LT 331 - The Literature of Love

Italian literature finds a primary way of expression in words of love concerning women frequently subjected to a process of sublimation. This is illustrated in the works of the poets of Frederick II’s Sicilian court, Dante and Cavalcanti’s Stil novo, Petrarch’s poems and Boccaccio’s novellas, including Angelica’s figure in the Orlando furioso by Ariosto. This course covers the decisive texts, placing them in context within the specific scientific and philosophical culture of the various periods. In particular, the relation between the conception of love and the view of life is examined.