English Literature 3
A.Y. 2020/2021
Learning objectives
This teaching brings to conclusion the three-year course in English literature and is addressed to third-year undergraduate students. The period taken into consideration ranges from 1870 to 1970; accordingly, the course covers late-Victorian and Modernist literature, and hints to Postmodernist literary issues. The syllabus is divided into three didactic units, which deal with poetry, prose and drama: students will be taught to read in context and to analyse critically a selection of complex literary works, investigated in their historical and literary context.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: by the end of the course, students should be able to contextualise (historical, cultural, and literary context) both the literary texts and the writers listed in the syllabus. They should also have a very good knowledge of the literary works proposed.
Linguistic competence: to be able to read and translate the literary texts in the reading list; non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English. In addition, to be able to discuss in English the contents of the course.
Literary competence: to be able to analyse critically a selection of complex literary works, and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends.
Linguistic competence: to be able to read and translate the literary texts in the reading list; non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English. In addition, to be able to discuss in English the contents of the course.
Literary competence: to be able to analyse critically a selection of complex literary works, and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends.
Lesson period: First 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
(A-K)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
This course offers classes in distance teaching. Classes in videoconference will follow the official timetable published on the Unimi website; they will alternate with recorded video/audioconferences (uploaded on Teams).
Access code to Teams: ubpx4jo.
Access code to Teams: ubpx4jo.
Course syllabus
The course is addressed to students of Lingue e Letterature Straniere (surname letter: A-K).
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam only for 6 credits.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2022.
The course is entitled: Word & Image. Breaking the Rules
1. Visual Arts in Literature
Attention will be paid on the interdependence of literature and the visual arts and on the methodologies through which XIX and XX centuries specialists approach word and image studies today.
2. Samuel Beckett, Visual Artist
The investigation will focus on the impact of visual arts on both the genesis and the form of Beckett's visual/theatrical imagery.
3. Shakespearean afterlives
An exploration of the strategies through which playwrights, poets and novelists have "redesigned" Shakespearean plays and of the theoretical implications of Shakespearean appropriation.
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam only for 6 credits.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2022.
The course is entitled: Word & Image. Breaking the Rules
1. Visual Arts in Literature
Attention will be paid on the interdependence of literature and the visual arts and on the methodologies through which XIX and XX centuries specialists approach word and image studies today.
2. Samuel Beckett, Visual Artist
The investigation will focus on the impact of visual arts on both the genesis and the form of Beckett's visual/theatrical imagery.
3. Shakespearean afterlives
An exploration of the strategies through which playwrights, poets and novelists have "redesigned" Shakespearean plays and of the theoretical implications of Shakespearean appropriation.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught in English. To follow the course successfully, a good knowledge of the previous literary periods and good critical skills are required (both should have been acquired during the first and second year literature courses). To sit the third-year exam, students must have passed the first and second year English language and the first and second year English literature exams.
Please remember that you have to sign up for the course using the EasyLesson app.
Please remember that you have to sign up for the course using the EasyLesson app.
Teaching methods
The course employs the following teaching methods: lectures including close reading and analysis of the texts; audiovisual materials, such as projections of sequences of television and film adaptations or documentaries, etc. Students are encouraged to actively participate in textual analysis and in the discussions in class.
Attending students will work to realise short presentations.
Attending students will work to realise short presentations.
Teaching Resources
1.Visual Arts in Literature
- O. Wilde, "The Decay of Lying"
- O. Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (any edition in English with introduction and notes, such as Penguin or Oxford UP)
- R. Fry, "The French Post-Impressionists" in "Vision and Design", Chatto & Windus, London, 1920, pp. 156-9.
- V. Woolf, "To the Lighthouse" (any edition in English with introduction and notes, such as Penguin or Oxford UP)
- W.H. Auden, "Musée des Beaux-Arts"
- T. Gunn, "Santa Maria del Popolo"
- E. Lucie-Smith, "Caravaggio Dying"
- Renzo S. Crivelli, "Lo sguardo narrato: Letteratura e arti visive", Roma, Carocci, 2003 (pp. 13-53; 127-40)
- Giovanni Cianci, "Modernismo/Modernismi. Dall'avanguardia storica agli anni Trenta e oltre, Milano, Principato", 1991: "La rottura dei codici" (pp. 290-313).
- Caroline Patey, "'Gita al faro'. Circumnavigazioni", Milano, Mimesis, 2016
Suggested reading: "Wilde without the Boy". A Dramatisation by Gareth Armstrong of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis with the full text of Wilde's "The Ballad Reading Gaol". Audio recording by Gerard Logan, LEDIZIONE Milano, 2020.
2. "Samuel Beckett, Visual Artist"
- S. Beckett, "Assumption"
- S. Beckett, "Letter to Axel Kaun", or "German Letter, 1937"
- S. Beckett, "Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts" (Any edition with introduction and notes)
- S. Beckett, "All That Fall. A play for radio" (The Original Broadcasts | British Library | 2006 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY22jmHAS5E)
- S. Beckett, Quad I+II. Plays for TV at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZDRfnICq9M
- S. Beckett, "Breath"
- S. Beckett, "Ohio Impromptu"
- J. Haynes and J. Knowlson, "Images of Beckett", Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2003
3. "Shakespeare afterlives"
- T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
- T.S. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent"
- V. Woolf, "A Room of One's Own" (cap. 3)
- T. Stoppard, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"
- A. Carter, "Overture and Incidental Music for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'" (in "Black Venus")
- J. Winterson, "The Gap of Time", Hogarth Shakespeare, Penguin, London, 2015
- D. M. Lanier, "Shakespeare / Not Shakespeare: Afterword" in C. Desmet, N. Loper, J. Casey (eds.), Shakespeare/Not Shakespeare, Palgrave, 2017, pp. 293-305.
- D. Lanier, "Unpopularizing Shakespeare: A Short History" in "Shakespeare & Modern Popular" Culture, Oxford, Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 21-49.
- Suggested film: "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (1990)
"The Norton Anthology of English Literature", (Introduction to 'The Victorian Age' e introduction to introduction to a 'The Twentieth Century')
or
Arturo Cattaneo, "A Short History of English Literature. From the Victorians to the Present", Milano, Mondadori, 2011, vol. 2.
Suggested reading:
Giulia Guazzaloca, "Storia della Gran Bretagna (1832-2014)", Milano, Mondadori, 2015
In addition to the following reading list, students will study ALL MATERIALS UPLOADED ON THE DIDACTIC PLATFORM before or during the course.
- O. Wilde, "The Decay of Lying"
- O. Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (any edition in English with introduction and notes, such as Penguin or Oxford UP)
- R. Fry, "The French Post-Impressionists" in "Vision and Design", Chatto & Windus, London, 1920, pp. 156-9.
- V. Woolf, "To the Lighthouse" (any edition in English with introduction and notes, such as Penguin or Oxford UP)
- W.H. Auden, "Musée des Beaux-Arts"
- T. Gunn, "Santa Maria del Popolo"
- E. Lucie-Smith, "Caravaggio Dying"
- Renzo S. Crivelli, "Lo sguardo narrato: Letteratura e arti visive", Roma, Carocci, 2003 (pp. 13-53; 127-40)
- Giovanni Cianci, "Modernismo/Modernismi. Dall'avanguardia storica agli anni Trenta e oltre, Milano, Principato", 1991: "La rottura dei codici" (pp. 290-313).
- Caroline Patey, "'Gita al faro'. Circumnavigazioni", Milano, Mimesis, 2016
Suggested reading: "Wilde without the Boy". A Dramatisation by Gareth Armstrong of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis with the full text of Wilde's "The Ballad Reading Gaol". Audio recording by Gerard Logan, LEDIZIONE Milano, 2020.
2. "Samuel Beckett, Visual Artist"
- S. Beckett, "Assumption"
- S. Beckett, "Letter to Axel Kaun", or "German Letter, 1937"
- S. Beckett, "Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts" (Any edition with introduction and notes)
- S. Beckett, "All That Fall. A play for radio" (The Original Broadcasts | British Library | 2006 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY22jmHAS5E)
- S. Beckett, Quad I+II. Plays for TV at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZDRfnICq9M
- S. Beckett, "Breath"
- S. Beckett, "Ohio Impromptu"
- J. Haynes and J. Knowlson, "Images of Beckett", Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2003
3. "Shakespeare afterlives"
- T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
- T.S. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent"
- V. Woolf, "A Room of One's Own" (cap. 3)
- T. Stoppard, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"
- A. Carter, "Overture and Incidental Music for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'" (in "Black Venus")
- J. Winterson, "The Gap of Time", Hogarth Shakespeare, Penguin, London, 2015
- D. M. Lanier, "Shakespeare / Not Shakespeare: Afterword" in C. Desmet, N. Loper, J. Casey (eds.), Shakespeare/Not Shakespeare, Palgrave, 2017, pp. 293-305.
- D. Lanier, "Unpopularizing Shakespeare: A Short History" in "Shakespeare & Modern Popular" Culture, Oxford, Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 21-49.
- Suggested film: "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (1990)
"The Norton Anthology of English Literature", (Introduction to 'The Victorian Age' e introduction to introduction to a 'The Twentieth Century')
or
Arturo Cattaneo, "A Short History of English Literature. From the Victorians to the Present", Milano, Mondadori, 2011, vol. 2.
Suggested reading:
Giulia Guazzaloca, "Storia della Gran Bretagna (1832-2014)", Milano, Mondadori, 2015
In addition to the following reading list, students will study ALL MATERIALS UPLOADED ON THE DIDACTIC PLATFORM before or during the course.
Assessment methods and Criteria
It consists in an oral interview assessed in thirtieths; 18/30 is the pass score.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; the ability to interpret the texts from a critical point of view. Linguistic skills as well as the capacity of making connections between texts, writers and cultural contexts will also be part of the assessment. Active and regular participation will be taken into consideration.
To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher.
Also students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; the ability to interpret the texts from a critical point of view. Linguistic skills as well as the capacity of making connections between texts, writers and cultural contexts will also be part of the assessment. Active and regular participation will be taken into consideration.
To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher.
Also students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
(L-Z)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
This course offers classes in distance teaching. Classes in videoconference will follow the official timetable published on the Unimi website; they will alternate with recorded video/audioconferences (uploaded on Teams), and the exact schedule will be communicated at the beginning of the course.
The access code to Teams will be communicated on the ARIEL course website.
The access code to Teams will be communicated on the ARIEL course website.
Course syllabus
The course is addressed to students of Lingue e Letterature Straniere (surname letter: L-Z).
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam only for 6 credits.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2022.
The course is entitled "War and Language, Language at War: Late Victorian and Modernist Literature"
It is divided into 3 teaching units:
UNIT A: "Man-made monsters, monsters of the mind"
Late Victorian narrative and poetry, and World War I poetry, will provide the stimulus to talk about the fin de siècle deep anxiety concerning the meaning and place of man on earth, together with the devastating feeling of senselessness which emerges from war poetry.
UNIT B: "Politics and Language, the Politics of Language"
Narratology, literary experimentation, and the underlying spectre (or memory) of war and of inhuman politics will be the main issues discussed in this teaching unit.
UNIT C: "Language and Irony on Stage"
Late-Victorian and experimental 20th-century drama will be analysed in terms of formal innovative techniques and of bitterly ironic and deeply unsettling reflections on the meaning of human life.
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam only for 6 credits.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2022.
The course is entitled "War and Language, Language at War: Late Victorian and Modernist Literature"
It is divided into 3 teaching units:
UNIT A: "Man-made monsters, monsters of the mind"
Late Victorian narrative and poetry, and World War I poetry, will provide the stimulus to talk about the fin de siècle deep anxiety concerning the meaning and place of man on earth, together with the devastating feeling of senselessness which emerges from war poetry.
UNIT B: "Politics and Language, the Politics of Language"
Narratology, literary experimentation, and the underlying spectre (or memory) of war and of inhuman politics will be the main issues discussed in this teaching unit.
UNIT C: "Language and Irony on Stage"
Late-Victorian and experimental 20th-century drama will be analysed in terms of formal innovative techniques and of bitterly ironic and deeply unsettling reflections on the meaning of human life.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught in English. To follow the course successfully, a good knowledge of the previous literary periods and good critical skills are required (both should have been acquired during the first and second year literature courses). To sit the third-year exam, students must have passed the first and second year English language and the first and second year English literature exams.
Please remember that you have to sign up for the course using the EasyLesson app.
Please remember that you have to sign up for the course using the EasyLesson app.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures with close reading, analysis and contextualisation of the works in the reading list; whenever possible, both videos and poetry reading/singing will be used in class; students will be constantly involved in the analytical and critical process of learning.
Teaching Resources
General introductions to periods and writers, and specific introductions to the authors present in the reading list, are to be studied on:
"The Norton Anthology of English Literature", (introduction to 'The Victorian Age' and introduction to 'The Twentieth Century').
Moreover, many of the literary texts in the reading list can be found in the Norton Anthology.
During the course, we will make use of narratological categories.
Suggested textbooks:
- Hermann Grosser, "Narrativa", Milano, Principato, 1985 (and reprints)
or
- Paolo Giovannetti, "Il racconto. Letteratura, cinema, televisione", Roma, Carocci, 2012 (and reprints).
In addition to the following reading list, students will study ALL MATERIALS UPLOADED ON THE DIDACTIC PLATFORM before or during the course.
Unit A: "Man-made monsters, monsters of the mind"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Thomas Hardy, "Hap", "Neutral Tones", "Drummer Hodge", "The Convergence of the Twain".
- First World War Poetry: R. Brooke "The Soldier"; S. Sassoon "They" and "Counter-Attack"; W. Owen "Insensibility"; I. Rosenberg "Break of Day in the Trenches" and "Dead Man's Dump".
- "Introduction" to The Penguin Book of first World War Poetry, by John Silkin (on platform).
Unit B: "Politics and Language, the Politics of Language"
- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (free online and on platform).
- George Orwell, "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Virginia Woolf, from The Common Reader: "Modern Fiction" (free online and on platform).
- Virginia Woolf, "Mrs Dalloway". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Ian McEwan, "Atonement". Any edition with introduction and notes.
Unit C: "Language and Irony on Stage"
- Oscar Wilde, "Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray"; "The Importance of Being Earnest". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Hugo von Hofmannsthal, "Ein Brief" (Der Brief des Lord Chandos, La lettera di Lord Chandos, The Letter of Lord Chandos). It can be read in German, in English, or in Italian (free online).
- Samuel Beckett, "Letter to Axel Kaun", or "German Letter, 1937" (on platform).
- Samuel Beckett, "Endgame". Any edition with introduction and notes.
- Margaret Rose, "Storia del teatro inglese. L'Ottocento e il Novecento", Carocci, 2002 (Anglistica library).
- Sara Soncini, "Conflitto, rappresentazione e percezione: 'Endgame' e la guerra fredda" (on platform).
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS: the course syllabus does not change, but attendance to classes is highly recommended; the interaction between students and teachers is an important element of the educational project.
"The Norton Anthology of English Literature", (introduction to 'The Victorian Age' and introduction to 'The Twentieth Century').
Moreover, many of the literary texts in the reading list can be found in the Norton Anthology.
During the course, we will make use of narratological categories.
Suggested textbooks:
- Hermann Grosser, "Narrativa", Milano, Principato, 1985 (and reprints)
or
- Paolo Giovannetti, "Il racconto. Letteratura, cinema, televisione", Roma, Carocci, 2012 (and reprints).
In addition to the following reading list, students will study ALL MATERIALS UPLOADED ON THE DIDACTIC PLATFORM before or during the course.
Unit A: "Man-made monsters, monsters of the mind"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Thomas Hardy, "Hap", "Neutral Tones", "Drummer Hodge", "The Convergence of the Twain".
- First World War Poetry: R. Brooke "The Soldier"; S. Sassoon "They" and "Counter-Attack"; W. Owen "Insensibility"; I. Rosenberg "Break of Day in the Trenches" and "Dead Man's Dump".
- "Introduction" to The Penguin Book of first World War Poetry, by John Silkin (on platform).
Unit B: "Politics and Language, the Politics of Language"
- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (free online and on platform).
- George Orwell, "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Virginia Woolf, from The Common Reader: "Modern Fiction" (free online and on platform).
- Virginia Woolf, "Mrs Dalloway". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Ian McEwan, "Atonement". Any edition with introduction and notes.
Unit C: "Language and Irony on Stage"
- Oscar Wilde, "Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray"; "The Importance of Being Earnest". Any edition with introduction and notes. Suggested edition: Oxford World's Classics.
- Hugo von Hofmannsthal, "Ein Brief" (Der Brief des Lord Chandos, La lettera di Lord Chandos, The Letter of Lord Chandos). It can be read in German, in English, or in Italian (free online).
- Samuel Beckett, "Letter to Axel Kaun", or "German Letter, 1937" (on platform).
- Samuel Beckett, "Endgame". Any edition with introduction and notes.
- Margaret Rose, "Storia del teatro inglese. L'Ottocento e il Novecento", Carocci, 2002 (Anglistica library).
- Sara Soncini, "Conflitto, rappresentazione e percezione: 'Endgame' e la guerra fredda" (on platform).
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS: the course syllabus does not change, but attendance to classes is highly recommended; the interaction between students and teachers is an important element of the educational project.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam: It consists in an oral interview assessed in thirtieths; 18/30 is the pass score.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; their critical abilities (their capacity to analyse the literary works, and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends). To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Also students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; their critical abilities (their capacity to analyse the literary works, and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends). To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Also students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
27/5, 5pm; 3/6, 12am; 12/6, 11.30am. Teams: i2vrlh3.
Teams
Reception:
Three hours a week. Please send me a mail in advance to make an appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, Anglistica; or Microsoft Teams Platform