Textual Stylistics
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The course aims at giving students in-depth knowledge of some theorical issues debated in the Twentieth Century, related to textual analysis. Students will reflect on and analyze literary forms, methods and styles and will contextualize authors debated in class. For these reasons the first teaching unit always faces theorical issues and essays, whereas the second and third units focus on the discussion of literary themes and poetic or narrative texts.
Expected learning outcomes
Students will acquire knowledge in different layers of textuality: the capability of reflecting on literary theory, of reading and critically arguing poetry or prose, of analyzing literary texts from a linguistic, stylistic and rhetorical perspective, of understanding different forms of critical essays and the relations between literature and historical context, authoriality and notions of genre. Expected learning outcomes concern, thus, the dominion of interpretative capabilities, the critical awareness of the link between stylistic and rhetorical expression, meaning and context (both historical and concerning the author's experience). During some lessons, in the second and third teaching units, students can discuss in class their own analysis of a text, in dialog with the professor and the other students. This oral presentation is not mandatory and will be consider during examination.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Part A of the course aims to go through the cultural and theoretical debate of the 1960s about methods of textual analysis and the problems of the possible definition of literature.
Part B maintains that same temporal horizon but focuses on the analysis of books of poetry by Vittorio Sereni and Giovanni Giudici, who experiment unusual modules and innovative forms in the representation of the lyrical experience.
Part C intends to enter the field of the most extreme experimentation, reading poems by two authors declaredly subversive, Edoardo Sanguineti and Andrea Zanzotto, with the intent to decode the mechanisms of language, but also to lead the interpretation of the verses to the attribution of meanings.
Part B maintains that same temporal horizon but focuses on the analysis of books of poetry by Vittorio Sereni and Giovanni Giudici, who experiment unusual modules and innovative forms in the representation of the lyrical experience.
Part C intends to enter the field of the most extreme experimentation, reading poems by two authors declaredly subversive, Edoardo Sanguineti and Andrea Zanzotto, with the intent to decode the mechanisms of language, but also to lead the interpretation of the verses to the attribution of meanings.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of poetry textual analysis.
Teaching methods
The course will mainly be comprised of lectures, but some time will be devoted to discussion. This will help students delve into the issues under discussion, improve their analysis, reasoning, and interpretation skill. To participate more actively, students will also be encouraged to read the works and essays in the course syllabus while they attend classes. The Ariel website of the course will be used to share the teaching materials that might be proposed for discussion. During some lessons, in the second and third teaching units, students can discuss in class their own analysis of a text, in dialog with the professor and the other students. This oral presentation is not mandatory and will be consider during examination. Regular class attendance is strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
Part A:
- Roland Barthes, Critica e verità (1966), Torino, Einaudi, 2002.
- Franco Fortini, L'istituzione letteraria, in Verifica dei poteri (1965), Torino, Einaudi, 1989, pp. 3-87.
- Costanzo Di Girolamo, Critica della letterarietà, Milano, il Saggiatore, 1978.
- Franco Brioschi, Il testo e l'opera, in La mappa dell'impero, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2006, pp. 11-55.
Part B:
- Vittorio Sereni, Gli strumenti umani, Milano, Mondadori 2013 or any other edition.
- Giovanni Giudici, La vita in versi, Milano, Mondadori 2014 or any other edition.
- Edoardo Esposito, Lettura della poesia di Vittorio Sereni, Milano, Mimesis 2015.
- Laura Neri, I silenziosi circuiti del ricordo. Etica, estetica e ideologia nella poesia di Giovanni Giudici, Roma, Carocci 2018.
Part C:
- Edoardo Sanguineti, Triperuno, in Segnalibro, Milano, Feltrinelli 2010 or any other edition.
(from Laborintus students will read a selection of poems, whereas complete reading of Erotopaegnia and Purgatorio de l'Inferno is required).
- Andrea Zanzotto, La Beltà, Milano, Mondadori 2011 or any other edition.
- Giuseppe Carrara, Il chierico rosso e l'avanguardia. Poesia e ideologia in Triperuno di Edoardo Sanguineti, Milano, Ledizioni 2018.
- Niva Lorenzini, Dire il silenzio: la poesia di Andrea Zanzotto, Roma, Carocci, 2014.
Bibliography for not attending students
Students who do not attend should supplement the texts indicated in the bibliography with the following readings:
Part A:
One of the following books (student's choice):
- Mario Lavagetto, Eutanasia della critica, Torino, Einaudi 2005.
- Ugo Olivieri (ed.), Le immagini della critica. Conversazioni di teoria letteraria, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri 2003, only the first four chapters, pp. 1-118.
Part B:
- Alberto Bertoni, Saggio d'un commento alla Vita in versi, in Una distratta venerazione. La poesia metrica di Giudici, Bologna, Book Editore 2001, pp. 23-76.
- Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo, Iterazione e specularità in Sereni, in "Strumenti critici", febbraio 1972, n. 17, pp. 19-48.
- Guido Mazzoni, Verifica dei valori. Saggio su Gli strumenti umani, in "Allegoria", 1994, n. 18, pp. 45-81.
Part C:
- Stefano Agosti, L'esperienza di linguaggio di Andrea Zanzotto, in Andrea Zanzotto, Le poesie e prose scelte, Milano, "I Meridiani" Mondadori 1999, pp.VII-XLIX.
- Laura Neri, La scomposizione del linguaggio nella poesia di Andrea Zanzotto, in Per Franco Brioschi. Saggi di lingua e letteratura italiana, edited by Claudio Milanini and Silvia Morgana, Quaderni di Acme, Milano, Cisalpino, 2007, pp. 401-415.
- Luigi Weber, "Il sogno di riscrivere l'Ortis". Lettura di purgatorio de l'Inferno, in Critica, ermeneutica, poesia dagli anni Sessanta a oggi, Ravenna, Allori edizioni 2006, pp. 103-118.
Fausto Curi, Laborintus, in La poesia italiana del Novecento, Roma-Bari, Laterza 1999, pp. 260-284.
Further information
Further information will be published on the online portal Ariel, on the website dedicated to Textual Stylistics.
- Roland Barthes, Critica e verità (1966), Torino, Einaudi, 2002.
- Franco Fortini, L'istituzione letteraria, in Verifica dei poteri (1965), Torino, Einaudi, 1989, pp. 3-87.
- Costanzo Di Girolamo, Critica della letterarietà, Milano, il Saggiatore, 1978.
- Franco Brioschi, Il testo e l'opera, in La mappa dell'impero, Milano, il Saggiatore, 2006, pp. 11-55.
Part B:
- Vittorio Sereni, Gli strumenti umani, Milano, Mondadori 2013 or any other edition.
- Giovanni Giudici, La vita in versi, Milano, Mondadori 2014 or any other edition.
- Edoardo Esposito, Lettura della poesia di Vittorio Sereni, Milano, Mimesis 2015.
- Laura Neri, I silenziosi circuiti del ricordo. Etica, estetica e ideologia nella poesia di Giovanni Giudici, Roma, Carocci 2018.
Part C:
- Edoardo Sanguineti, Triperuno, in Segnalibro, Milano, Feltrinelli 2010 or any other edition.
(from Laborintus students will read a selection of poems, whereas complete reading of Erotopaegnia and Purgatorio de l'Inferno is required).
- Andrea Zanzotto, La Beltà, Milano, Mondadori 2011 or any other edition.
- Giuseppe Carrara, Il chierico rosso e l'avanguardia. Poesia e ideologia in Triperuno di Edoardo Sanguineti, Milano, Ledizioni 2018.
- Niva Lorenzini, Dire il silenzio: la poesia di Andrea Zanzotto, Roma, Carocci, 2014.
Bibliography for not attending students
Students who do not attend should supplement the texts indicated in the bibliography with the following readings:
Part A:
One of the following books (student's choice):
- Mario Lavagetto, Eutanasia della critica, Torino, Einaudi 2005.
- Ugo Olivieri (ed.), Le immagini della critica. Conversazioni di teoria letteraria, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri 2003, only the first four chapters, pp. 1-118.
Part B:
- Alberto Bertoni, Saggio d'un commento alla Vita in versi, in Una distratta venerazione. La poesia metrica di Giudici, Bologna, Book Editore 2001, pp. 23-76.
- Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo, Iterazione e specularità in Sereni, in "Strumenti critici", febbraio 1972, n. 17, pp. 19-48.
- Guido Mazzoni, Verifica dei valori. Saggio su Gli strumenti umani, in "Allegoria", 1994, n. 18, pp. 45-81.
Part C:
- Stefano Agosti, L'esperienza di linguaggio di Andrea Zanzotto, in Andrea Zanzotto, Le poesie e prose scelte, Milano, "I Meridiani" Mondadori 1999, pp.VII-XLIX.
- Laura Neri, La scomposizione del linguaggio nella poesia di Andrea Zanzotto, in Per Franco Brioschi. Saggi di lingua e letteratura italiana, edited by Claudio Milanini and Silvia Morgana, Quaderni di Acme, Milano, Cisalpino, 2007, pp. 401-415.
- Luigi Weber, "Il sogno di riscrivere l'Ortis". Lettura di purgatorio de l'Inferno, in Critica, ermeneutica, poesia dagli anni Sessanta a oggi, Ravenna, Allori edizioni 2006, pp. 103-118.
Fausto Curi, Laborintus, in La poesia italiana del Novecento, Roma-Bari, Laterza 1999, pp. 260-284.
Further information
Further information will be published on the online portal Ariel, on the website dedicated to Textual Stylistics.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final exam will consist of an oral exam about the topics of the course, aimed at ascertaining the knowledge and skills acquired by the student, regarding both theory and textual analysis. Students will be asked to present the works comprised in the course syllabus and to critically discuss about the issues that will have been dealt with through them. Language proficiency (this includes technical language proficiency) and the accuracy of historical and literary references will also contribute to the final score. A precise knowledge of the bibliographic references in the program is required.
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)