Instructions:

Read the following introductory guide to the romance genre by Greg Kucich, who situates the popularity of the genre in the Romantic period. You may skip the section titled "The progress of romance" (from pp. 467-470).

My Suggestion to you: Take notes (as always). You don't have to memorize the authors and titles of romances produced during the Romantic period (roughly 1750 - 1850). Just get a general sense of what occurred.

Consider the following questions as you read the article:

What is the literary romance?
What are some of its major characteristics?
How and why is romance important to the Romantic era?
How did the romance form change during this time period?
What are some examples of Romantic romances?
According to Kucich, what are the "origins of romance"?
How is the literary romance related to our modern notions of "romance" and love?
Whose type of romances became an important model in the Romantic period?
What exactly motivated the "great boom" of Romantic-era romance?

Again, you may skip the section titled "The Progress of Romance" (from pp. 467-470).

ARTICLE: Romance in the Age of Romanticism: "Romance" by Greg Kucich