The course aims at a panoramic overwiev on the forms of 20th century Polish theatre and of Polish-Jewish and Yiddish theatre, born on these lands
The aim of this teaching is to make the student approach to the very rich and articulated literary heritage of Poland, from the 15th until the 19th century.
At the end of the course, the student should be able to find an orientation in the geographical and cultural space of Poland and to individuate some of its more important peculiarities on a European contest
Frontal lessons
We will start with Wesele, Weddings, by Stanisław Wyspiański (1901), true archetype of modern Polish drama. We will examine its intrinsic similarities with The Dybbuk by An-ski, the masterpiece of Yiddish theatre (1920). We will continue with the expressionist works of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz The Madman and the Nun (1925). We will read Operetta by Witold Gombrowicz and then face the work of two giants of 20th century theater of all time: Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999) and Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990).
The reading of the texts will be accompanied by watching movies and documentaries: The Wedding by Andrzej Wajda (1972); The dybbuk by Michal Waszynski (1937); The Laboratory-theatre of Jerzy Grotowski (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbThr-c4HCs); The Dead Class by Tadeusz Kantor by Andrzej Wajda (1976).
The module will include five meetings to be held between November 8th until December 6th at the Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore, via del Seminario 10.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Readings
Stanisław Wyspiański Wedding (excerpts)
An-ski's The Dybbuk,
and a choice between
or Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz The Madman and the Nun
or Witold Gombrowicz, Operetta.
Critical texts
Raffaele Esposito, The Birth of the Jewish theater, Academia University Press 2016, from p. 54 until p. 127.
Caesar Molinari, History of the Theatre, Bari, Laterza, up to p. 112.
Zbigniew Osiński, Tadeusz Kantor, Jerzy Grotowski and Stanisław Wyspiański, in Pensare per immagini. Stanisław Wyspiański drammaturgo e pittore, pp. 117-144.
Béatrice Picon-Vallin, The Structures of Kantor’s Human Comedy. Tadeusz Kantor and the Yiddish Theater, Mimesis Journal 5, 1 (2016), pp. 90-96.
Polish Literature and Culture 9 Credits
The above program (including movies and documentaries), which must be added the following two articles:
Andrea Ceccherelli, National Symbols and Critique of Culture in "the Wedding" by Wyspiański
and
Magdalena Popiel, Wyspiański and the Aesthetics of Polish Modernism, both in Pensare per immagini. Stanisław Wyspiański drammaturgo e pittore, pp. 27-45 and pp. 153-162.
In this second part of the program we will read and interpret fragments of The Wedding in Polish and there will be a comparison between the literary text and its filmic transposition (Wesele by Andrzej Wajda).
NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
The above program (including movies and documentaries) to which must be added the manual History of Polish literature edited by Luigi Marinelli, Einaudi, 2004, from the chapter The Young Poland to the end of the book.
Before accessing the exam, at least one week in advance, students must prepare a term paper (one or two pages, on one of the themes of the course), following the instructions in the file rules for theses and dissertations in the teacher’s page
October 18th, 2017
POLISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE III
The student will be asked to interpret and analyze on a European contest one or more of the texts and videos studied during the course.
The student will be asked to interpret and analyze on a European contest one or more of the texts studied during the course.
