BASC70238 - The Romance of the Rose
Course Description
Often overlooked in the modern literary canon, the Romance of the Rose was the 13th century version of a bestseller and instant classic. An allegorical dream-poem, it follows the story of the Dreamer/Lover, a character who falls in love with a rose and pursues his desire within a dream world populated by allegorical and mythical figures who variously aid, hinder, and comment on his progress and its various implications (accompanied by quite a few tangents exploring medieval philosophy, religion, and current events). It was the most important work in French of its time, and it influenced writers such as Dante and Chaucer, who wrote his own translation of the Rose. It was also a highly controversial work, sparking a formal debate in which 15th-century literary and intellectual luminaries weighed its merits against its treatment of women and its questionable morality. What made the Romance of the Rose so influential, popular, and controversial in its own time and in the centuries that followed? It’s a great time to revisit the Rose: in 2023, the Romance of the Rose was made into a critically acclaimed opera by Kate Soper, framing its enduring questions of desire, love, gender, and meaning in a 21st century context. In this class, we will read the Romance of the Rose in its entirety in order to understand it both in its own time and for what it has to tell us today.
Notes
Online registration closes Friday, March 15 at 5 pm CT.
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