Theories of the Lyric

Catalog description

Through readings of recent critical discussions of the lyric genre, we will explore more general methodological problems of literary theory. Questions to be raised include: the role of form, structure and tropes in analyzing poetry; problems of subjectivity and voice; the relation between poetry, history and politics; the function of reading; and the problematic "objectivity" of criticism. Readings from Jakobson, Benveniste, Jauss, Benjamin, Johnson, De Man, Lacoue-Labarthe, Agamben, Badiou and Derrida. Focus on poets Hölderlin, Baudelaire and Celan.