00562 - Italian Literature

Learning outcomes

The student - knows the fundamental elements (contents, methods and tools) for the analysis of Italian literary civilization - is able to use them on specific texts in the field of Italian literature - is able to autonomously develop further knowledge and analytic-literary of a higher level and to apply them to other specific literary texts

Course contents

The course will consist of two parts.

GENERAL PART: Outlines of the history of twentieth century Italian literature

A first part of the course, of a general type, will be aimed at providing a picture including the fundamental features of the history of Italian literature of the twentieth century, also through an anthological selection of texts that will be analyzed and commented during the lessons:

1. Historical-literary framework of the Italian twentieth century.

2. Reading of exemplary texts.

MONOGRAPHIC PART: Visions of the East: the 'exotic elsewhere' in the works of Guido Gozzano and Pier Paolo Pasolini

The second part of the course, of a monographic cut, will focus on the ways in which the East (India, but not only) was perceived and represented by two authors such as Guido Gozzano (in the early twentieth century) and Pier Paolo Pasolini (in second half of the century). If Gozzano had mythologized the East on the basis of his own readings and his imagination, and then was disappointed at the moment of the real journey, Pasolini projected on what was then called 'Third World' an instance of escape from the industrialized West, to the search for an authenticity that, in his opinion, in Europe had been lost:

3. Introduction to the work of Guido Gozzano.

4. Analysis and commentary on Gozzano's texts.

5. Introduction to the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

6. Analysis and commentary on Pasolini's texts.

Readings/Bibliography

All the texts are compulsory for the preparation of the exam and, unless otherwise indicated below, they must be studied in full.

GENERAL PART: Outlines of the history of Italian literature of the twentieth century

1) Roberto Carnero - Giuseppe Iannaccone, Vola alta parola, volume 6. Dal Novecento a oggi, Giunti TVP - Treccani, ISBN: 9788809869899, only the following pages:

26-37; 39-56: profilo storico, culturale, linguistico e letterario del primo Novecento;

173-177: Italo Svevo, [La morte del padre] (da La coscienza di Zeno);

178-179: percorso tematico "Padri e figli nella letteratura";

318-325: vita, opere e testo antologizzato di Federigo Tozzi;

352-378: profilo storico-letterario del Crepuscolarismo; vita, opere e testi antologizzati di Guido Gozzano, Sergio Corazzini e Marino Moretti;

405-410: vita, opere e testi antologizzati di Aldo Palazzeschi;

547: percorso tematico "Letteratura e omosessualità";

569-571: Umberto Saba, Mio padre è stato per me l'«assassino»; Camillo Sbarbaro, Padre, se anche tu non fossi il mio;

573-575: Umberto Saba, Teatro degli Artigianelli;

637-643: Eugenio Montale, Non chiederci la parola; Meriggiare pallido e assorto; Spesso il male di vivere ho incontrato;

670-681: profilo storico-letterario dell'Ermetismo; vita e opere e testi antologizzati di Salvatore Quasimodo;

691-692; 694-696: vita e opere di Sandro Penna; Sandro Penna, [Sette poesie brevi];

704-725; 728-738: profilo storico, culturale, linguistico e letterario del secondo Novecento e degli anni Duemila;

742-749: profilo storico-letterario e cinematografico del Neorealismo;

780-786: vita, opere e testo antologizzato di Vasco Pratolini;

892-896: vita, opere e testo antologizzato di Luciano Bianciardi;

1046-1071; 1076-1093; 1100-1101: vita, opere, "grandi temi" e testi antologizzati di Pier Paolo Pasolini;

1136-1155: profilo storico-letterario della giovane narrativa italiana; vita, opere e testi antologizzati di Pier Vittorio Tondelli ed Enrico Brizzi;

1231-1244: vita, opere, "grandi temi" e testi antologizzati di Mario Luzi.

MONOGRAPHIC PART: Visions of the East: the 'exotic elsewhere' in the work of Guido Gozzano and Pier Paolo Pasolini

2) Guido Gozzano, an edition of the poems [suggested edition: Poesie, a cura di G. Bárberi Squarotti, Rizzoli-Bur; or: Tutte le poesie, a cura di A. Rocca, Mondadori; Le poesie, a cura di E. Sanguineti, Einaudi], only the following poems:

- from La via del rifugio: La via del rifugio; L'analfabeta; I sonetti del ritorno; In morte di Giulio Verne; Nemesi; Un rimorso;

- from I colloqui: I colloqui; Le due strade; Elogio degli amori ancillari; Invernale; Convito; Alle soglie, Il più atto; Paolo e Virginia; La signorina Felicita ovvero La Felicità; L'amica di nonna Speranza; Cocotte; Totò Merumeni; Torino; Pioggia d'agosto; I colloqui;

- from "poesie sparse": La beata riva; L'altro; Le golose; Nell'Abazia di San Giuliano; L'ipotesi; Il commesso farmacista; L'esperimento; Congedo; La più bella; Dante; Ketty; Risveglio sul Picco d'Adamo; [Ah! Difettivi sillogismi!]; La Notte Santa.

3) Guido Gozzano, Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall'India, a cura di Roberto Carnero, Bompiani [it is necessary to have this specific edition, since, in addition to reading Gozzano's text, the Editor's Introduction, Note to the text and Afterword must be studied well].

4) Pier Paolo Pasolini, L'odore dell'India, Garzanti.

5) Roberto Carnero, Morire per le idee. Vita letteraria di Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bompiani.

N.B .: Students are invited to bring the texts in the bibliography to class, as the literary passages contained in them will be read, analyzed and commented on. The teacher will indicate from one lesson to another which volumes will be used from time to time (the first lessons will focus on literary history, and therefore on the first text in the program, namely the manual Vola alta parola, volume 6. Dal Novecento a oggi).

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons, text analysis and commentary, vision of multimedia products.

Assessment methods

The final exam will consist of a written test. It will measure the learning outcomes expected by the students; the contents of the test will cover the topics covered in the two parts of the course (general part and monographic part); the method of assessment will consist of the proposal of two open-ended questions (discussion of topics); assessment method: overall grade out of thirty. There are no intermediate or partial tests.

Evaluation grid

30-28: in-depth knowledge of the course topics; critical language always exact and precise and of excellent argumentative clarity (the attribution of distinction presupposes, in addition to the previous requirements, a marked and original personal reworking)

27-26: in-depth knowledge of the topics; critical language mostly exact and congruous and of appreciable argumentative clarity

25-24: fair knowledge of the course topics; overall correct critical language even if characterized by some inaccuracies; presence of some excessive simplification in the presentation

23-21: sufficient knowledge of the course topics; language not entirely correct; presence of excessive simplifications of concepts

20-18: overall sufficient knowledge, even if sometimes incomplete, of the course topics; incorrect critical language, characterized by generalizations and inconsistencies; presence of trivializations of concepts

test not passed: serious gaps in the preparation that testify an insufficient knowledge of the topics of the course overall and / or incorrect and inadequate critical language with frequent misunderstandings of the concepts

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Carnero