04538 - Poetics and Rhetoric

Learning outcomes

At the end of the lecture course the students acquire both a basic knowledge of the various disciplinary and doctrinal identities developed by Poetics and Rhetoric during its history, and the capacity to deal with guided interpretations of one or more than one among the “classics” that represented a turning point in the history of this discipline.

Course contents

Part I. 

Hegel and the Phenomenology of Spirit. Language and experience, poetry and philosophy.

The course aims to investigate some aspects of the specificity of Hegel's philosophical prose in his 1807 work, the Phenomenology of the Spirit, whose development has not infrequently been associated with that of certain literary genres and which has also been defined as the 'novel of the spirit'. In order to do so, the course will first focus on the first chapter of the work, where the role of language is very important, and then on a few key chapters of which a textual reading will be made.The second will secondly focus on Hegel's treatment of tragedy in Chapter VI, with particular reference to the case of Antigone. Given that the 1807 work seems to incorporate pieces of Sophocles' tragedy within it, we will ask how the Hegelian restitution, while largely taking over its development, sometimes deviates radically from the Sophoclean text. The case of Antigone could therefore constitute, in the "Phenomenology of the Spirit", a true philosophical translation of a literary text. The last part of the course will face Hegelian conception of literary language, as he shows it in the Lectures on fine Arts.

Provisional Lecture schedule – Part I

First week: introduction to Hegel; Hegel’s writings of the 1790s

Second week: introduction to the “Phenomenology of spirit”; chapters I and II: reading and commentary

Third week: chapter IV reading and commentary; the role of Antigone in the chapter devoted to the spirit

Fourth week: reading of the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles; comparison of the figure of Antigone in the 'Phenomenology of the Spirit' with the character in the tragedy

Fifth week: the role of poetry in Hegel’s Aesthetics

 

Part II. Literature and Philosophy of Early German Romanticism - Representation and Production of the World in Its Becoming

This course introduces the literature and philosophy of early German Romanticism. The period, spanning from approximately 1795 to 1805, is considered one of the most prolific and multifaceted in the history of German philosophy and literature. It includes, among others, the works of the brothers Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel, Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich von Hardenberg (known as Novalis), Friedrich Schleiermacher, Friedrich Schelling, Dorothea Veit, and Caroline Böhme. In early German Romanticism, science, philosophy, and poetic production were not considered distinct disciplines, methods, or genres but forms of inquiry necessary to each other. All three served together for the understanding and formation of the world. For the early romantics of Jena, knowing something coincided with having at one's disposal a conceptual and linguistic apparatus adequate to the task. Given that these were the years when there was an emphasis not only on the historicity of the social world (a recently acquired awareness) but also on the historicity of the natural world (e.g., the work of Alexander von Humboldt on geology), the apparatus had to be dynamic. It had to allow for changes and adjustments to the tools themselves and be able to represent the change and eternal progress of the world in its form – thus, the apparatus had to be poetic. Furthermore, the poetic becoming made the line between life and literature porous, and for the early romantics, aesthetic revolutions were always (at least also) understood as political revolutions. Like Fichte's "I," Romantic literature gave birth to itself and encompassed everything, including its own criticism. The course will introduce the main themes of early German Romanticism through key concepts (including transcendence, subjectivity, irony, Bildung), always pairing texts today considered literary with those considered philosophical.

Provisional Lecture Schedule – Part II

First week: General introduction to the historical, philosophical, and aesthetic context; Enlightenment vs. Romanticism, “Weimar Classicism” as a complementary movement.

Second week: Transcendence and subjectivity in Kant, Fichte, and F. Schlegel.

Third week: Irony and comedy, fragments and other textual forms and methods for representing the historical-conceptual becoming (Werden), F. Schlegel, Tieck.

Forth week: subject-formation and world-formation – "Bildung" and "Bildungsromane" (novels of formation), F. Schlegel, Novalis.

Fifth week: the dark sides of Early German Romanticism, melancholy, madness, and bad infinity ("schlechte Unendlichkeit"), Tieck, Bonaventura.

Readings/Bibliography

Part I 

G.W.F. Hegel, La fenomenologia dello spirito, ed by G. Garelli, Einaudi, Torino 2008: pp. 69-79; 121-136; 291-318.

G.W.F. Hegel, Lezioni di Estetica (Hotho 1823), ed. by P. D’Angelo, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2005, “La poesia”: pp. 262-302.

Sofocle, Antigone.

J. Hyppolite, Genesi e struttura della Fenomenologia dello spirito di Hegel(1946), trad. it. di V. Cicero, Milano, Bompiani 2005, pp. 8-123; pp. 191-215.

E. Caramelli, Poetiche del testo filosofico. Hegel, Merleau-Ponty e il linguaggio letterario, Carocci, Roma 2024, pp. 1-85.

In addition to the above-mentioned mandatory bibliography, non-attending students must add the study of: J. Hyppolite, La struttura del linguaggio filosofico secondo la “Prefazione” alla “Fenomenologia dello spirito” di Hegel, in R. Macksey, E. Donato (Eds.), La controversia sullo strutturalismo, trad. it. S. Miletti, Liguori, Napoli 1975, pp. 229-245.

 

 

Part II

For the exam, it is mandatory to study the text under letter A + one text from group B + two texts from group C.

A:

M. Schmitz-Emans, Introduzione alla letteratura del Romanticismo tedesco, trans. by M. Versari, Clueb 2008.

B:

J. G. Fichte, Fondamento dell’intera dottrina della scienza, edited by G. Boffi, Bompiani 2003. The part to be studied is the first part, §1-§3 inclusive.

F. Schlegel, Frammenti critici e poetici, trans. by M. Cometa, Einaudi 1997. The introduction by M. Cometa + sections I, II, III, and IV (=pp. VII—XLII + pp. 5-110) must be studied.

C:

E. A. F. Klingemann, I notturni di Bonaventura, trans. by F. Filippini, Rizzoli Editore 1984.

Novalis, Enrico di Ofterdingen, trans. by T. Landolfi, Adelphi 1997.

L. Tieck, Fiabe teatrali, Il gatto con gli stivali, Il mondo alla rovescia, edited by E. Bernard, Costa e Nolan 2007.

L. Tieck, Fiabe romantiche, edited by G. Bertocchini, Garzanti 2009.

Non-Attendees must further study:

F. Rossi: L’età romantica. Letteratura tedesca tra Rivoluzione e Restaurazione. Carrocci editore 2023, pp. 1-254.

Students who have attended at least 75% of the lectures are considered to be “attendees” (“frequentanti”).

Teaching methods

The course will mainly consist of frontal lessons including both teacher-led reading of the texts listed in bibliography and historical contextualisation of philosophical topics dealt with.

During part I, an additional workshop will take place with optional participation in reading and translating the philosophical texts in original language.

Assessment methods

It is strongly recommended to have the texts with you on the exam. 

The final proof will take place in the form of an oral examination, aiming to test the achievement of the fundamental learning outcomes, such as: thorough knowledge of the mandatory readings and abilityty to make comprehensive analysis and comments ; full understanding of the core concepts and interpreting skills; ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and cogently; ability to build connections between authors and topics of the prescription. During the oral examination the instructor will assess if the student possesses the above-mentioned knowledge and skills in a (more or less) complete, precise and adequate way, or vice-versa in a (more or less) incomplete, vague and superficial way.The final grade is therefore an overall assessment: excellent (30L); top mark (30); good (27-29); fairly good (24-26); sufficient (22-23); almost sufficient (18-21).

Those who wish to do so may replace part of the oral examination, as optional, with the preparation of a ten-minute talk, consisting of reading and commenting on selected passages from one of the sections of the Phenomenology of Spirit (Module I) in bibliography or from the texts in Group B (Module II). In this case, questions by the instructor will follow student’s presentation.

The final grade is the result of the average of the part I oral examination grade and the part II oral examination grade. Students have to sustain first the oral examination concerning part II with the module II instructor, and then the oral examination concerning part I with the part I instructor, who will record the final grade.

Exam sessions
During the 2025/2026 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: September 2025 (outstanding exams), October 2025 (outstanding exams), January 2026, February 2026, April 2026, May 2026, June 2026.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

Further material will be provided via Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Eleonora Caramelli

See the website of Yvonne Huetter-Almerigi