28880 - Italian Literature of Renaissance (LM)

Academic Year 2019/2020

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Italian Studies, European Literary Cultures, Linguistics (cod. 9220)

Learning outcomes

Prerequisite: knowledge of Italian and Italian literary language (if you don’t understand or if you have problems to understand the italian version of this program you shouldn’t attend this course). At the end of this class, students are expected to achieve a wide knowledge of Italian Renaissance literature, with a main focus on aspects and problems which usually are not explained in school text-books. They also are expected to be able to give lessons about Italian Renaissance literature with a technical, philological and, when it is possible, interdisciplinary attitude (e.g. connecting Literature and History of Art).

Course contents

Reading sixteenth-century lyric poetry: different kinds of "Petrarchismo"

The course is dedicated to the genesis and development of that Sixteenth Century phenomenon which goes by the name of Petrarchism and which modern studies have taught to read as a multiform and polycentric system of Petrarchisms: a system, indeed, which reveals itself to be different each time depending on the historical and geographical context. We will dwell at length on the theory and practice of the founder, Pietro Bembo, and then go on to study some of the most distinguished results that his proposals found: the main stages of this critical itinerary will be dedicated to Bernardo Tasso, to Ludovico Ariosto, to female Petrarchism, to Giovanni Della Casa, to Michelangelo, to Petrarchism in southern Italy, etc. Ample space will be reserved, in the second half of the course, to the Lyric of Torquato Tasso, who finds himself in the curious position of being the greatest lyric of the Century, even considering the Lyric a subaltern genre with respect to Epic and Tragedy , in light of its Aristotelian aesthetic. This type of setting will oblige us, necessarily, to anthological readings. The exception will be constituted, in the last part of the course, by the full study of Tasso’s 42 “rime eteree” (1567).

Lectures will be held on III-IV periods (2nd. term). Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 13-15 (Aula 1, via Zamboni 32).

Office hours: Tuesday 12-13 and by appointment. During the lessons period (February-April 2018) I will receipt on Tuesday, 15-16.

Readings/Bibliography

1) Monographic section: texts

Attending students will find all texts available on "Biblioteca italiana" (http://www.bibliotecaitaliana.it/), but without comment. The lessons will provide the necessary indications for the interpretation of the texts. The texts to be studied will be indicated on IOL.

Non-attendig students have to study: Il Cinquecento - Antologia della poesia italiana diretta da C. Segre e C. Ossola, Torino, Einaudi, 2001 (first edition in Antologia della poesia italiana diretta da C. Segre e C. Ossola, Torino, Einaudi-Gallimard, 1997, II volume) and T. Tasso, Rime eteree a cura di R. Pestarino, Fondazione Pietro Bembo-Guanda, Milano-Parma, 2013 (to page 315). Lirici del Cinquecento a cura di L. Baldacci (II ed., Milano, Longanesi, 1975) or Poesia italiana del Cinquecento, a cura di G. Ferroni (Milano, Garzanti, 1978) can be studied instead of the anthology by Segre and Ossola, but in this two classical anthologies Tasso’s Lyric has no space.

The following warning is valid both for attending students and non-attending students. The study of the texts in question presupposes the knowledge of some basic notions of metrics. Those who feel they have gaps are required to fill them autonomously using a metric manual. In particular, it is recommended that of Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, Bologna, il Mulino, 1996.

 

2) Monographic section: studies

Mandatory reading:

- G. Masi, La lirica e i trattati d’amore, in Storia della letteratura italiana diretta da E. Malato, IV (Il primo Cinquecento), Roma, Salerno Ed., 2005, pp. 595-675.

Attending and non-attending students have to choose two studies among:

- R. Fedi, Canzonieri e lirici nel Cinquecento, in Id., La memoria della poesia. Canzonieri, lirici e libri di rime nel Rinascimento, Roma, Salerno Ed., 1990, pp. 23-80.

- A. Quondam, Sul petrarchismo, in Il Petrarchismo. Un modello di poesia per l’Europa, vol. I, a cura di L. Chines, Bulzoni, Roma, Bulzoni, 2006, pp. 26-92.

- G. Forni, Rassegna di studi sulla lirica del Cinquecento (1989-1999). Dal Bembo al Casa, in «Lettere italiane», LII, 1, 2000, pp. 100-140.

- G. Forni, Rassegna di studi sulla lirica del Cinquecento (1989-2000). Dal Tansillo al Tasso, in «Lettere italiane», LIII, 3, 2001, pp. 422-461.

- C. Dionisotti, Introduzione a P. Bembo, Prose e rime, Torino, Utet, pp. 9-56, riedito in C. Dionisotti, Scritti sul Bembo, a cura di C. Vela, Torino, Einaudi, 2002, pp. 23-65.

- E. Raimondi, Bernardino Daniello, lettore di poesia, in Id., Rinascimento inquieto, Torino, Einaudi (II ed.), 1994, pp. 19-56.

- G. Sangirardi, Le «Rime»: diario pubblico e lirica di società, in Id., Ludovico Ariosto, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2006, p. 56-67.

- G. Rabitti, La letteratura femminile e l’Europa, in Storia della letteratura italiana diretta da E. Malato, XII (La letteratura italiana fuori d’Italia), Roma, Salerno Ed., 2002, pp. 399-433.

- P. Vecchi Galli, Donna e poeta. Metamorfosi cinquecentesche, in Il Petrarchismo. Un modello di poesia per l’Europa, vol. I, a cura di L. Chines, Bulzoni, Roma, Bulzoni, 2006, pp. 189-216.

- P. Zaja, Introduzione, in M. Buonarroti, Rime, a cura di P. Zaja, Milano, Bur-Rizzoli, 2010, pp. 5-26.

- F. Tomasi, Le ragioni del «moderno» nella lirica del XVI secolo tra teoria e prassi, in Id., Studi sulla lirica rinascimentale, Roma-Padova, Antenore, 2012, pp. 3-24.

- G. Tanturli, Le ragioni del libro. Le rime di Giovanni Della Casa, in «Studi di filologia italiana», XLVIII, 1990, pp. 15-41.

- S. Carrai, «Rime» di Giovanni della Casa, in Letteratura italiana diretta da A. Asor Rosa, Le opere, vol. II Dal Cinquecento all’Ottocento, Torino, Einaudi, 1993, pp. 433-452.

- E. Raimondi, Il petrarchismo nell’Italia meridionale, in Id., Rinascimento inquieto, Torino, Einaudi (II ed.), 1994, pp. 267-306.

- E. Raimondi, Poesia della retorica, in Id., Poesia come retorica, Firenze, Olschki, 1980, pp. 25-70.

- G. Ferroni, L’esercizio della lirica fra Bernardo e Torquato Tasso, in «L’Ellisse», VIII/2, 2013, pp. 10-24.

- C. Gigante, Tasso, Roma, Salerno Ed., 2007, pp. 309-333 (cap. XI Un lungo itinerario critico: le «Rime»).

- F. Tomasi, Lettura di «Arsi gran tempo e del mio foco indegno», in «Italique», XV, 2012, pp. 47-72.

- S. Zatti, La nascita di un'autobiografia poetica: la canzone «Al Metauro» di Torquato Tasso, in La Renaissance des genres. Pratique et théories des genre littérarires entre Italie et Espagne (XV-XVII siècles), a cura di P. Bravo, C. Iglesias, G. Sangirardi, Dijon, Editions Universitaires de Dijon, 2012, pp. 209-221.

- M. Residori, Teoria e prassi dell'encomio nel Tasso lirico, in Forme e occasioni dell'encomio tra Cinqie e Seicento, a cura di D. Boillet e L. Grassi, Lucca, Maria Pacini Fazzi, 2011, p. 19-49.

 

3) General section

Students, feeling free to choose, have two ways to study the literary history of XV and XVI centuries:

A) R. Bruscagli, Il Quattrocento e il Cinquecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2005.

B) Through a good school anthology. In this case students are required to produce a written list of all their readings detailing which cantos, poems, or prose texts they have selected. This list should include passages from the following works: Leon Battista Alberti, from Libri della famiglia; Luigi Pulci, from Morgante; Lorenzo dei Medici, from Nencia da Barberino, Canzoniere (if possible also from Comento de' miei sonetti), Canzona di Bacco e Arianna; Angelo Poliziano, from Stanze, Orfeo, Rime; Matteo Maria Boiardo, from Amorum libri and Inamoramento de Orlando (Orlando innamorato); Masuccio Salernitano, from Novellino; Iacopo Sannazzaro, from Arcadia; Niccolò Machiavelli, from Principe (with passages from the missive to Francesco Vettori, 10 December 1513), Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, and from Mandragola; Ludovico Ariosto, from Orlando furioso, Satire and a comedy; Pietro Bembo, from Prose della volgar lingua; Baldesar Castiglione, from Il Cortegiano; Francesco Guicciardini, from Ricordi and Storia d'Italia; Francesco Berni, from Rime; Ruzante from a dramatic text; Pietro Aretino, from Sei giornate (Ragionamenti) or from a comedy or from a tragedy; Teofilo Folengo, from Baldus or from an other text “in lingua macaronica”; Matteo Bandello, from Novelle; Benvenuto Cellini, from Vita; Giovanni della Casa from Galateo; Torquato Tasso, from Gerusalemme liberata and Aminta; Battista Guarini, from Pastor fido (and, if possible, from Rime).

Teaching methods

30 (two hours) traditional lessons.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of an oral appointment. Attending students will be invited to reflect on some aspects analyzed during the course and will be encouraged to interact with the knowledge acquired in class with the entrusted program for individual study (critical reading, institutional part). Non-attending students, however, will be examinated only on the texts, the manuals and the chosen essays. A positive or excellent score (27 to 30/30, with possible distinction) corresponds to a full mastering of technical, theoretical, historical and terminological resources of XV and XVI-Centuries Literature, and to a proved ability to make connections among single aspects of the course contents, and to show awareness of textual features with appropriate language; an average score (23 to 26/30) goes to students who reveal some lacks in one or more topics or analytical proofs, or are able to use just mechanically their ability in interpretation; a pass or low score (18 to 22/30) to students with severe lacks in one or more topics or exercises, or not enough accurate while they use or quote notions and samples. A negative score is to be assigned to students who are not able to recall general notions in a sample of text and/or in general.

Students should sign up at the AlmaEsami web site (https://almaesami.unibo.it). The registration ends two days before the oral examination.

Teaching tools

Websites; interactive whiteboard.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Ferretti

SDGs

Good health and well-being Quality education Gender equality Life on land

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.