30931 - Italian Literature 1 (GR. B)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has a good understanding of the Italian literary tradition, knows the fundamental issues of the critical discussion about the authors and texts and is able to use the main methods of analysis of texts and contexts; he has also acquired the ability of adequately expressing himself in writing.

Course contents

Metaphor and wit: the poetics of the Baroque age

The course will address the poetics of the Baroque through the internal perspective of the metaphor. We will start from the theoretical reflections of Emanuele Tesauro in his Cannocchiale aristotelico which, overcoming the Aristotelian canon of verisimilitude, pushes the literary imagination towards the new regions of wonder and fantasy, thanks to the inexhaustible creative power of wit and metaphor. We will then move on to a reading of exemplary texts focusing on the poetic experimentation of Giovan Battista Marino, without neglecting other kinds of Baroque poetry and literature, in order to show how metaphor becomes in all respects the unifying center around which is organized the system of literary genres of the Baroque age.

Non-attending students must follow an alternative program. It is therefore advisable that they contact the teacher to arrange an appointment and receive specific instructions.

Readings/Bibliography

Dante, Commedia, a c. di E. Pasquini-A. Quaglio, Milano, Garzanti

Reading and commenting on a choice of 10 cantos from Dante's Comedy is required (e.g. Inf. I, II, V, X, XXVI, XXXIII; Purg. I, III, XXVI; Par. I).

Trattatisti e narratori del Seicento, a cura di E. Raimondi, Milano-Napoli, Ricciardi, 1960

G. B. Marino, L’Adone, a cura di G. Pozzi, Milano, Mondadori, 1976

Antologia della poesia italiana, diretta da C. Segre e C. Ossola, Il Seicento, Torino, Einaudi Tascabili, 1997

The reading of a text chosen from the following ilist s also required:

J. A. Maravall, La cultura del barocco. Analisi di una struttura storica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999

G. Conte, La metafora barocca. Saggio sulle poetiche del Seicento, Milano, Mursia, 1972

E. Raimondi, Letteratura barocca. Studi sul Seicento italiano, Firenze, Olschki, 1982

J. Rousset, La letteratura dell'età barocca in Francia. Circe e il pavone, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1985

L'uomo barocco, a cura di R. Villari, Roma, Laterza, 1991

A. Battistini, Il barocco: cultura, miti, immagini, Roma, Salerno, 2000

G. Getto, Il Barocco letterario in Italia, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2000

For the historical and literary contexts related to the authors examined the reference manual will be Letteratura italiana, a c. di A. Battistini, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014 (the parts to be studied will be indicated in class).

Additional critical bibliography will be provided during the course.

 

Teaching methods

Lectures and analyses of literary texts.

Assessment methods

The evaluation of the students' competencies and abilities acquired during the course consists of two phases:

             

a written test leading up to and preparatory to the specific subjects contained in the course programme, and an oral test aimed at ascertaining a general knowledge of all the subjects covered during the course.

During the year, 3 written tests (one per session) and 6 oral tests are delivered.

The written test responds to criteria relating to orthography, morphology, syntax and semantics, clarity of expression, the ability to summarize.

The oral test consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students. The students will be invited to discuss the tests on the course programme. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme. Access to the oral test depends on having passed the written test. The final mark is not a mathematical average of the two tests.

 

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.

 

Those students who demonstrate 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 given a ‘fair' mark.

 

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.

 

Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Teaching tools

Some texts will be made available on the Internet (http://campus.unibo.it)

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Baffetti