Representations of 17th Century Versailles

On the occasion of the tercentenary of Louis XIV’s death, at a time when Versailles is the focus of a successful fictionalized series in France, Belgium and Quebec, this classical literature course aims at thinking on the representations that various 17th century works project (poetic fables, novel in prosimetrum, comedy in prose, moralistic and satiric essays), of the image of the palace and the King’s and courtesans’ figures. Aesthetic, political, theoretical, philosophical and sociological points of view will be drawn, through the close reading of texts and though videos that show some of their modern staging and adaptations.

Required texts:
- Jean de La Fontaine, Fables (1er recueil, 1668), ISBN: 978-2253010043
- Jean de La Fontaine, Les Amours de Psyché et de Cupidon (1669), ISBN: 978-2081274167
- Molière, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, ISBN: 978-2070450008