FLNG 473:

Oral presentations 20
Paper 20
Quizzes and written assignments 40
Final exam 20
Exposé 10

99-110=A
88-98= B
77-87= C
66-76= D
Below 65=F

EMPLOI DU TEMPS: 

I. Semaine du 22 au-26 août

lundi:

Introduction

mercredi:

Lamartine, « Le Lac » Hugo, « Océano nox »

vendredi:

Musset, « La Nuit d’août » ; Nerval, « El Desdichado », Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, « Un arc de triomphe »,

II. Semaine du 29 août au 2 septembre

III. Semaine du 5 au 9 septembre

lundi:

Balzac, « Une passion dans le désert » Labor Day

mercredi:

 Mérimée, « La Vénus d’Ille »
vendredi:

Mérimée, « La Vénus d’Ille »

IV. Semaine du 12 au 16 septembre

lundi:

Mérimée, « La Vénus d’Ille »

mercredi:

Barbey D’Aurevilly, « La Vengeance d’une femme »

vendredi:

Barbey D’Aurevilly, « La Vengeance d’une femme »

V. Semaine du 19 au 23 septembre

lundi: Hernani

mercredi:

Hernani
vendredi:

Hernani

VI. Semaine du 26 au 30 septembre

lundi:

Hernani

mercredi:

Hernani
vendredi:

Stendhal, The Red and the Black

VII. Semaine du 3 au 7 octobre

lundi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand

mercredi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand
vendredi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand

VIII. Semaine du 10 au 14 octobre

lundi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand

mercredi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand
vendredi:

Fall Break!

IX. Semaine du 17 au -21 octobre

lundi:

Madame Bovary

mercredi:

Thérèse Raquin
vendredi:

Thérèse Raquin

X. Semaine du 24 au 28 octobre

lundi:

Thérèse Raquin

mercredi:

Thérèse Raquin
vendredi:

Thérèse Raquin

XI. Semaine du 31 octobre au 4 novembre

lundi:

Thérèse Raquin

mercredi:

Thérèse Raquin
vendredi:

Thérèse Raquin

XII. Semaine du 7 au 11 novembre

lundi:

Thérèse Raquin

mercredi:

Against the Grain
vendredi:

Pelléas et Mélisande

XIII. Semaine du 14 au 18 novembre

lundi:

Pelléas et Mélisande
mercredi:

Pelléas et Mélisande
vendredi:

Pelléas et Mélisande

Semaine du 18-27 novembre: Thanksgiving Break!

XIV. Semaine du 28 novembre au 2 décembre

lundi:

Pelléas et Mélisande

mercredi:

Ubu Roi
vendredi:

Ubu Roi

XV. Semaine du 5 au 9 décembre

lundi:

Ubu Roi

mercredi:

 Ubu Roi
vendredi:

Ubu Roi