OVERVIEW

Italian theater literature juxtaposes the study of theatrical texts with the broader study of the relationships between text and theater. The discipline uses a philological and literary-historical methodology together, applying it to the writings that prepare, preserve or replace the spectacular event. Its main object of study are therefore the literary texts that, in gradually different ways, have accompanied the history of Italian performance from the 15th century to the present.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The discipline's aim is to introduce students to the specificity of the dramatic text in the context of Italian literary and spectacular production; to introduce students to the history of the dramatic text in Italy from the 15th to the 20th century through examples and texts, including the theme of the theatrical book: being able to analyze a text and a theatrical book in all of its structural components and to recognize theatrical elements. It is thus a teaching that engages with Italian literature, theater history and dramaturgy, as well as the history of theater language, in order to highlight a specific tradition of poets, authors, and theatrical writing practices.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Participation in the activities and / or individual study will allow the student to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the forms of the theatrical text from the 15th century to the present day (in particular, authors and texts in the syllabus);
• employ basic elements of theatrical philology and drama vocabulary;
• understand the texts in the syllabus and recognise and place unfamiliar theatrical texts in historical context;
• analyse a theatrical text highlighting its main features (genre, structure, themes, setting, relationships between characters, etc.);
• describe and interpret texts according to their dramatic function.

PREREQUISITES

Good command of Italian literature and History of the performing arts.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching involves lectures with the aid of multimedia tools and materials, as well as innovative educational IT systems, flipped classroom, and self-assessment. During the lectures, commented readings of theatrical texts and cultural insights aimed at contextualizing the examined works will be proposed. Students will also be invited (optionally) to divide into groups, conduct a research on texts related to the course theme independently, following the teacher's guidelines, write a paper and present it in class.

Due to its nature of active and participatory confrontation with theatrical texts, attendance of the course is highly recommended. It is also advisable to attend the first lecture, during which the syllabus of the course and exam methods will be presented. Non-attending students should make contact with the lecturer (giordano.rodda@unige.it).

Lectures will be held in person unless otherwise specified by the University.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

For all students:

1) The theatrical text: formal, linguistic and structural features; analysis of the dramatic text.

2) Paths of the tragic between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

The second part of the course is dedicated to Italian tragedy in a chronological arc spanning from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth, through four texts that allow the evolution of the genre to be followed in relation to its theoretical and scenic transformations. From the labyrinths with which Giovan Battista Andreini, the foremost playwright of seventeenth-century Italy, constructs the plot of the Centaura, a tragicomedy with an ill-fated ending that problematizes from its very title the question of genres in the Baroque, the course moves to the Aristodemo by Carlo de' Dottori, an exemplary case of a seventeenth-century tragedy of classical setting and extraordinary success, which pushes and transgresses the Aristotelian norm toward an irresolvable theological and political horizon. For the eighteenth century, the Merope by Scipione Maffei offers an indispensable turning point in the European debate on modern tragedy, leading to a path that closes ideally with the Mirra by Vittorio Alfieri, where the radicalization of tragic form reaches its furthest extreme in the representation of the unspeakable, anticipating the anxieties of modernity.

For 9 credits, in addition to 1) and 2):

3) Vitaliano Trevisan and the score of the Kammerspiel

The final part of the course is dedicated to Il delirio del particolare. Ein Kammerspiel by Vitaliano Trevisan, winner of the Premio Riccione per il Teatro 2017. Through this text, students will reflect on the forms of contemporary Italian theatre, its twentieth-century roots and its relationship with the European dramaturgical tradition, in particular with Beckett and Bernhard. Trevisan's drama offers an exemplary case of theatrical writing that is born from the page and returns to it, re-problematizing the fragile boundary between text and stage.

For non-attending students:

The examination for non-attending students requires additional texts with respect to that for attending students; students are therefore invited to contact the lecturer at giordano.rodda@unige.it.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simona Morando, La letteratura teatrale italiana. Il testo drammatico e la sua storia dal Medioevo al Novecento​, Milan, Carocci, 2023;; handouts on the dramatic text and its history by the teacher on Aulaweb.

Pocket editions of the drama texts in the program. A file with detailed bibliographical directions will be available on Aulaweb and hard-to-find texts will be uploaded.

Format of the analysis sheet developed and shared in class.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will begin in the week of 15 September 2026, according to the timetable.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam can be taken in one of two alternative formats, at the student's choice:

• Written and oral. In this case, the exam consists of two parts: a written test on the Manuale di letteratura teatrale by Prof. Morando (limited to the chapters specified by the instructor), and an oral test (coinciding with the final exam) on the topics covered in class. If the written test is passed, the manual will not be included in the oral exam; if the written test is failed, the manual will be included in the oral exam.

• Oral only. In this case, the oral exam will cover the entire syllabus (both the manual and the topics discussed in class), and no written test is required.

In both cases, students are required to submit an analysis sheet on one of the works studied in class. The sheet must be submitted to the instructor at least 10 days before the exam date and will be assessed separately. It may contribute between 0 and 2 additional points to the final grade. The optional paper, if positively evaluated, may further improve the final grade, according to the criteria explained by the instructor at the beginning of the course.

The grade communicated at the end of the exam may be declined; in case of refusal, the student must skip one exam session before retaking the exam. If the exam is not passed, the student may take the next available session. There is no limit to the number of attempts. Further details on the exam will be provided during the course.

To take the exam, students must register online at least five days before the exam date.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The optional written test (see the Exam Description section) consists of three open-ended questions on the Manuale di Letteratura teatrale, based on the chapters indicated by the instructor.

The mandatory oral exam is an interview on the topics covered in the syllabus, and aims to assess the student’s ability to:

• paraphrase and summarize a scene or part of a scene from a dramatic text, or a paratextual element;

• contextualize the works studied from a historical and cultural perspective and describe their metrical and stylistic features;

• draw connections and comparisons between the topics covered in the course;

• present ideas clearly and effectively using appropriate terminology;

• formulate a personal critical judgment on the topics discussed.

FURTHER INFORMATION

All students, attending and non-attending, are requested to register for the course on AulaWeb in order to receive communications and notices relating to the course.

Erasmus students or students whose native language is not Italian are invited to contact the lecturer to agree on the examination programme.

Students with disabilities or with a specific learning disorder (SLD) will find guidance on how to request services, compensatory tools or exemption measures, and specific aids in the document available at the following link: https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/modulistica