It has been argued that the poetic “I” in premodern literatures is not a vehicle for self-representation, but an archetype of the human. The course will examine this thesis against the rise of autobiographical writing in medieval and early modern Europe. Readings include spiritual autobiographies (Augustine, Kempe, Teresa of Ávila), letter collections (Abelard and Heloise), Arabic and Hebrew maqama literature, Provençal troubadour lyric, Hispano-Jewish poetry (Samuel ha-Nagid, Judah Halevi, Solomon ibn Gabirol), prison poetry (Jacopone da Todi, al-Mutamid of Seville, François Villon), pilgrimage narratives, travel literature, Petrach, Dante (Vita nuova and selections of the Commedia), Ibn Ḥazm of Córdoba, Latin American chronicles, and the picaresque novel (Lazarillo de Tormes). Theoretical perspectives by Spitzer, Lejeune, Zumthor, and DeCerteau.
Course note: This course counts for the Romance Studies track in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
Founded as a graduate program in 1904 and joining with the undergraduate Literature Concentration in 2007, Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature operates at the crossroads of multilingualism, literary study, and media history.
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