31031 - English Literature 1 (P-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will be acquainted with the lineaments of English literary history, will be able to read, understand and translate texts from English into Italian, and will be also acquainted with some basic critical methods and tools, with the aim to enable them to interpret the works of major authors, in the context of early-modern culture and society.

Course contents

With the aim of connecting British historical events and literature from the XII to the early XVII century, some works (romances, poetry and plays) based upon three kings will be analyzed. We will start with King Arthur, whose historical reality has been questioned but has been nonetheless the hero of many European works for centuries. Richard III and King Lear are the heroes of the Shakesperean plays that will be subsequently analyzed. Issues like the changing of the imagery of sovereignty in literature and society will be investigated as well as the relationship between citizens and power.

Readings/Bibliography

A) Primary texts

Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur (selected passages)
William Shakespeare, Richard III
William Shakespeare, King Lear


B) Secondary sources

On King Arthur:

“King Arthur: Romancing Politics” in Norton Topics Online http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_2/welcome.htm

Edward Donald Kennedy, “Introduction”, in King Arthur. A Casebook, New York and London, Garland, 1996, pp. XIII-XXX (F)

Norris J. Lacy, edited by, The Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York and London, Garland, 1986 (“Arthur, character of”, pp. 19-20; “English Arthurian Literature”, pp. 152-156; “Gawain”, pp. 206-208; “Geoffrey of Monmouth”, pp. 209-214; “Guenevere”, pp. 262-263; “Lancelot”, pp. 323-325; “Sir Thomas Malory”, pp. 352-357; “Merlin”, pp. 382-385; “Morgan Le Fay”, p. 395) (F)

On Thomas Malory:

Eugene Vinaver, “Sir Thomas Malory”, in R.S. Loomis, edited by, Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1959, pp. 541-552 (F)

Eugene Vinaver, “Un nuovo orizzonte”, in Il tessuto del racconto, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988, pp. 171-189 (F)

On Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre:

John H. Astington, “Playhouses, players, and playgoers in Shakespeare's time”, in Margreta De Grazia and Stanley Wells, edited by, The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. 99-113 (F)

Giorgio Melchiori, “Shakespeare e il mestiere del teatro”, in Shakespeare, Bari, Laterza, 2005, pp. 3-25 (F)

E.M.W. Tillyard, “L'immagine del mondo degli elisabettiani”, in Claudia Corti, a cura di, Il Rinascimento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1994, pp. 59-68 (F)

On Richard III

Jan Kott, “I re”, in Shakespeare nostro contemporaneo, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1964, pp. 5-55 (F)

Michael Taylor, “Introduction”, in Richard III, London, Penguin, 2005, pp. xxi-lviii (F)

On King Lear

Piero Boitani, “Spie di Dio”, in Il Vangelo secondo Shakespeare, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009, pp. 41-58 (F)

Northrop Frye, “Re Lear”, in Shakespeare (1986), Torino, Einaudi, 1990, pp. 109-130 (F)

Stephen Greenblatt, “King Lear”, from The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 2307-2314 (F)

Jan Kott, “Re Lear, ovvero Finale di Partita” (1961), in Shakespeare nostro contemporaneo, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1964, pp. 92-128 (F)

Assessment methods

Office hours

See the website of Gino Scatasta