Studies major French poets in the extended early modern era (roughly 1500-1850), beginning with the Renaissance and ending with Romanticism. Authors studied include Labé, Du Bellay, Ronsard, La Fontaine, Boileau, J.-B. Rousseau, Voltaire, Chénier, Lamartine, Vigny, Hugo, and Musset. Grades will be based on class discussions, two short papers and one longer final paper. All readings, class discussions and writing assignments will be in French.