OVERVIEW

The course is one of the core activities of the Arts course - Modern curriculum, and is composed of 60 hours of lectures (equivalent to 9 credits). It enables students to study the major authors and works as well as the most relevant poetics and cultural movements in the history of Italian literature from the 18th century onwards with a historical-critical method

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The general objective is to reinforce the core grounding of students and their ability to write correctly; other objectives are to learn the historiographical outlines of Italian literature; to gain knowledge of philological-textual elements that are introductory to the study of texts; to understand and analyse-comment literary texts with particular reference to genres

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is to impart knowledge, competencies and skills vis-à-vis the study of Italian drama literature for both research development and training for school teaching. In particular, at the end of the course the student will be able to:

- demonstrate thorough knowledge of the historical development of Italian literature from the 18th century onwards, and show they have read and understood works and texts from major authors from the 18th century onwards.

- acquire skills for critical analysis, interpretation and contextualisation of literary texts on the basis of what was learned during the course.

- know how to clearly explain contents learned and textual analyses with appropriate critical language.

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge (upper high school level) of the history of Italian literature.

Literary text reading and paraphrasing skills as well as textual analysis skills.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures using multimedia tools and materials (students are urged to come to lectures with the texts indicated each time by the lecturer). During lectures students are encouraged to participate actively with questions and comments. The course gives students access to various teaching tools in a dedicated section of the e-learning portal AulaWeb (summaries of lectures, texts, additional material or study notes). A brief seminar will be held on contemporary poetry and a maximum of 15 students can volunteer to participate.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

General part:

The general part of the course refers to the history of Italian literature as well as the texts necessary to be a teacher of humanistic and literary disciplines according to Italian literature ministerial programmes.

The general part will be tackled in lectures with interpretive and summary outlines and will be further analysed by students.

For the general part a good knowledge of Italian literature from the 18th century onwards is required (an unabridged reading of a good secondary school textbook is sufficient) and 15 cantos from Purgatorio (among which I, II, III, V, VI, XI, XIX, XX, XXVI, XXVIII) as well as 15 cantos from Paradiso (among which I, III, VI, XI, XII, XV, XVI, XVII, XXVII, XXXIII) must be read.

In particular, it is necessary to thoroughly study the following historical-critical topics:

The new historiography, Arcadia, Illuminism, 18th century theatre, Neoclassicism, Early Romanticism, the historical novel, Scapigliatura, 19th century poetry, Verism, Decadentism and Symbolism, the Crepusculars, Futurists, the main first 20th century reviews.

Particular attention will be given to the following authors and students must be familiar with their biographical-literary profile and have read a suitable anthology of texts (see also reading list):  Giambattista Vico, Pietro Metastasio, Pietro Verri, Carlo Goldoni, Carlo Gozzi, Vittorio Alfieri, Giuseppe Parini, Vincenzo Monti, Ugo Foscolo, Alessandro Manzoni, Giacomo Leopardi, Ippolito Nievo, Giosuè Carducci, Edmondo De Amicis, Giovanni Verga, Giovanni Pascoli, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italo Svevo, Luigi Pirandello, Benedetto Croce, Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, Dino Campana, Clemente Rebora, Camillo Sbarbaro.

- Vico: 1 brano a scelta dalla Scienza nuova

- Metastasio: 1 brano a scelta dall’Olimpiade

- Pietro Verri: programma de Il Caffè

- Goldoni: lettura integrale di una commedia (Locandiera o Rusteghi)

- C. Gozzi: 1 brano a scelta dalle Fiabe teatrali

- Alfieri: il sonetto autoritratto,  Vita (integrale) e una tragedia  (Saul o Mirra)

- Parini: 3 brani da Il Giorno e 1 ode a scelta

- Monti:  1 brano della versione dall’Iliade

- Foscolo: i Sonetti maggiori e i Sepolcri, Il velo delle Grazie; Ortis integrale

- Manzoni: 1 inno sacro, 1 ode civile, antologia delle tragedie, I promessi sposi integrale

- Leopardi: Operette morali (integrali), brani dello Zibaldone; Canti integrali

- Belli: 5 poesie

- Nievo: 2 brani dalle Confessioni

- Carducci: antologia di 5 poesie

- De Amicis: 1 brano a scelta

- Verga: 1 novella da Vita dei campi, 1 da Novelle rusticane; 1 brano a scelta dal Mastro don Gesualdo;  Malavoglia  integrale

- Pascoli: antologia di 15 poesie  da Myricae e Canti di Castelvecchio

- D'Annunzio: Il  Piacere (integrale), antologia dal Notturno e 5 poesie da Alcyone

- Svevo: antologia di brani da Una vita, Senilità e  La coscienza di Zeno integrale

- Pirandello: antologia di brani da Novelle per un anno, da Uno nessuno centomila e da L'umorismo

- Croce 1 brano a scelta

Il fu Mattia Pascal integrale

- Gozzano: 3 poesie a scelta

- Aldo Palazzeschi: 3 poesie a scelta

- Dino Campana: 2 poesie dai Canti orfici

- Clemente Rebora  2 poesie a scelta

- Camillo Sbarbaro: 2 poesie a scelta da Pianissimo

Monographic part:

Writers and new times (1827-1842)

Fifteen years of writing in a new relationship between literature and new times, at the origin of our society: our major authors (Manzoni and Leopardi) are compared and others (Leopardi father, Belli, Giordani, Romani, d'Azeglio, Mazzini) with different values and ideas, new ways of communication and new forms of expression, often hybrid (novel-story; satirical poetry, melodrama). Memories and epistolary documents and the role of women are also important (Maria Mazzini, Cristina di Belgioioso, Amelia Nizzoli, Paolina Leopardi).

Reading and commenting by:

Lettura e commento di:   

Manzoni, Promessi sposi (capp. XXXI-XXXVI)

Manzoni, Storia della colonna infame (Introduzione)

Manzoni, Natale 1833

Leopardi, Operette morali (Porfirio e Plotino; Venditore d’almanacchi e Passeggere; Tristano e un amico)

Leopardi, Canti (i Grandi idilli – Ciclo d’Aspasia -  Le poesie napoletane)

Leopardi, Paralipomeni della Batracomiomachia (canto VIII)

Monaldo Leopardi, Dialoghetti

Belli, Sonetti (scelta)

Romani, Norma (musica di Bellini)

Memorie, Carteggi e lettere (Casa Leopardi e Manzoni, Pietro Giordani, Massimo d’Azeglio, Maria e Giuseppe Mazzini, Cristina di Belgioioso, Amelia Nizzoli)

Exercise

At your choice
1) Reading and reviewing a critical essay in the bibliography "to learn more"
2) Comment on a letter of author from the period 1827-42 to be agreed with the teacher
3) Reading and reviewing a book of poetry published in 2019/20 (see list in September)
4) Bibliographic exercise to be agreed with the teacher
5) Participation in the seminar on poets in 2020 (Maximum 10 participants in the classroom or online)

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

TThe study of the general part can be conducted on an updated manual of history and literary anthology for high schools (preferably G. Ferroni, Storia e testi della letteratura italiana, Milano, Mondadori Università (vol. VI-VII-VIII and IX, up to Svevo including, with the addition of Campana, Rebora, Sbarbaro from the following chapter The new poetry).The Divina Commedia can be studied using an up-to-date school edition (this edition is recommended: Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia. Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, edited by A.M. Chiavacci Leonardi, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2006; edited by U. Bosco and G. Reggio, Firenze, Le Monnier, 1993; edited by G. Inglese, Roma, Carocci, 2016).

For the monographic part:

Giacomo Leopardi, Tutte le poesie e tutte le prose, a cura di Lucio Felici ed Emanuele Trevi, Roma, Newton Compton

Giuseppe Giachino Belli, Sonetti (disponibili online)

Monaldo Leopardi, Dialoghetti (disponibili online)

Felice Romani, Norma per la musica di Vincenzo Bellini (disponibile online)

Memorie e Lettere di Casa Leopardi, Manzoni, Mazzini, Giordani, d’Azeglio, Belgioioso, Nizzoli (online)

To learn more about the topic

Stendhal, Il rosso e il nero. Cronaca del 1830 (qualsiasi edizione)

Giacomo e Paolina Leopardi, Il mondo non è bello se non veduto da lontano. Lettere (1812-1835), a cura di Laura Barile e Antonio Prete, Milano, Nottetempo

Benedetto Croce, Storia d’Europa nel secolo XIX, Milano, Adelphi

Donald Sassoon, La cultura degli Europei. Dall’800 a oggi, Milano, BUR, 2007

Mario Isnenghi, Storia d'Italia. I fatti e le percezioni dal Risorgimento alla società dello spettacolo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2011 (anche ebook).

Giulio Bollati, L'invenzione dell'Italia moderna. Leopardi, Manzoni e altre imprese ideali prima dell'Unità , Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2014 (anche ebook)

Paolo D’Angelo, Le nevrosi di Manzoni – Quando la storia uccise la poesia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013

Salvatore Natoli, L’animo degli offesi e il contagio del male, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2018

Gilberto Lonardi, Il mappamondo di Giacomo, Venezia, Marsilio, 2019

Antonio Prete, La poesia del vivente. Leopardi con noi, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2019 (anche ebook)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

STEFANO FERNANDO VERDINO (President)

ANDREA FERRANDO

GIORDANO RODDA (Substitute)

LESSONS

Class schedule

ITALIAN LITERATURE II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral and is composed of two parts: a textual analysis and interview both for the general part and the monographic part.

At the interview, the student will also present a short written essay: either a bibliographic exercise or a summary of a critical essay or a comment on a text (3000 characters) or a review of a recent book of poetry (3000 characters); more information in the classroom and on the web classroom. Those who attended the seminar on the new poetry are exempt.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For the textual analysis, students will be evaluated in relation to the following: text exegesis skills, ability to illustrate metric-stylistic characteristics, contextualise from a historical-cultural point of view, as well as interpret with a critical method and specialised language.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who cannot attend the course are advised to register for the course on AulaWeb