Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to invent Romance Studies, from the ground up. Is this possible? Is it desirable? Could we imagine a Romance Studies that would be an intellectual project, something other than the bits and pieces of whatever does not fit elsewhere? Can we construct a Romance Studies whose rationale is conceptually (and pedagogically) stimulating, rather than simply a bureaucratic convenience? The wager of this course is that yes, we can!
This course makes a case for Romance Studies as a field of study and intellectual enquiry, or perhaps better as a mode of reading and thinking. This is a manifesto for a method, or rather, the method itself adds up to a manifesto. But in the end, it does not matter whether or not you are invested in questions of disciplinarity or scholarly fit. What I hope to present is also a case for literature, for reading–and for the Humanities in general–as a stimulus for invention and escape, for the creation of concepts that go beyond any label or institutional pigeonhole.
In short, this investigation into Romance Studies and Romance language literatures are designed to interest and incite students and specialists in any area, and even general readers, too. It offers pathways through a series of texts whose common themes include multiplicity and betrayal, history and escape, among many others. They are to be read with a drink in hand, a soundtrack in the background, mixing the mundane and the everyday with glimpses of difference and otherness to affect both body and mind, thought and extension as Spinoza would have it.
Inventing Romance Studies
Romance Studies emerges when tradition is infiltrated and overthrown by the demotic, by the everyday speech of a nameless multitude.
On Romance Studies
A conversation about Romance Studies, with Tim Beasley-Murray (University College London)
On Reading
I read 721 books in 2018:
Better Than Food INTRO VIDEO:
BOOKSTORES: How to Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content:
- Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised ed. London: Verso, 2016.
- Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994.
Romance Linguistics
Requirement
re·quire·ment | \ ri-ˈkwī(-ə)r-mənt \
Definition of requirement
: something required:
a: something wanted or needed : NECESSITY
production was not sufficient to satisfy military requirements
b: something essential to the existence or occurrence of something else : CONDITION
failed to meet the school’s requirements for graduation
re·quire | \ ri-ˈkwī(-ə)r \
required; requiring
Definition of require
transitive verb
1a: to claim or ask for by right and authority
b: archaic : REQUEST
2a: to call for as suitable or appropriate
the occasion requires formal dress
b: to demand as necessary or essential : have a compelling need for
all living beings require food
3: to impose a compulsion or command on : COMPEL
Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: require v., -ment suffix.
Etymology: < require v. + -ment suffix. Compare post-classical Latin requirementum reclamation (11th cent.), Old French requerement , requierement request, petition, reclamation (1165), Old Occitan requerement demand, reclamation (14th cent.). Compare earlier request n.1, require n., requiring n., requisition n.
†1. The action of requesting something; a request. Cf. requiring n. Obsolete.
†2. Necessity. Obsolete. rare.
3.
a. Something which is required or needed; a want, need. Frequently in plural.
b. Something called for or demanded; a condition which must be complied with. Frequently in plural.
Forms: Middle English requeer, Middle English requeere, Middle English requir, Middle English requyr, Middle English reqwyre, Middle English–1500s requer, Middle English–1500s reqwyer, Middle English–1600s requere, Middle English–1600s requier, Middle English–1600s requyer, Middle English–1600s requyre, Middle English–1600s reqwire, Middle English– require, late Middle English rekere, 1500s requiere, 1500s reqwer, 1500s–1600s reqire, 1500s–1600s requuire, 1500s–1600s reqvire, 1500s–1600s reqyre, 1600s–1700s requare; Scottish pre-1700 raqueire, pre-1700 raquer, pre-1700 raquire, pre-1700 raquyr, pre-1700 raqweyr, pre-1700 requeir, pre-1700 requeire, pre-1700 requer, pre-1700 requerr- (inflected form), pre-1700 requeyr, pre-1700 requier, pre-1700 requir, pre-1700 requiriste (past tense, transmission error), pre-1700 requoyr, pre-1700 requyer, pre-1700 requyr, pre-1700 requyre, pre-1700 reqwer, pre-1700 reqweyr, pre-1700 reqwir, pre-1700 reqwyre, pre-1700 riqwer, pre-1700 1700s requayre, pre-1700 1700s– require, pre-1700 1800s requere, 1800s requar, 1800s requare, 1900s– requair.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French requer-, requere; Latin requīrere; French requerre.
Etymology: Partly < Anglo-Norman requer-, requir-, Middle French requier-, stressed stem of Anglo-Norman requere, requerer, requerrer, require, requirir, Anglo-Norman and Middle French requerre, requerir (French requérir ) (see below), and partly < classical Latin requīrere to try to find, look for, seek, to ask or inquire about, to ask, demand, to try to obtain or bring about, to expect to find, to need, (of things) to call for, need, to feel the loss of, miss, in post-classical Latin also to claim, make a demand for (7th cent.), to attack (11th or 12th cent.; < re- re- prefix + quaerere to seek, to ask: see queer v.1).
Anglo-Norman requere , requerer , etc., Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French requerre, Anglo-Norman and Middle French requerir is < an unattested post-classical Latin form *requaerere , alteration (after quaerere to seek, to ask: see queer v.1) of classical Latin requīrere (see above), and shows the meanings: to request (something) from (a person) (end of the 10th cent. in Old French, originally in specific sense ‘to pray to (Christ) for something’), to seek, search for (a person) (c1100), to attack (a person) (c1100), to ask (a person) a question (second half of the 12th cent.), to entreat (a person), to demand (something) (both end of the 12th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), (with inanimate subject) to demand or call for (something) as appropriate or suitable in a particular case (second half of the 12th cent.; c1377 used impersonally in il est requis à ce que ), to call upon (a person) to execute a legal duty, to demand (a thing) in court (both first half of the 13th cent.), to seek, search for, to desire (something) (c1240 or earlier in Anglo-Norman), (of a person) to stand in need of, to need (something) (14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman).
The later French forms requérir , †requerir result from association with quérir , †querir queer v.1
Compare Old Occitan requere (c1140; also requerre , requerer , requerir , requirir ), Catalan requerir (late 11th cent.; also †reqerre , †requirir ), Spanish requerir (early 12th cent.; also †requerer , †requirir ), Portuguese requerer (15th cent.; 14th cent. as †requerir ), Italian richiedere (end of the 13th cent.).
I. To make a request or demand of a person.
†1. To ask, request, or beseech (a person) to do something.
a. transitive. Without construction. Obsolete.
b. transitive. With infinitive. Obsolete.
c. transitive. With that-clause. Also occasionally with omission of that. Obsolete.
d. transitive. With imperative clause. Obsolete.
†2. transitive. To ask (a person) for something. With of or (occasionally) for. Obsolete.
†3.
a. transitive. To ask (a person) a question; to enquire of (a person) why, if, etc. Also: to interrogate, question. Obsolete.
b. transitive. With clause as object. To ask (a question) of a person. Obsolete.
c. transitive. To ask (a person) about something. With of. Obsolete. rare.
†4. transitive. To invite, call, summon (a person); spec. (originally and chiefly Scottish) to call upon (a person) to execute a legal duty or to attend a court of law. Frequently with to. Obsolete.
5.
a. transitive. To order, instruct, or oblige (a person) to do something. In later use frequently in passive.
Also with infinitive implied.
1904 L. Steffens Shame of Cities 72 They should be required to pay the city fine only once in two months.
b. transitive. With that-clause. Now archaic and rare.
In early use sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 1c.
II. To request, demand, or need a thing.
6.
†a. intransitive. To make a request or demand. Obsolete.
b. transitive. To demand (a thing) authoritatively or as a right; to demand, claim, or insist on having (something) from or of someone.
†c. transitive. To ask for (something) as a favour; to beg, entreat, or request (a favour). Occasionally with of. Obsolete.
†d. transitive. With direct and indirect object. To ask for (a thing) from (a person); to demand (an action) of (a person). Cf. sense 2. Obsolete.
†e. transitive. With infinitive. To ask or request to have, know, or do something. Obsolete.
7.
a. To demand or call for (something) as appropriate or suitable in a particular case; to need for a particular purpose.
(a) transitive. With simple object and in adverbial clauses introduced by as.
†required to: requisite for (obsolete).
(b) transitive. With that-clause as object.
1861 S. Kerl Comprehensive Gram. Eng. Lang. ii. 123 Politeness usually requires that the speaker shall mention the addressed person first, and himself last.
b. Of a law, custom, a general principle, etc.: to demand as necessary or essential.
(a) transitive. With simple object and in adverbial clauses introduced by as.
1967 G. Vidal Washington, D.C. II. i. 58 He had been invited not because the President wanted him but because protocol required his presence.
(b) transitive. With that-clause.
2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic x. 129 The levirate law in Judaism..requires that a childless widow marry the brother of her dead husband.
c. With anticipatory or non-referential subject: there is need for (a thing or person) in order to achieve some purpose.
(a) transitive. it requires. (Chiefly with infinitive or (occasionally) for and clause indicating the purpose.) Cf. it needs at need v.2 2c.
1963 Connecticut Hist. Soc. Apr. 64 It requires a good deal of scholarly courage to undertake a study of..the celebrated Underground Railroad of a century ago.
(b) transitive. there requires. (Sometimes with infinitive indicating the purpose.) Cf. there needs at need v.2 2a.
1914 Ann. Rep. Comm. Dict. Columbia I. 280 The present hospital laundry is situated in the female workhouse and there requires a separate boiler and engineer to give service.
d. transitive. To depend on for success or survival; to stand in need of; to need. Cf. need v.2 7.
1991 ‘W. Trevor’ Two Lives (1992) xxix. 210 More than anything else, Elmer requires a drink.
8. transitive. With infinitive. Cf. need v.2 10.
a. Of a thing: to call for or be subject to a necessity to do something.
1927 F. Balfour-Browne Insects iii. 72 The larvæ, when they hatch, are true aquatics possessing many filamentous gills, and not requiring to come to the surface for air.
b. Of a person: to wish or feel a need to do something.
a1878 B. Taylor Stud. German Lit. (1879) 104 This is all of the great migratory movement which we require to know.
c. With passive infinitive. Of a thing: to need to be subjected to a particular action. Of an action: to need to be performed.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 97 1298/1 This chronic infection which required to be differentiated from tuberculosis, syphilis and even psoriasis.
†9. intransitive. To be requisite or necessary. Cf. need v.2 3. Obsolete.
†III. To seek or pursue a person or thing.
10.
a. transitive. To seek, search for; to desire. Obsolete.
b. transitive. To attack. Obsolete. rare.
c. transitive. To pursue, investigate, or research (a question). Also intransitive with into. Obsolete. rare.
late 14c., requeren, “to ask (someone) a question, inquire,” a sense now obsolete, from Old French requerre, requerir “seek, procure; beg, ask, petition; demand,” from Vulgar Latin *requaerere, from Latin requirere “seek to know, ask, ask for (something needed),” from re-, here perhaps meaning “repeatedly” (see re-), + quaerere “ask, seek” (see query (v.)). In some later English senses probably directly from Latin.
Still in 16c.-17c. commonly “to ask or request (to have or do something),” but this original sense of the word has been taken over by request (v.).
Also from late 14c. as “to stand in need of, want; to need for some end or purpose.” The sense of “demand that (someone) do (something)” is from 1751, via the notion of “to ask for imperatively, or as a right” (late 14c.). The meaning “demand as necessary or essential on general principles” is from early 15c. Related: Required; requiring.
Romance
Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French romans, romance.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman romauns, romaunz, rumanz, rumauns, Anglo-Norman and Old French romanz, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French romans, Middle French rommans, also (after words in -ance -ance suffix) Anglo-Norman romaunce, Anglo-Norman and Middle French romance (also Anglo-Norman and Middle French romant , romaunt (see discussion at romaunt n.), and hence (with loss of the final consonant) Middle French, French roman roman n.2) the vernacular French language (c1125 as ronmanz ; end of the 12th cent. as romant and roman ; 1596 as roman denoting vulgar Latin or the precursor of the modern Romance languages), French text which is a translation or adaptation of a Latin original (1140), medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) written in the vernacular rather than in Latin (and usually relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry) (1155; frequently in titles of such works, e.g. the Roman de la Rose ; in modern French chiefly in sense ‘novel’: see roman n.2) < post-classical Latin romanice (adverb) in the vernacular (11th cent.; < classical Latin Rōmānicus Romanic adj. + -ē , suffix forming adverbs), with regular elision of the unstressed medial -i- . The β. forms are probably partly after the similar (but relatively rare) forms in Anglo-Norman and Middle French, and partly the result of similar remodelling after words in -ance suffix within English.
Compare Old Occitan romans , romanz Occitan language (12th cent.), text written in the vernacular (probably 12th cent.), Catalan romanç , †romans vernacular language, medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry (both 13th cent.), Spanish romance (noun) vernacular language, Spanish (13th cent.; also †romanz ), medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry (13th cent.; also †romanz ), Spanish poem in octosyllabic verses (first half of the 15th cent.; also †romanço ), (adjective) designating any of the languages descended from Latin (1823), Portuguese romance (noun) vernacular language (descended from Latin) (14th cent. as †romançii , †rromãço ), (adjective) of or relating to Old Occitan troubadour poetry (14th cent. as †rromanço), romanço (adjective) vernacular, (noun) medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry (both 14th cent.), Italian romanzo (noun) medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry (13th cent.), incredible story (1374), novel (a1698), (adjective) designating any of the languages descended from Latin (1708). Compare also post-classical Latin romancia story (1390 in a British source), vernacular language (1408, 1449), romancium , romantium something written in the vernacular (1290), Spanish language (13th cent.), French language (14th cent.). Compare later romaunt n., romaunt adj., and also later roman n.2
From the original use of the French noun in the sense ‘vernacular French language’ extended uses denoting texts written in the vernacular developed early on. Often such texts were adaptations or translations of Latin originals; for instance, Wace’s Brut and Benoît de Sainte-Maure’s Roman de Troie are based on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae and Dares Phrygius’s De excidio Troiae respectively. Texts which have no antecedent in Latin are also found from an early date, and the word came to be applied also to these. Since vernacular texts were usually narratives and often featured the adventures of heroes of chivalry, the terms romanz , romans , etc. came to denote such works in particular.
Senses A. 4, A. 5, A. 6, A. 7 all arose (apparently within English) ultimately from being characteristic of the style or content of the literary works denoted by senses A. 1 and A. 3. Compare similar use of French roman in the senses ‘web of allegations which have no factual basis or are intended to deceive people’ (1652), ‘implausible story’ (1656), ‘passionate love affair’ (1659), although these are first attested slightly later than the corresponding senses in English. Compare also the closely related semantic development of romantic adj.
In sense A. 2a after Spanish romance (see above). Compare ( < Spanish) Middle French, French romance old Spanish song (1599), Spanish poem in octosyllabic verses (1606; compare sense A. 2a). In sense A. 2b after French romance tender, sentimental, plaintive, or melancholic song (1719 in sense ‘naive and sentimental song’), apparently a transferred use romance Spanish song (see above). Compare later romanza n. and discussion at that entry.
In senses A. 9, B. 1b after the Romansh self-designation; compare earlier Romansh n., Romansh adj.
With sense B. 1a compare Middle French laingue romance (14th cent. in an apparently isolated attestation in a text from Lorraine), French langue romance language supposed to have constituted an intermediate stage between Latin and the modern Romance languages (1671), langue romane Romance language (1765).
The Romance nouns were also borrowed into other Germanic languages, chiefly in technical uses denoting various kinds of literary works or musical pieces; compare Middle Dutch romanse poem in a vernacular Romance language (late 15th cent.; < Middle French or Old Occitan) and Dutch romance , †romanze (1782; < French, probably via German), German Romanze (late 17th cent. in sense ‘medieval narrative’, 1756 in sense ‘popular ballad’, second half of the 18th cent. in senses ‘simple sentimental song’ and ‘musical composition of a tender or lyrical character’ ( > romanze n.); < French), Old Danish romanz (Danish romance , †romans , (now rare) romanze ), Swedish romans (1674; also †romanz , (now rare) romance ).
The apparent instance of the word in the following quot., previously interpreted as illustrating sense A. 4b, is transcribed in a later edition of the same text ( Archæol. Jrnl. (1886) 43 167) as somannce , i.e. a variant of summons n.:In Middle English and Older Scots, unchanged plural forms are frequently attested, although it is possible that some of these instances may reflect use as a collective noun.
Metrical evidence suggests that the position of the main stress has been variable from an early date. For modern evidence of stress on the first syllable compare:
In British English pronunciations with stress on the first syllable occur mainly in the senses at branch A. I., especially A. 5, A. 6, and A. 7, but probably less commonly than pronunciations with stress on the second syllable.
A. n.
I. As a literary genre, and derived senses.
1. A medieval narrative (originally in verse, later also in prose) relating the legendary or extraordinary adventures of some hero of chivalry. Also in extended use, with reference to narratives about important religious figures.
Originally denoting a composition in the vernacular (French, etc.), as contrasted with works in Latin.
†a. Without article. Obsolete.
c1300—1587
b. As a count noun.
c1330—2003
2.
a. A Spanish historical ballad or short epic poem, typically composed in octosyllabic lines.
?1548—1998
b. Music. Any of various kinds of short vocal or instrumental piece, typically simple, informal, or lyrical in character. Cf. romanza n. 2.
1783—2005
3.
a. A fictitious narrative, usually in prose, in which the settings or the events depicted are remote from everyday life, or in which sensational or exciting events or adventures form the central theme; a book, etc., containing such a narrative. Now chiefly archaic and historical.
A gradual development from sense A. 1, from which it is not always easily distinguished; quot. 1589 may be transitional, in that it refers to contemporary writing but is self-consciously in the tradition of the medieval chivalric romance (for a use of the older sense in the same source see quot. 1589 at sense A. 1bβ. ). The choice of a legendary or historical setting remained typical well into the 19th cent. In romances of the 16th and 17th centuries the story was often overlaid with long disquisitions and digressions from the plot. As a description of a literary genre the sense has now been largely eclipsed by sense A. 7.
See also scientific romance n. (b) at scientific adj. and n. Compounds 2.
1589—2004
b. figurative and in extended use.
1650—1987
c. The genre of literature which consists of romances (senses A. 1, A. 3a); romances as a class. Also figurative.
1656—2003
4.
a. An extravagant fabrication; a wild falsehood, a fantasy.
1638—1991
b. As a mass noun: the action of concocting extravagant falsehoods; wild exaggeration, speculation, or fantasy.
1668—2003
5.
a. The character or quality that makes something appeal strongly to the imagination, and sets it apart from the mundane; an air, feeling, or sense of wonder, mystery, and remoteness from everyday life; redolence or suggestion of, or association with, adventure, heroism, chivalry, etc.; mystique, glamour. Cf. romantic adj. 4.
1745—2008
b. Ardour or warmth of feeling in a love affair; love, esp. of an idealized or sentimental kind.
1858—2001
6. A love affair; a romantic relationship.
1844—2008
7. A story of romantic love, esp. one which deals with love in a sentimental or idealized way; a book, film, etc., with a narrative or story of this kind. Also as mass noun: literature of this kind.
1901—2004
II. Senses relating to language. In later use with capital initial.
Thesaurus »
8. Originally: the vernacular language of medieval France, as opposed to Latin. In later use also: any of various related Romance languages (see sense B. 1a), such as Provençal (Occitan) and Spanish. Now esp.: the Romance languages collectively.
1348—2000(Show quotations)
†9. = Romansh n. Cf. Rhaeto-Romance n. Obsolete.
1821—1897
B. adj.1 (chiefly attributive).
1.
a. With capital initial. Designating any of the various Indo-European languages which descended from Latin; of or relating to such a language, or these languages collectively.
The Romance languages developed from Vulgar Latin after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The modern Romance languages include Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan.
In quot. 1421 romance book is used specifically to denote a book written in French.
1421—2008
†b. = Romansh adj. Obsolete.
1862—1862
2. Of, relating to, or of the nature of romance (sense A. 3c). Formerly also: †having the character or attributes associated with (esp. medieval and Renaissance) romances, as chivalry, heroism, etc. (obsolete).
1631—1994
Compounds
C1. (In senses of branch A. I.)
a. General attributive and appositive, as romance book, romance novel, etc.
1662—2009
b. Objective, as romance-maker, romance-writer, etc.; romance-reading, romance-writing, etc. Also romance-inspiring, romance-making, etc., adjs.
c1300—2007
c. Instrumental, as romance-filled, romance-hallowed, etc., adjs.
1846—2000
C2. In senses of branch A. II. (and corresponding senses of the adjective), as Romance-based, Romance-speaking adjs., etc.
Forms: 1600s romanticke, 1600s romantique, 1600s–1700s romantick, 1600s– romantic.
Frequency (in current use): Show frequency band information
Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by derivation. Or perhaps (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: English romant , romaunt n., -ic suffix; Latin romanticus.
Etymology: Either < romant, variant of romaunt n. + -ic suffix, or perhaps < post-classical Latin romanticus (of a poem) having the nature or qualities of a romance (1648 in an Italian source, or earlier; 15th cent. as romanticum (neuter noun) in sense ‘poem written in French having the nature or qualities of a romance’; apparently < Middle French romant + -icus -ic suffix).
Perhaps compare earlier French romanesque Romanesque adj. The semantic development of the word parallels that of romance n. Compare French romantique (1675 as adjective, 1801 as noun), which apparently shows a borrowing < English, and compare also Spanish romántico (1824 as adjective, 1854 or earlier as noun), Portuguese romántico (1858 as adjective; also as noun), Italian romantico (1814 as adjective, 1816 (in sense ‘Romanticist’) as noun), Dutch romantisch (early 19th cent.), German romantisch (1695, earliest in a trilingual dictionary published in Geneva (glossing French romantique )), all apparently showing borrowing < either the English or the French word. With the use as noun in sense B. 3a compare German Romantiker (1802).
A. adj.
1.
a. Of a narrative, work of fiction, etc.: having the nature or qualities of a romance (romance n. 1, 3a) as regards form or content. Of an author: that writes romances; tending to write in the manner of a romance.
1650—1992
b. Of language, style, etc.: suitable for a romance; esp. overblown, euphuistic, flowery. Now rare.
1653—1917
2.
†a. That is told of in romances; fabled. Also: characteristic of or befitting a romance; of a kind that may be found in romances. Obsolete.
1653—1730
b. Of a statement, story, character, etc.: fictitious, invented; having no foundation in fact. Formerly also: †(of a thing) having no real existence, imaginary (obsolete). Now rare.
1654—1905
3.
a. Of an idea, plan, etc.: fantastic, extravagant, quixotic; going beyond what is customary or practical. Of a person, personality, etc.: given to or characterized by such ideas; responsive to the promptings of imagination or fancy regardless of practicality.
1659—2004
b. That gives free rein to the imagination; indulging in fancy or fantasy; fanciful; sentimental; idealistic.
1755—2007
4. Characterized or marked by, or invested with, a sense of romance (romance n. 5a); arising from, suggestive of, or appealing to, an idealized, fantastic, or sentimental view of life or reality; atmospheric, evocative, glamorous.
1666—2007
5.
a. Of love or friendship: of an idealized kind (originally spec. such as might be felt or demonstrated by the heroes of romance), esp. in being chivalrous, devoted, or selfless. Of a person: displaying such love or friendship. Later more generally: of or relating to (esp. idealized or sentimental) love. Cf. romance n. 5b.
In later use esp. with reference to the emotional element of a relationship, in contrast to its physical or sexual aspects.
1732—2005
b. Of an occasion, activity, gesture, etc.: involving or characteristic of romance (romance n. 5b); conducive to feelings of romance.
1845—2006
c. Of a person. Chiefly predicative.
(a) Demonstrating feelings of love and tenderness; given to (impulsive) acts of romanticism and affection; amorous, loving, affectionate.
1866—2009
(b) Desirous of or wanting love and romance. Later also: in the mood for sexual intercourse; sexually aroused; ‘turned on’. Chiefly in to feel (also get) romantic.
1885—2008
d. Of a story, novel, film, etc.: having love or a love affair as its subject. Of a character, actor, etc.: featuring or starring in such a story, film, etc.; specializing or suited for such roles. Cf. romance n. 7.
1907—2005
6. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a style of dramatic production (now chiefly ballet) which makes use of legendary, exotic, or imaginary settings, typically to explore the conflict between man and nature or the supernatural. Now chiefly historical.
Originally perhaps simply a contextual use of sense A. 1a; early examples may suggest no more than that the production in question is considered to share some of the attractive features (setting, excitement, etc.) of contemporary romances. With reference to ballet a narrower definition has been widely used, as applicable to works and styles prevalent during the second quarter of the 19th cent., in which the emphasis was predominantly on mood or atmosphere, and ballet technique was expanded, especially for female dancers.
In later use often indistinguishable from sense A. 7.
1798—2009
7. Frequently as Romantic. Designating, relating to, or characteristic of a movement or style during the late 18th and 19th centuries in Europe marked by an emphasis on feeling, individuality, and passion rather than classical form and order, and typically preferring grandeur, picturesqueness, or naturalness to finish and proportion. Generally opposed to classical (see classical adj. 7). See also neo-romantic adj., New Romantic adj., pre-Romantic adj., etc.
a. With reference to literature, art, etc.
Originally applied to poetry (cf. sense A. 1a), following the use in an equivalent sense of German romantisch by Friedrich Schlegel (see quot. 1798) and others. Romantic is occasionally found contrasted with classical in earlier sources, but without the specific connotations of this sense. For a fuller discussion see H. Eichner ‘Romantic’ & its Cognates (1972).
1812—2008
b. With reference to music.
Used esp. with reference to music composed in the second half of the 19th cent.
1836—2007
B. n.
†1. A writer of romances. Obsolete. rare.
1664—1664
2. A romantic feature, characteristic, etc.; (chiefly in plural) romantic behaviour or manner. Now rare.
1678—1952
3. Frequently as Romantic.
a. An adherent or practitioner of Romanticism in literature, art, etc.; a Romanticist. Cf. New Romantic n.
1827—2001
b. A composer of Romantic music.
1892—1992
4. A romantic, sentimental, or idealistic person.
1829—2003
Compounds
C1.
a. Complementary, as romantic-looking, romantic-seeming, etc., adjs.
1789—1995
b. Parasynthetic, as romantic-scened, romantic-themed adjs.
1828—1994
C2.
romantic comedy n. (originally) a comedy having qualities associated with a literary romance (cf. sense A. 1a); (subsequently also) a film or other work with a light, comedic tone and a plot centring on a romantic relationship (often viewed in a sentimental or idealized way); this style or genre; cf. romcom n.
1748—2008
Romantic irony n. (also with lower-case initial in the first element) Literary Criticism an attitude of detached scepticism adopted by an author towards his or her work, typically manifesting in literary self-consciousness and self-reflection.
[After German romantische Ironie (early 19th cent. or earlier). This conception of irony originated with the German Romantic writer and critic Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829).]
1853—2010
Romantic Revival n. the resurgence of interest in the literature of earlier periods during the late 18th and early 19th centuries which gave rise to the Romantic movement.
1862—2004
Literature, Nation, Language
On Friday, January 12, 2024, in class (via Zoom) we had some discussions about literature, nations, and languages. Here are the notes we took:
Peru is one of the few countries where neither Coca Cola nor Pepsi is the best-selling soft drink. (Cuba and North Korea are others; more surprisingly, so is Scotland.) Peru’s favorite fizzy beverage is Inca Kola: sickly sweet, flavored with lemon verbena, and almost fluorescent yellow, it was invented by an immigrant Englishman in Lima in the 1930s. It is neither Inca nor Kola: its nods to South American Indigenous heritage go no further than a motif on its packaging; if you drank it expecting a cola taste, you would be disappointed. Its fierce rivalry with Coke in Peru ended when, in 1999, the Atlanta-based Coca Cola Co. bought the brand (and one fifth of the company that makes it), ensuring that the multinational behemoth cornered the market by one means or another. But this was equally Coke’s defeat. Inca Kola continues to be el sabor del Perú.
Ella Fitzgerald - A Fine Romance (The Jerome Kern Songbook):
Chumbawamba - Give the anarchist a cigarette:
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall (Original Video):
Introductory Questions
In your blog posts, lots of you have said that you are “not readers.” But I’m not sure I believe you. We are all endlessly reading, if not always necessarily from books. Many of you have also told us that you are taking this course as a requirement. So let’s think about what kinds of readers you are, and what might be at issue with requirements…
- Where do you read? On a couch, in bed, on the bus…?
- What do you read? Newspapers, comics, novels, tweets, FaceBook updates…?
- When do you read? Mornings, evenings, when you have time, when you make time…?
- Why do you read? To escape, to connect, to find our more, out of boredom, because you feel you should?
- What is the role of the body in reading?
- Is reading “literature” different? Why? Why not? What is literature anyway?
- Why do you think this university (like many others) has a “literature requirement”? Why should literature be required? What does it offer?
- What does literature require of us? What do we require of literature?
- Is reading translated texts different? Why? Why not?
- What is a novel? What is fiction?
- This course is not about “Romance” in the sense of love or affection. But what if it were? What is a “Romance”?
- Do you speak (or understand) a Romance language? What similarities or differences have you noticed between Romance and non-Romance languages or between Romance languages themselves?
The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
What are small things in life you find to be beautiful? I
If you found out that half the world also found your favourite book to be their favourite, would you change your favourite book? why or why not?
What book are you the most excited for and why? Or if you aren’t excited about any of them, which one were you the most set on avoiding and what was the reason?
What were your ideas of Romance Studies before starting this course? What did you think it studied?
How is the future of the subject going to develop and will it be more or less relevant to the world we live in now?
How does understanding and recontextualising the works of the “romance world” colour our worldview?
Are all categories and our attempts to divide expression, specifically within this instance literary expression, inherently arbitrary? How can we effectively divide context from the unnecessary stratification of our world?
Do you feel that the freedom we have in this course is helpful for your learning or do you prefer to have more structure?
From a stance purely about the texts themselves and the stories they tell, are we not risking losing meaning through translation?
How would you describe the Romance World?
What makes something influential? What has made the works we are reading influential to us now?
As we continue to translate texts and make and change their meanings, is it possible or likely we will revert a text’s meaning back to their original one? Could this have happened already?
Do you think analyzing the authorship and agenda of our course readings, asking who wrote it for what purpose, would help us better understand what Romance studies is? Or would it rather mislead us to an understanding that is confined to specific areas, which goes against the limitless nature of the Romance world?
Which Romance Language would you think is most likely to become a dead language and why?
How does the climate and environment shape the characters and what does that have to say about what we have learned in Romance Studies?
Are there any other disciplines similar to Romance Studies that are not bound to a specific field?
How can Romance Studies help us to explore and understand intercultural and intracultural relationships?
Did you associate it primarily with romantic relationships or did you have a broader understanding of the term “romance” in an academic context?
