Poertry of Modernity, the Modernity of Poetry

Poetry is a collection of literary forms that are arguably as old as humankind. The genre, which from its beginnings has been praticed in France, underwent a remarkable expansion and flowering there during the middle of the nineteenth century. In this course we will attempt to demonstrate and explain that development. To that end we will rely mainly on four major works which marked that period: Les Fleurs du mal, by Charles Baudelaire, Alcools, by Guillaume Apollinaire, Charmes, by Paul Valéry, and le Roman inachevé, by Louis Aragon.