3631001French Language and Literature (Special Lectures)

Numbering Code G-LET21 63631 LJ36 Year/Term 2022 ・ Second semester
Number of Credits 2 Course Type special lecture
Target Year Target Student
Language Japanese Day/Period Thu.2
Instructor name NAGAMORI KATSUYA (Graduate School of Letters Professor)
Outline and Purpose of the Course By reading Racine's Mithridates (1673), tragedy based upon Roman history, we will discuss the relationship between the tragic genre and history, the dramaturgical method of tragedy, and the characteristics of Racine's tragedies. In his tragedy Nicomède (1651), Corneille, one of the most famous playwrights of the 17th century along with Racine, had already attempted to "portray the Roman Empire from the outside” by making the protagonist a rebel against the hegemony of the Roman Empire. Racine's Mithridates is an attempt to do the same, but we will try to compare the characteristics of Corneille's and Racine's plays by examining how Racine inherited and modified the "political tragedy" formulated by Corneille: the conflict between political logic and private logic, and the struggle for power.
Course Goals Understand the Dramaturgy of French Classical Tragedy. Understand the characteristics of the plays of Corneille and Racine, the most famous playwrights of the 17th century.
Schedule and Contents Class is scheduled to proceed according to the following plan.

Week 1 Introduction to 17th century French Tragedies
Weeks 2-3 Roman tragedies in the 17th century in France: Mairet, Rotrou and Corneille
Week 4 Racine's "Roman Tragedies"
Week 5 Creation, premiere, and reception of Mithridates
Weeks 6-13 Reading of Mithridates
Week 14 Summary: The place of Mithridates in Racine's works
Week 15 Feedback
Evaluation Methods and Policy Class presentations (20%) and end-of-term reports (80%)
Course Requirements None
Study outside of Class (preparation and review) Thoroughly prepare by reading the texts to be used in class. Then, independently read the sections that were not read in class.
Textbooks Textbooks/References Other, printouts distributed during class.
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