VI.Theme
VII.Week |
Type of classes and hours
| -
The contents of the notion of the Middle Ages. The chronological borders and periodization of the Middle Ages. The historic preconditions for the development of literature in the Middle Ages. The meaning of mythology, folklore, the traditions of ancient literature and Christianity in the process of the creation of literature in the Middle Ages.
|
1
|
L2
|
-
The earliest forms of a folk epos form: the Celtic and Scandinavian epos. Irish (The Ulaid cycle) and Islandic (Elder Edda and Younger Edda) sagas. Their mythological and historical basis. The maturity stage of the Middle Ages. The formation and consolidation of feudal society, the Crusades, the development of philosophy and connections with the East. Literature in Latin.
|
2
|
L2
|
-
The heroic epos of the mature Middle Ages. The French heroic epos Chanson de Roland, its historical background, contents and stylistic peculiarities. The German heroic epos Nibelungenlied , its mythological and historical background. The formation of the ideals of chivalry. The Spanish heroic epos Cantar de Mio Cid.
|
3
|
L2; S2
|
-
Courtois literature. Further development of chivalry. Provençal poetry, its themes, forms and authors. The tale of chivalry, its development, authors and the most outstanding examples. Minnesingers.
|
4
|
L2; S2
|
-
The development of town literature and its genres: fabliau, Schwanks, animal epos (The Novel about Reynard the Fox), The Novel about the Rose. The development of drama in the Middle Ages: genres of religious drama (mystery, miracle) and their secularisation (morality, farce and sotie). Citizens’ poetry: vagrants, goliards, meistersingers.
|
5
|
L2
|
-
Renaissance culture. The preconditions for its development. The notion of humanism. The romantic and the realistic in Renaissance literature. Renaissance and reformation. The national differences in Renaissance culture. Renaissance in Italy. Its periodization.
|
6
|
L2
|
-
Dante Alighieri.: his life and work. The synthesis of the cultures of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in The Divine Comedy. Its structure, plots, characters and stylistic peculiarities. Dante in Latvia and world culture.
|
7
|
L2; S2
|
-
Francesco Petrarca.: his life and work. Petrarka’s sonnets and their place in the development of world poetry. Giovanni Boccaccio: his life and work. The Decameron: its structure, themes, plots, characters style and role in the development of the short story and prose.
|
8
|
L2; S2
|
-
Renaissance and reformation in Germany. German humanism and Martin Luther. Sebastian Brant’s Das Narrenshiff. Renaissance in the Netherlands. The role of Erasmus Desiderius in the development of humanism in Europe.
|
9
|
L2
|
-
Renaissance in France, its periodization. The main phenomena in literature. François Rabelais: his life and work. Gargantua and Pantagruel: its structure, themes, characters, the influence of national laughter and carnival culture traditions, the ideals of humanism and language peculiarities. The place of the book in the development of world literature.
|
10, 11
|
L4; S2
|
-
Renaissance in Spain, its periodization. The place of the tale of chivalry, pastoral and picaresque in Spanish literature. The role of the theatre in Renaissance Spain. Lope de Vega: his life and works.
|
12
|
L2
|
-
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: his life and works. Don Quixote: the composition, theme, problems, characters and inserted short stories in the novel. The place of the novel in the development of world literature.
|
13
|
L2; S2
|
-
Renaissance in England, its periodization. Geoffrey Chaucer: his life and works. The Canterbury Tales: its structure, themes and stylistic peculiarities. The development of the theatre and drama. Cristopher Marlowe: his life and works.
|
14
|
L2
|
-
William Shakespeare: his life and works. The question about Shakespeare. The periodization of his works. Shakespeare’s historical chronicles: the peculiarities of genre, their themes and style. Shakespeare’s ancient tragedies. Romeo and Juliet and the great tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth: their themes, problems, characters, composition and style. The peculiarities of the late romantic dramas of Shakespeare. The place of his writings in world culture. Shakespeare in Latvia.
|
15, 16
|
L4; S4
|
