31031 - English Literature 1 (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students should know the general outline of literary history. They shall be able to read, understand and translate texts from English into Italian and  be acquainted with the methods and analytical tools that will enable them to interpret the works of the main authors, contextualising them within their cultural and historical period. 

Course contents

(Re)reading Shakespeare

In the history of British literature from its origins to the end of the XVII century, Shakespeare’s works are undoubtedly at the centre of the canon. The course will analyze his most famous plays, showing how and why they can be interpreted in different ways, and their continuous request to be considered not only as literary works but also as plays that need to be performed.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will read two plays and the following critical texts:

 

Richard III

Romeo and Juliet

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Merchant of Venice

Hamlet

King Lear

The Tempest

 

Critical texts:

Margreta De Grazia and Stanley Wells, edited by, The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001: E. Honigmann, “Shakespeare’s life”, pp. 1-12; John H. Astington, “Playhouses, players, and playgoers in Shakespeare’s time”, pp. 99-113

Stephen Greenblatt, “General Introduction”, in The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 1-65

John Peck and Martin Coyle, How to Study a Shakespeare Play, London, Macmillan, 1985, pp. 3-15

 

For the single plays:

Richard III

Jan Kott, “The kings”, in Shakespeare our contemporary, London, Routledge, 1988

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

 

Romeo and Juliet

Stephen Greenblatt, “Romeo and Juliet”, in The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 865-871

 

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Harold Bloom, “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, in Shakespeare. The Invention of the Human London, Fourth Estate, 1999

 

The Merchant of Venice

Leslie Fiedler, “The Jew as Stranger”, in The Stranger in Shakespeare, New York, Stein and Day, 1972

 

Hamlet

Stephen Greenblatt, “Hamlet”, in The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 1659-1667

 

King Lear

Jan Kott, “ King Lear, or Endgame”, in Shakespeare our contemporary, London, Routledge, 1988

 

The Tempest

Stephen Greenblatt, “The Tempest”, in The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 3047-3053

Teaching methods

Assessment methods

Erasmus or Overseas students could sit the exam as the Italian students or write an essay (about 10-15 pages), whose topic must be approved by the teacher.

Teaching tools

Office hours

See the website of Gino Scatasta

See the website of Carlotta Farese