The Subject of Desire: Petrarchan Poetics and the Female Voice in Louise Labe (Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures)

"The Subject of Desire" traces Labé’s restructuring of the female subject and speaking voice through a detailed, integrated study of all four texts comprising the 1555 (Oeuvres. Through a series of dose readings, the book highlights Labé’s revision of Petrarchan poetics and her creation of an original voice in the evolution of the French Renaissance lyric. In detailing Labé's movement from acute interiority to active exteriority, "The Subject of Desire" reveals how Labé struggles to construct a new set of values concerning communication about love in both public and private discourse — values that her readers are called upon to consider as they face the complexities of their own personal experiences. The French Renaissance Poet Louise Labe Is One Of The Most Striking And Influential Women Writers Of Early Modern Europe. In Her Broad-ranging Volume Of Prose And Poetic Works (1555), Labe Transforms The Position Of Woman In Renaissance Discourse From An Object To A Subject Of Erotic And Artistic Desire And Privileges The Notion Of Desire Itself As A Central Issue For Literary And Psychic Exploration. Deborah Lesko Baker Presents The Dramatic Creation And Evolution Of Female Subjectivity In Labe As A Passionate Quest For Internal Selfhood Made Possible Through Both Authentic Self-expression And Interaction With Others. In So Doing She Analyzes How The Development Of The Female Subject Coincides With An Ongoing Interrogation Of The Inherited Models Of The Petrarchan Lyric Tradition. Foreword: A Space Of One's Own / Tom Conley -- Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Entering The Literary Stage: The Epistre To Mademoiselle Clemence De Bourges, Lyonnaise -- Ch. 3. From Polemics To Poetics: The Debat De Folie Et D'amour -- Ch. 4. Loss And Legitimation: Labe's Elegiac Voice -- Ch. 5. Transcending Petrarchan Poetics: Labe's Sonnets And The Rebirth Of The Lyric Speaker -- Ch. 6. Conclusion -- Appendix: English Translations. Deborah Lesko Baker. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Subject of Desire traces Labe’s restructuring of the female subject and speaking voice through a detailed, integrated study of all four texts comprising the 1555 (Euvres. Through a series of dose readings, the book highlights Labe’s revision of Petrarchan poetics and her creation of an original voice in the evolution of the French Renaissance lyric. In detailing Labe's movement from acute interiority to active exteriority, The Subject of Desire reveals how Labe struggles to construct a new set of values concerning communication about love in both public and private discourse--values that her readers are called upon to consider as they face the complexities of their own personal experiences.