18095 - English Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have acquired a sound passive knowledge of the English language; he/she will be able to read and comprehend a text in English and to learn the main forms and genres of English literature and drama. The student will likewise acquire the necessary tools for the analysis of a literary or dramatic text in English, in its historical and theatrical, as well as more strictly literary, aspects.

Course contents

The Gothic on Stage: From Shakespeare to the Romantics

The course aims to explore the discursive and dramatic elements of the Gothic in theatrical works written from the Early Modern period to Romanticism. The supernatural, tyranny, usurpation, and thirst for power are some of the most recurring narrative and theatrical devices in the works examined, used by the authors to discuss and present issues related to individual and gender identity, in relation to and in contrast with the social sphere.

Through tragedy, playwrights of various eras address political, social, cultural, and gender issues in a controversial and dialogic manner. Adopting a historicist literary criticism perspective and analyzing the development of theatre (text, context, and staging) from the Early Modern period through the nineteenth century, the course will read and discuss full plays and excerpts presenting Gothic themes by English authors such as W. Shakespeare, C. Marlowe, J. Milton, M. G. Lewis, Lord Byron, and P. B. Shelley.

Readings/Bibliography

PRIMARY SOURCES

W. Shakespeare, Othello e The Tempest;

C. Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (extracts);

J. Milton, Paradise Lost (extracts);

M.G. Lewis, The Castle Spectre (extracts);

Lord Byron, Manfred (extracts);

P.B. Shelley, The Cenci.

History of English literature (general context):

 L. M. Crisafulli e K. Elam (a cura di), Manuale di letteratura e cultura inglese, Bologna, BUP, 2009 [solo periodi e argomenti trattati durante il corso]

Shakespeare (1 essay and 2 for those students who do not attend classes):

Franco Marucci, History of English Literature, Volume 2, "Shakespeare", Peter Lang, 2018 (chapters dedicated to the plays included in the syllabus).

Giorgio Melchiori, Shakespeare. Genesi e struttura delle opere Edizioni Laterza, 1994 (chapters dedicated to the plays included in the syllabus).

 The Romantics (1 essay and 2 for those students who do not attend classes):

Jeffrey N. Cox, "The Gothic Drama: Tragedy or Comedy?" in The Oxford Handbook of the Georgian Theatre, 1737-1832 ed. Julia Swindells and David Francis Taylor (ch. 23).

Giovanna Silvani, "Il teatro di Matthew G. Lewis, è di scena il terrore" in ll teatro della paura a cura di D. Saglia e G. Silvani (Bulzoni, 2015).

D. Saglia, traduzione e commento al Manfred di Lord Byron (edizioni Marsilio 2019).

"Lord Byron. Manfred and the closet Drama" in Philip Cox, Gender, Genre and the Romantic Poets. An Introduction, Manchester UP 1996 (pp. 107-129)

"Byron and the theatre" by Alan Richardson in The Cambridge Companion to Byron, ed. D. Bone, Cambridge UP 2004 (pp. 133-149).

Stuart Curran, Shelley's CENCI: Scorpions Ringed with Fire, Princeton University Press.

 

Teaching methods

Online and frontal lessons; introduction of the literary period from late Medieval time to Romantic period; reading and analysis of the primary sources and critical essays during lectures.

Assessment methods

The evaluation of the students' competencies and abilities acquired during the course consists in a written work at the end of the course for those students who attended classes regularly as well as for those who do not attend classes.

The 2-hour written test consists of open questions regarding the literary context, authors, and texts analysed during the course. Commentary on extracts in English from the plays to be read in full will also be required.

Those students, who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during classes, 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 satisfactory 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. Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the program bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Teaching tools

Online resourses available for student online; film and videos show during lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Serena Baiesi