09435 - Literary Theory

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students have a basic knowledge of some general concepts of literature, of literary institutions, of relationships between text and contest and of the dynamic of literary communication. They know and can apply some basic methodologies to analyse literary texts.

Course contents

Introduction to text analysis: The adventures of the literary character

The course of Theory of literature for undergraduates aims to: 1) Outline a new approach to literary experience, conceiving theory not as a self-referential system but as a point of view, an optical device to sharpen textual comprehension; 2) Provide methods for text analysis and interpretation, against trivial critical trends where the text is only a pre-text to study something else (the author, the themes, the ideology, the historical context, etc.). On the one hand, the theoretical approach is a way to research, explore and pose questions. On the other hand, the text is a workshop where we can develop and test the tools to really understand what we call literature. In this framework, the main topic will be the historical evolution of the novel from Seventeenth to Twentieth Century, with a focus on the theoretical notion of the literary character.

Period: Second semester (February-May 2024)

Timetable of lessons, classrooms etc: See teacher website.

Readings/Bibliography

I. Novels

• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719), Garzanti
• Honoré de Balzac, Papà Goriot (1835), Garzanti
• Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857), Garzanti
• Robert Louis Stevenson, Il Master di Ballantrae (1889), Garzanti
• Virginia Woolf, La signora Dalloway (1925), Feltrinelli
• Vladimir Nabokov, La vera vita di Sebastian Knight (1941), Adelphi
• Italo Calvino, Il cavaliere inesistente (1959), Mondadori

II. Critical Texts

Students will study all texts in Group A and choose one text in Group B. When possible, pdf versions will be uploaded on "Virtuale".

Group A

• Federico Bertoni, Letteratura. Teorie, metodi, strumenti, Carocci
• Arrigo Stara, L’avventura del personaggio, Le Monnier

Group B

• Andrea Bernardelli, Remo Ceserani, Il mondo raccontato e il mondo del racconto, third chapter of Andrea Bernardelli, Remo Ceserani, Il testo narrativo, il Mulino, pp. 105-66.
• Roland Bourneuf, Réal Ouellet, I personaggi, fifth chapter of Roland Bourneuf, Réal Ouellet, L’universo del romanzo, Einaudi, pp. 143-198
• Seymour Chatman, Storia: Gli esistenti, third chapter of Seymour Chatman, Storia e discorso. La struttura narrativa nel romanzo e nel film, Pratiche, pp. 99-151
• Edward Morgan Forster, Persone (2 chapters), third and fourth chapter of Edward Morgan Forster, Aspetti del romanzo, Garzanti
• Fotis Jannidis, Character, in The Living Handbook of Narratology (https://www-archiv.fdm.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/node/41.html )
• Uri Margolin, Character, in David Hermann (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Narrative, Cambridge University Press, pp. 66-79
• Enrico Testa, Eroi e figuranti. Il personaggio nel romanzo, Einaudi

Supplementary Texts

Some non-compulsory texts are listed here as a useful supplement for reading and understaning novels:

• Honoré de Balzac, Prefazione della prima edizione del «Père Goriot» and Prefazione aggiunta alla seconda edizione del «Père Goriot», in Honoré de Balzac, Poetica del romanzo, edited by Mariolina Bongiovanni Bertini, Sansoni, pp. 81-94
• Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary. Lettere notturne a Louise Colet, in Gustave Flaubert, L’opera e il suo doppio. Dalle lettere, edited by Franco Rella, Fazi, pp. 111-211
• Robert Louis Stevenson, A proposito del «romance» e Un’umile rimostranza, in Robert Louis Stevenson, L’isola del romanzo, edited by Guido Almansi, Sellerio, pp. 25-54
• Virginia Woolf, Bennett e la signora Brown, in Virginia Woolf, Voltando pagina. Saggi 1904-1941, edited by Liliana Rampello, il Saggiatore, pp. 121-35
• Vladimir Nabokov, Interviste 1 e 2 contenute in Vladimir Nabokov, Intransigenze, Adelphi, pp. 19-24 e 25-36
• Italo Calvino, Postfazione ai «Nostri antenati» and Introduzione inedita 1960 ai «Nostri antenati», in Italo Calvino, Romanzi e racconti, vol. I, edited by M. Barenghi and B. Falcetto, «Meridiani» Mondadori, pp. 1208-1224

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral test (20-30 minutes) that will assess the knowledge of the texts and the student’s critical and interpretative skills.

It is mandatory to read and carefully study all the texts listed in the bibliography, including the manual of Literary Theory, Letteratura. Teorie, metodi, strumenti: specific questions may relate to general and theoretical categories (canon, text, intertextuality, fictional world, genre, mode, theme etc.), beyond the monographic topic of the course.

The exam will be divided in two parts:

1) Textual identification and analysis. As a first step, a short textual fragment (10-15 lines) taken from the novels listed in bibliography (section I) will be submitted to the student, who must identify the text, the author, the date of publication, and must contextualize it with regard to the plot, the characters and the narrative situation. The positive outcome of this first step allows the student to access the next one. A partial of defective identification of the text allows to proceed anyway (but with a pass or “fair” mark), while a complete misunderstanding leads to the failure of the exam.

2) Critical questions. In the following step, the student must answer to some questions: a) About the critical texts (see bibliography, section II, groups A and B); b) About the novels (section I), questioned both in a notional and in a critical-interpretative way.

The exam will also assess the student's methodological awareness, the ability to master the bibliography in the course programme and the the field-specific language of the discipline. The ability to establish links between the theoretical framework and the texts will be especially appreciated. A wide and systematic knowledge of the texts, interpretative insight, critical understanding, and rhetorical effectiveness will be evaluated with a mark of excellence (27-30), while a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be evaluated with a “fair” mark (24-26). A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability will be evaluated with a pass mark (18-23) or a negative mark.

Teaching tools

Projection of PowerPoint slides. For further teaching material, please visit the Professor's website and "Virtuale".

Office hours

See the website of Federico Bertoni