Italian Literature
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a critical expertise of the main elements of the Italian literary system, from the Origins to the Seventeenth century, following the tradition and development of models, themes, forms.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: at the end of the course the student must know the fundamental aspects and issues of Italian literature from the Origins to the Seventeenth century, with a proper historic contextualization and specific reference to genres, themes and poetics, authors and works, methods of transmission of texts and their philological problems. Furthermore, the student will have to know the tools (metric elements, rhetoric, style theory and narratology) and the critical methodologies necessary to analyse and interpret the texts.
Competence: the student will then have to demonstrate the ability to understand and analyse literary texts (in their thematic and formal aspects), framing them in their respective contexts. Likewise, the student must demonstrate competence in the comprehension and use of literary essays, ability to identify the bibliography and to make use of the main tools of bibliographic resources, as well as the ability to communicate clearly and correctly, both in oral and written presentation, with appropriate use of scientific terminology.
Competence: the student will then have to demonstrate the ability to understand and analyse literary texts (in their thematic and formal aspects), framing them in their respective contexts. Likewise, the student must demonstrate competence in the comprehension and use of literary essays, ability to identify the bibliography and to make use of the main tools of bibliographic resources, as well as the ability to communicate clearly and correctly, both in oral and written presentation, with appropriate use of scientific terminology.
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-DE
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Part A (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Italian literature: from the beginnings to Renaissance Humanism
Part B (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Italian literature: from the Renaissance to Baroque
Part C (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato (or Inamoramento de Orlando)
Part D (20 hours, 3 ECTS-credits): Rhetorics and metrics through analysis of texts. Bibliographical guidelines and citations.
The course addresses Humanities students whose surname begins with A-De (12 ECTS) and Liberal Studies in Communication students (6/9 ECTS) enrolled in the academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021; the latter will prepare either teaching units A and C (6 ECTS - oral exam) or A, B, C (9 ECTS - written and oral exam).
Parts A and B will deal with the following subjects:
- Sicilian School;
- 13th century Tuscan poetry;
- Dolce Stil Novo;
- Dante Alighieri (Rime and Vita nova);
- Francesco Petrarca (Canzoniere);
- Giovanni Boccaccio (Decameron);
- Renaissance Humanism;
- literature in the Florence of the Medici: Luigi Pulci (Morgante); Lorenzo de' Medici; Poliziano (Stanze per la giostra);
- Petrarchism;
- the genre of treatise in 16th century: Pietro Bembo (Prose della volgar lingua) and Castiglione (Libro del Cortegiano);
- Niccolò Machiavelli (Principe, Mandragola) and Francesco Guicciardini (Ricordi, Storia d'Italia);
- Ludovico Ariosto (Orlando furioso);
- Torquato Tasso (Gerusalemme liberata);
- Giovan Battista Marino (Adone) and Baroque poetry;
- Galileo Galilei.
Part C will focus on Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato, from which particularly significant episodes will be read and offered for individual reading.
Part D will provide students with basic knowledge in rhetorical figures and poetic forms also through analysis of texts, along with bibliographical guidelines.
Part B (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Italian literature: from the Renaissance to Baroque
Part C (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato (or Inamoramento de Orlando)
Part D (20 hours, 3 ECTS-credits): Rhetorics and metrics through analysis of texts. Bibliographical guidelines and citations.
The course addresses Humanities students whose surname begins with A-De (12 ECTS) and Liberal Studies in Communication students (6/9 ECTS) enrolled in the academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021; the latter will prepare either teaching units A and C (6 ECTS - oral exam) or A, B, C (9 ECTS - written and oral exam).
Parts A and B will deal with the following subjects:
- Sicilian School;
- 13th century Tuscan poetry;
- Dolce Stil Novo;
- Dante Alighieri (Rime and Vita nova);
- Francesco Petrarca (Canzoniere);
- Giovanni Boccaccio (Decameron);
- Renaissance Humanism;
- literature in the Florence of the Medici: Luigi Pulci (Morgante); Lorenzo de' Medici; Poliziano (Stanze per la giostra);
- Petrarchism;
- the genre of treatise in 16th century: Pietro Bembo (Prose della volgar lingua) and Castiglione (Libro del Cortegiano);
- Niccolò Machiavelli (Principe, Mandragola) and Francesco Guicciardini (Ricordi, Storia d'Italia);
- Ludovico Ariosto (Orlando furioso);
- Torquato Tasso (Gerusalemme liberata);
- Giovan Battista Marino (Adone) and Baroque poetry;
- Galileo Galilei.
Part C will focus on Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato, from which particularly significant episodes will be read and offered for individual reading.
Part D will provide students with basic knowledge in rhetorical figures and poetic forms also through analysis of texts, along with bibliographical guidelines.
Prerequisites for admission
There are no required prerequisites. Yet, Humanities students who have passed the entrance examination with a score lower than 25 in the section "Text comprehension" must fulfill additional learning obligations (OFA, Obblighi formativi aggiuntivi) according to the provisions of the Humanities Study Program, as indicated in Course website. All Humanities students enrolled in 2022 must consult the Course website page about OFA.
Teaching methods
Also thanks to slides' projections, lectures will focus on movements, authors and works and their cultural context; on the main critical problems of each topic, through quotations from critical essays and comparisons among different critical views; on tradition and reception of works and texts; on their most interesting formal aspects. All the slides will be available on Ariel (http://ariel.unimi.it).
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
Lectures devoted to Boiardo's Orlando innamorato will focus on the historical and cultural context of the Este environment, the compositional events of the work, narrative techniques, relationships with sources, relationships with other genres, characters, fantastic aspects and ideological meanings.
Also through Module D, students will be introduced to tools and methods of analysis and learn the vocabulary of the discipline. Through multiple examples and lessons specifically devoted to selected texts, the main metrical and rhetorical notions will be brought into focus and students will be introduced to stylistic analysis.
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
Lectures devoted to Boiardo's Orlando innamorato will focus on the historical and cultural context of the Este environment, the compositional events of the work, narrative techniques, relationships with sources, relationships with other genres, characters, fantastic aspects and ideological meanings.
Also through Module D, students will be introduced to tools and methods of analysis and learn the vocabulary of the discipline. Through multiple examples and lessons specifically devoted to selected texts, the main metrical and rhetorical notions will be brought into focus and students will be introduced to stylistic analysis.
Teaching Resources
Attending students
For parts A and B, students must prepare pp. 1-240 of Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, edited by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milan, Cortina, 2022 (for part A pp. 1-127) and related topics in literary history on a textbook of their choice (information will be given in the course presentation, which will then be available on Ariel).
The following texts from the same book should be prepared especially for the paraphrase part:
- part A: Giacomo da Lentini, Amore è uno disio (pp. 7-8); Guido Guinizelli, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore (pp. 17-20); Guido Cavalcanti, Tu m'hai sì piena di dolor la mente (pp. 21-22); Dante Alighieri, Vita nova 10, 1-25 (pp. 25-31); Dante Alighieri, Guido, i' vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io (pp. 32-33); Francesco Petrarca, Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono (pp. 64-65); Francesco Petrarca, Erano i capei d'oro a l'aura sparsi (pp. 68-69); Francesco Petrarca, La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora (pp. 74-75); Francesco Petrarca, Zephiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena (pp. 75-76); Luigi Pulci, Morgante XVIII 112-20 (pp. 116-119); Angelo Poliziano, Stanze per la giostra I 8-24 (pp. 119- 124); Lorenzo de' Medici, Canzona di Bacco (pp. 125-127);
- part B: Pietro Bembo, Crin d'oro crespo e d'ambra tersa e pura (p. 152); Francesco Berni, Chiome d'argento fino, irte e attorte (pp. 153-154); Iacopo Sannazaro, O gelosia d'amanti orribil freno (pp. 154-155); Baldassarre Castiglione, Libro del Cortegiano I xxvi (pp. 161-163); Niccolò Machiavelli, Lettera a Francesco Vettori del 10 dicembre 1513 (pp. 168-174); Niccolò Machiavelli, De Principatibus 18 (pp. 178-182); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso I 1-4 (pp. 190-191); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso XII 1-22 (pp. 191-198); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata I 1-5 (pp. 216-218); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata III 16-31 (pp. 218-223); Galileo Galilei, Il Saggiatore 21 (pp. 237-240).
For Part C, students must prepare:
- the passages from Orlando innamorato that will be listed at the end of the course, in the edition Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando innamorato. L'inamoramento de Orlando, edited by Andrea Canova, Milan, Rizzoli, 2011;
- Andrea Canova, Introduction to Boiardo, Orlando innamorato, cit;
- the chronology of Boiardo's life and work, edited by G. Baldassari, readable at http://boiardo.letteratura.it/cronologia/
- Tina Matarrese, entry Boiardo, Matteo Maria (2010), in Enciclopedia dell'Italiano Treccani online: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/matteo-maria-boiardo_(Enciclopedia_dell'Italiano)/
- Amorum libri tres I 1, in Antologia della letteratura italiana, p. 138.
- lecture notes.
Other optional readings will be suggested in the course of the lectures.
For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric in Part D, students must prepare:
- Beatrice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Bari, Laterza (for rhetoric; a list of the figures to which particular attention should be paid will be given in class);
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, Bologna, il Mulino; limited to the following parts: chapters I-VI and X in full, ch. VII only the paragraphs devoted to: canzone, stanza, sestina lirica, sonetto, ballata, barzelletta, canzonetta, madrigale trecentesco, terza rima, ottava rima (stanza); cap. VIII, only the paragraph dedicated to "madrigale cinquecentesco".
It will be necessary to recognize all the metrical forms of the texts included in in Antologia della letteratura italiana, edited by G. Baldassari and G. Barucci at pp. 1-237; besides students must prepare the following texts with particular regard to metrics and rhetoric: Dante Alighieri, Così nel mio parlar vogli'esser aspro (pp. 33-37); Francesco Petrarca, A qualunque animale alberga in terra (pp. 65-67); Francesco Petrarca, Italia mia, benché 'l parlar sia indarno (pp. 69-74); Francesco Petrarca, I' vo piangendo i miei passati tempi (pp. 77-78); Vittoria Colonna, Poi che 'l mio casto amor gran tempo tenne (pp. 155-156); Giovanni della Casa, Questa vita mortal, che 'n una o 'n due (pp. 156-157); Giambattista Marino, Adone III 156-61 e X 39-47 (pp. 227-232). The definitive programme will be provided at the end of the course.
Non-attending students
For parts A and B, students must prepare pp. 1-240 of Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, edited by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milan, Cortina, 2022 (for part A pp. 1-127) and related topics in literary history on a textbook of their choice (directions will be given in the course presentation, which will then be available on Ariel).
The following texts from the same book should be prepared especially for the paraphrase part:
- parte A: Giacomo da Lentini, Amore è uno disio (pp. 7-8); Guido Guinizelli, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore (pp. 17-20); Guido Cavalcanti, Tu m'hai sì piena di dolor la mente (pp. 21-22); Dante Alighieri, Vita nova 10, 1-25 (pp. 25-31); Dante Alighieri, Guido, i' vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io (pp. 32-33); Francesco Petrarca, Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono (pp. 64-65); Francesco Petrarca, Erano i capei d'oro a l'aura sparsi (pp. 68-69); Francesco Petrarca, La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora (pp. 74-75); Francesco Petrarca, Zephiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena (pp. 75-76); Luigi Pulci, Morgante XVIII 112-20 (pp. 116-119); Angelo Poliziano, Stanze per la giostra I 8-24 (pp. 119- 124); Lorenzo de' Medici, Canzona di Bacco (pp. 125-127);
- parte B: Pietro Bembo, Crin d'oro crespo e d'ambra tersa e pura (p. 152); Francesco Berni, Chiome d'argento fino, irte e attorte (pp. 153-154); Iacopo Sannazaro, O gelosia d'amanti orribil freno (pp. 154-155); Baldassarre Castiglione, Libro del Cortegiano I xxvi (pp. 161-163); Niccolò Machiavelli, Lettera a Francesco Vettori del 10 dicembre 1513 (pp. 168-174); Niccolò Machiavelli, De Principatibus 18 (pp. 178-182); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso I 1-4 (pp. 190-191); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso XII 1-22 (pp. 191-198); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata I 1-5 (pp. 216-218); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata III 16-31 (pp. 218-223); Galileo Galilei, Il Saggiatore 21 (pp. 237-240).
For Part C, students must prepare:
- the passages from Orlando innamorato that will be listed at the end of the course, in the edition Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando innamorato. L'inamoramento de Orlando, edited by Andrea Canova, Milan, Rizzoli, 2011;
- Andrea Canova, Introduction to Boiardo, Orlando innamorato, cit;
- the chronology of Boiardo's life and work, edited by G. Baldassari, readable at http://boiardo.letteratura.it/cronologia/
- Tina Matarrese, entry Boiardo, Matteo Maria (2010), in Enciclopedia dell'Italiano Treccani online: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/matteo-maria-boiardo_(Enciclopedia_dell'Italiano)/;
- Amorum libri tres I 1, in Antologia della letteratura italiana, p. 138;
- Tiziano Zanato, Boiardo, Roma, Salerno Editrice, pp. 161-223.
Other optional readings will be suggested in the course of the lectures.
For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric in Part D, students must prepare:
- Beatrice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Bari, Laterza (for rhetoric; precise indications of the figures to which particular attention should be paid will be given at the end of the course);
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, Bologna, il Mulino; limited to the following parts: chapters I-VI and X in full, ch. VII only the paragraphs devoted to: canzone, stanza, sestina lirica, sonetto, ballata, barzelletta, canzonetta, madrigale trecentesco, terza rima, ottava rima (stanza); cap. VIII, only the paragraph dedicated to "madrigale cinquecentesco".
It will be necessary to recognize all the metrical forms of the texts included in Antologia della letteratura italiana, edited by G. Baldassari and G. Barucci at pp. 1-237; besides students must prepare the following texts with regard to metrics and rhetoric: Dante Alighieri, Così nel mio parlar vogli'esser aspro (pp. 33-37); Francesco Petrarca, A qualunque animale alberga in terra (pp. 65-67); Francesco Petrarca, Italia mia, benché 'l parlar sia indarno (pp. 69-74); Francesco Petrarca, I' vo piangendo i miei passati tempi (pp. 77-78); Vittoria Colonna, Poi che 'l mio casto amor gran tempo tenne (pp. 155-156); Giovanni della Casa, Questa vita mortal, che 'n una o 'n due (pp. 156-157); Giambattista Marino, Adone III 156-61 e X 39-47 (pp. 227-232).
For parts A and B, students must prepare pp. 1-240 of Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, edited by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milan, Cortina, 2022 (for part A pp. 1-127) and related topics in literary history on a textbook of their choice (information will be given in the course presentation, which will then be available on Ariel).
The following texts from the same book should be prepared especially for the paraphrase part:
- part A: Giacomo da Lentini, Amore è uno disio (pp. 7-8); Guido Guinizelli, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore (pp. 17-20); Guido Cavalcanti, Tu m'hai sì piena di dolor la mente (pp. 21-22); Dante Alighieri, Vita nova 10, 1-25 (pp. 25-31); Dante Alighieri, Guido, i' vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io (pp. 32-33); Francesco Petrarca, Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono (pp. 64-65); Francesco Petrarca, Erano i capei d'oro a l'aura sparsi (pp. 68-69); Francesco Petrarca, La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora (pp. 74-75); Francesco Petrarca, Zephiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena (pp. 75-76); Luigi Pulci, Morgante XVIII 112-20 (pp. 116-119); Angelo Poliziano, Stanze per la giostra I 8-24 (pp. 119- 124); Lorenzo de' Medici, Canzona di Bacco (pp. 125-127);
- part B: Pietro Bembo, Crin d'oro crespo e d'ambra tersa e pura (p. 152); Francesco Berni, Chiome d'argento fino, irte e attorte (pp. 153-154); Iacopo Sannazaro, O gelosia d'amanti orribil freno (pp. 154-155); Baldassarre Castiglione, Libro del Cortegiano I xxvi (pp. 161-163); Niccolò Machiavelli, Lettera a Francesco Vettori del 10 dicembre 1513 (pp. 168-174); Niccolò Machiavelli, De Principatibus 18 (pp. 178-182); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso I 1-4 (pp. 190-191); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso XII 1-22 (pp. 191-198); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata I 1-5 (pp. 216-218); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata III 16-31 (pp. 218-223); Galileo Galilei, Il Saggiatore 21 (pp. 237-240).
For Part C, students must prepare:
- the passages from Orlando innamorato that will be listed at the end of the course, in the edition Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando innamorato. L'inamoramento de Orlando, edited by Andrea Canova, Milan, Rizzoli, 2011;
- Andrea Canova, Introduction to Boiardo, Orlando innamorato, cit;
- the chronology of Boiardo's life and work, edited by G. Baldassari, readable at http://boiardo.letteratura.it/cronologia/
- Tina Matarrese, entry Boiardo, Matteo Maria (2010), in Enciclopedia dell'Italiano Treccani online: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/matteo-maria-boiardo_(Enciclopedia_dell'Italiano)/
- Amorum libri tres I 1, in Antologia della letteratura italiana, p. 138.
- lecture notes.
Other optional readings will be suggested in the course of the lectures.
For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric in Part D, students must prepare:
- Beatrice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Bari, Laterza (for rhetoric; a list of the figures to which particular attention should be paid will be given in class);
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, Bologna, il Mulino; limited to the following parts: chapters I-VI and X in full, ch. VII only the paragraphs devoted to: canzone, stanza, sestina lirica, sonetto, ballata, barzelletta, canzonetta, madrigale trecentesco, terza rima, ottava rima (stanza); cap. VIII, only the paragraph dedicated to "madrigale cinquecentesco".
It will be necessary to recognize all the metrical forms of the texts included in in Antologia della letteratura italiana, edited by G. Baldassari and G. Barucci at pp. 1-237; besides students must prepare the following texts with particular regard to metrics and rhetoric: Dante Alighieri, Così nel mio parlar vogli'esser aspro (pp. 33-37); Francesco Petrarca, A qualunque animale alberga in terra (pp. 65-67); Francesco Petrarca, Italia mia, benché 'l parlar sia indarno (pp. 69-74); Francesco Petrarca, I' vo piangendo i miei passati tempi (pp. 77-78); Vittoria Colonna, Poi che 'l mio casto amor gran tempo tenne (pp. 155-156); Giovanni della Casa, Questa vita mortal, che 'n una o 'n due (pp. 156-157); Giambattista Marino, Adone III 156-61 e X 39-47 (pp. 227-232). The definitive programme will be provided at the end of the course.
Non-attending students
For parts A and B, students must prepare pp. 1-240 of Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, edited by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milan, Cortina, 2022 (for part A pp. 1-127) and related topics in literary history on a textbook of their choice (directions will be given in the course presentation, which will then be available on Ariel).
The following texts from the same book should be prepared especially for the paraphrase part:
- parte A: Giacomo da Lentini, Amore è uno disio (pp. 7-8); Guido Guinizelli, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore (pp. 17-20); Guido Cavalcanti, Tu m'hai sì piena di dolor la mente (pp. 21-22); Dante Alighieri, Vita nova 10, 1-25 (pp. 25-31); Dante Alighieri, Guido, i' vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io (pp. 32-33); Francesco Petrarca, Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono (pp. 64-65); Francesco Petrarca, Erano i capei d'oro a l'aura sparsi (pp. 68-69); Francesco Petrarca, La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora (pp. 74-75); Francesco Petrarca, Zephiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena (pp. 75-76); Luigi Pulci, Morgante XVIII 112-20 (pp. 116-119); Angelo Poliziano, Stanze per la giostra I 8-24 (pp. 119- 124); Lorenzo de' Medici, Canzona di Bacco (pp. 125-127);
- parte B: Pietro Bembo, Crin d'oro crespo e d'ambra tersa e pura (p. 152); Francesco Berni, Chiome d'argento fino, irte e attorte (pp. 153-154); Iacopo Sannazaro, O gelosia d'amanti orribil freno (pp. 154-155); Baldassarre Castiglione, Libro del Cortegiano I xxvi (pp. 161-163); Niccolò Machiavelli, Lettera a Francesco Vettori del 10 dicembre 1513 (pp. 168-174); Niccolò Machiavelli, De Principatibus 18 (pp. 178-182); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso I 1-4 (pp. 190-191); Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso XII 1-22 (pp. 191-198); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata I 1-5 (pp. 216-218); Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata III 16-31 (pp. 218-223); Galileo Galilei, Il Saggiatore 21 (pp. 237-240).
For Part C, students must prepare:
- the passages from Orlando innamorato that will be listed at the end of the course, in the edition Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando innamorato. L'inamoramento de Orlando, edited by Andrea Canova, Milan, Rizzoli, 2011;
- Andrea Canova, Introduction to Boiardo, Orlando innamorato, cit;
- the chronology of Boiardo's life and work, edited by G. Baldassari, readable at http://boiardo.letteratura.it/cronologia/
- Tina Matarrese, entry Boiardo, Matteo Maria (2010), in Enciclopedia dell'Italiano Treccani online: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/matteo-maria-boiardo_(Enciclopedia_dell'Italiano)/;
- Amorum libri tres I 1, in Antologia della letteratura italiana, p. 138;
- Tiziano Zanato, Boiardo, Roma, Salerno Editrice, pp. 161-223.
Other optional readings will be suggested in the course of the lectures.
For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric in Part D, students must prepare:
- Beatrice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Bari, Laterza (for rhetoric; precise indications of the figures to which particular attention should be paid will be given at the end of the course);
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, Bologna, il Mulino; limited to the following parts: chapters I-VI and X in full, ch. VII only the paragraphs devoted to: canzone, stanza, sestina lirica, sonetto, ballata, barzelletta, canzonetta, madrigale trecentesco, terza rima, ottava rima (stanza); cap. VIII, only the paragraph dedicated to "madrigale cinquecentesco".
It will be necessary to recognize all the metrical forms of the texts included in Antologia della letteratura italiana, edited by G. Baldassari and G. Barucci at pp. 1-237; besides students must prepare the following texts with regard to metrics and rhetoric: Dante Alighieri, Così nel mio parlar vogli'esser aspro (pp. 33-37); Francesco Petrarca, A qualunque animale alberga in terra (pp. 65-67); Francesco Petrarca, Italia mia, benché 'l parlar sia indarno (pp. 69-74); Francesco Petrarca, I' vo piangendo i miei passati tempi (pp. 77-78); Vittoria Colonna, Poi che 'l mio casto amor gran tempo tenne (pp. 155-156); Giovanni della Casa, Questa vita mortal, che 'n una o 'n due (pp. 156-157); Giambattista Marino, Adone III 156-61 e X 39-47 (pp. 227-232).
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam for 12 or 9 cfu consists of a preliminary written test on parts A and B and an oral test on parts C and D (only C for a 9 ECTS exam). The 6 ECTS exam consists of an oral test on teaching parts A and C.
The written test will be held in December 2022, May and September 2023; passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral exam. Written tests will be graded sufficient, discreet, good, excellent and will be part of the final overall grade. Grades of the written test will be published on Ariel in the specifically dedicated section.
The written test has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements listed in the programme, and a third part which consists in the paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme and in a short commentary on the same text. Students who had to take the OFA course of Text comprehension and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The criteria used to assess students' performance are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the proper formal register and to employ the appropriate specialised lexicon, and, for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language will be considered.
The oral test consists of an interview on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms, meters and rhetorical figures also through the texts to be prepared for part D. The student will have to demonstrate a full ability to paraphrase the text. The criteria used to assess students' performance are: ability to critically organize information from lectures and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using the appropriate technical language.
The final grade will be expressed in the 30 grade point system (minimum passing grade 18), and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Information on the programme and on the exam will be provided during the first lecture of the course; a presentation will be available on Ariel where students will find specimen papers of previous written tests.
Non-attending students, international students and Erasmus students are invited to contact the professor in office hours for information on the exam.
Examination methods for students with disabilities or SLD must be defined with the teacher in agreement with the University Disability and SLD Services
The written test will be held in December 2022, May and September 2023; passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral exam. Written tests will be graded sufficient, discreet, good, excellent and will be part of the final overall grade. Grades of the written test will be published on Ariel in the specifically dedicated section.
The written test has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements listed in the programme, and a third part which consists in the paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme and in a short commentary on the same text. Students who had to take the OFA course of Text comprehension and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The criteria used to assess students' performance are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the proper formal register and to employ the appropriate specialised lexicon, and, for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language will be considered.
The oral test consists of an interview on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms, meters and rhetorical figures also through the texts to be prepared for part D. The student will have to demonstrate a full ability to paraphrase the text. The criteria used to assess students' performance are: ability to critically organize information from lectures and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using the appropriate technical language.
The final grade will be expressed in the 30 grade point system (minimum passing grade 18), and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Information on the programme and on the exam will be provided during the first lecture of the course; a presentation will be available on Ariel where students will find specimen papers of previous written tests.
Non-attending students, international students and Erasmus students are invited to contact the professor in office hours for information on the exam.
Examination methods for students with disabilities or SLD must be defined with the teacher in agreement with the University Disability and SLD Services
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica D
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Di-N
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Course of 80 hours, 12 CFU:
Part A (20 hours, 3 CFU): Italian literature of the beginnings [Stefania Baragetti]
Part B (20 hours, 3 CFU): Italian literature from Renaissance Humanism to Baroque [Stefania Baragetti]
Part C (20 hours, 3 CFU): Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" [Massimo Colella]
Part D (20 hours, 3 CFU): Elements of metrics and rhetoric exemplified on texts of the Italian literary tradition [Massimo Colella]
The course addresses Humanities students whose surname begins with Di-N (12 CFU - written and oral exam - units A, B, C, D) and Liberal Studies in Communication students (6/9 CFU); the latter will prepare either teaching units A and C (6 CFU - oral exam) or A, B, C (9 CFU - written and oral exam).
The course is divided into four parts. Parts A (from Sicilian School to Petrarca) and B (from Renaissance Humanism to Baroque) will deal with the following subjects: Sicilian School and 13th century Tuscan poetry; Dolce Stil Novo; Dante Alighieri (with particular regard to "Rime", "Vita nova"); Francesco Petrarca (with particular regard to "Canzoniere"); Boccaccio ("Decameron"); Renaissance Humanism; the Florence of Lorenzo de' Medici, Poliziano ("Stanze per la giostra"), Luigi Pulci ("Morgante"); Matteo Maria Boiardo ("Orlando innamorato"); Petrarchism; the genre of treatise in 16th century (Pietro Bembo, Baldassarre Castiglione, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini); Ludovico Ariosto (with particular regard to "Orlando furioso"); Torquato Tasso (with particular regard to "Gerusalemme liberata"); the Baroque poetry (Giovan Battista Marino), Galileo Galilei and the Scientific Revolution ("Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo", "Il Saggiatore").
Part C will have as its object the reading and analysis of Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" ("Rerum vulgarium fragmenta"). Thematic, ideological, stylistic and intertextual aspects of the undisputed Petrarca's masterpiece will be considered, as well as the necessary historical-literary contextualization.
Part D, focused on a series of theoretical illustrations and exercises in reading and analyzing texts from the Italian literary tradition, will provide an in-depth study specifically oriented towards the correct acquisition of the tools of metrics and rhetoric.
Part A (20 hours, 3 CFU): Italian literature of the beginnings [Stefania Baragetti]
Part B (20 hours, 3 CFU): Italian literature from Renaissance Humanism to Baroque [Stefania Baragetti]
Part C (20 hours, 3 CFU): Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" [Massimo Colella]
Part D (20 hours, 3 CFU): Elements of metrics and rhetoric exemplified on texts of the Italian literary tradition [Massimo Colella]
The course addresses Humanities students whose surname begins with Di-N (12 CFU - written and oral exam - units A, B, C, D) and Liberal Studies in Communication students (6/9 CFU); the latter will prepare either teaching units A and C (6 CFU - oral exam) or A, B, C (9 CFU - written and oral exam).
The course is divided into four parts. Parts A (from Sicilian School to Petrarca) and B (from Renaissance Humanism to Baroque) will deal with the following subjects: Sicilian School and 13th century Tuscan poetry; Dolce Stil Novo; Dante Alighieri (with particular regard to "Rime", "Vita nova"); Francesco Petrarca (with particular regard to "Canzoniere"); Boccaccio ("Decameron"); Renaissance Humanism; the Florence of Lorenzo de' Medici, Poliziano ("Stanze per la giostra"), Luigi Pulci ("Morgante"); Matteo Maria Boiardo ("Orlando innamorato"); Petrarchism; the genre of treatise in 16th century (Pietro Bembo, Baldassarre Castiglione, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini); Ludovico Ariosto (with particular regard to "Orlando furioso"); Torquato Tasso (with particular regard to "Gerusalemme liberata"); the Baroque poetry (Giovan Battista Marino), Galileo Galilei and the Scientific Revolution ("Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo", "Il Saggiatore").
Part C will have as its object the reading and analysis of Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" ("Rerum vulgarium fragmenta"). Thematic, ideological, stylistic and intertextual aspects of the undisputed Petrarca's masterpiece will be considered, as well as the necessary historical-literary contextualization.
Part D, focused on a series of theoretical illustrations and exercises in reading and analyzing texts from the Italian literary tradition, will provide an in-depth study specifically oriented towards the correct acquisition of the tools of metrics and rhetoric.
Prerequisites for admission
There are no required prerequisites. Yet, Humanities students who have passed the entrance examination with a score lower than 25 in the section "Text comprehension" must fulfill additional learning obligations (OFA, Obblighi formativi aggiuntivi) according to the provisions of the Humanities Study Program, as indicated in Course website. All Humanities students enrolled in 2022 must consult the Course website page about OFA.
Teaching methods
Attendance to classes is strongly recommended although not compulsory. Frontal lectures aim primarily at the acquisition of knowledge and the appropriate specialized vocabulary.
Parts A and B will be taught on texts included in the booklet. Slide projections will also be used. The lectures of parts A and B will focus on movements, authors, literary works and their cultural context (from the beginnings to Baroque); on the main critical problems of each topic and text (through the reading of critical essays); on tradition and reception of works and texts; on their most interesting formal aspects.
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
In Part C, the analysis of Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" ("Rerum vulgarium fragmenta") will allow for a critical study of a work of absolute importance in the history and evolution of the Italian and European literary civilization. The macro- and micro-textual investigation of the work will proceed both on the content-thematic track and on the formal-stylistic one, in order to problematize its multi-layered historical-cultural, historical-literary and intertextual components. The lessons and the study of the bibliography will allow to refine the tools and methods of analysis and to learn the lexicon of the discipline.
During part D the analysis of some texts of the Italian literary tradition will focus on the metric and rhetorical aspects, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the basic elements of the discipline through direct contact with the text.
All the slides projected during the lessons will be available on Ariel.
Non-attending students have to obtain the materials indicated in this program and to contact the teacher via email or during reception hours.
Parts A and B will be taught on texts included in the booklet. Slide projections will also be used. The lectures of parts A and B will focus on movements, authors, literary works and their cultural context (from the beginnings to Baroque); on the main critical problems of each topic and text (through the reading of critical essays); on tradition and reception of works and texts; on their most interesting formal aspects.
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
In Part C, the analysis of Francesco Petrarca's "Canzoniere" ("Rerum vulgarium fragmenta") will allow for a critical study of a work of absolute importance in the history and evolution of the Italian and European literary civilization. The macro- and micro-textual investigation of the work will proceed both on the content-thematic track and on the formal-stylistic one, in order to problematize its multi-layered historical-cultural, historical-literary and intertextual components. The lessons and the study of the bibliography will allow to refine the tools and methods of analysis and to learn the lexicon of the discipline.
During part D the analysis of some texts of the Italian literary tradition will focus on the metric and rhetorical aspects, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the basic elements of the discipline through direct contact with the text.
All the slides projected during the lessons will be available on Ariel.
Non-attending students have to obtain the materials indicated in this program and to contact the teacher via email or during reception hours.
Teaching Resources
Attending Students
Parts A and B
Students must prepare topics and texts using a handbooks of their own choice and this collection of texts: "Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni", ed. by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milano, Cortina, 2022. To consolidate the historical and literary framework and the knowledge of the authors and works analyzed, the students are free to choose the handbook of Italian literature. Some handbooks are suggested here below:
- Giulio Ferroni, "Profilo storico della letteratura italiana", 2 voll., Einaudi;
- Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, "Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari", 2 voll., Mondadori Università;
- "Letteratura italiana", ed. by Andrea Battistini, 2 voll., il Mulino;
- Hermann Grosser, "Il canone letterario", Principato (3 voll., including "Il secondo Cinquecento. Seicento. Settecento");
- Claudio Marazzini, Simone Fornara, "Dove 'l sì suona", Loescher (3 voll.: "Dalle origini ai siculo-toscani"; 1. "Dallo stilnovo a Tasso"; 2. "Dal Barocco a Manzoni");
- Claudio Giunta, "Cuori intelligenti", DeAgostini-Garzanti (Blue edition: 2 voll., including "Dal Barocco al Romanticismo");
- Corrado Bologna, "Rosa fresca aulentissima", Loescher (3 voll., including "Dal Barocco all'età dei Lumi").
At the end of parts A and B students will find on Ariel a detailed list of subjects and texts to be prepared for the exam.
Part C
I. Lecture notes.
II. Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, a cura di Paola Vecchi Galli, annotazioni di Paola Vecchi Galli e Stefano Cremonini, Milano, Rizzoli, 2019 (first edition 2012). The complete and definitive list of the analyzed texts will be provided at the end of the lessons.
III. Natascia Tonelli, Leggere il «Canzoniere», Bologna, il Mulino, 2017.
IV. Eventual critical studies reported in class.
Part D
I. Lecture notes.
II. The exemplification of the elements of metrics and rhetoric will take place on poetic texts of the Italian literary tradition, taken from Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, ed. by Gabriele Baldassari e Guglielmo Barucci, as well as - possibly - from other sources (which will be made available on the Ariel website). The complete and definitive list of the texts analyzed will be provided at the end of the lessons.
III. For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric, it is necessary to study:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2012 (I ediz. 1996);
- Bice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2021 (I ediz. 2010).
IV. It is also necessary to study one of the following texts:
- Maria Picchio Simonelli, La sestina dantesca fra Arnaut Daniel e il Petrarca, in Eadem, Figure foniche dal Petrarca ai petrarchisti, Firenze, Licosa, 1978, pp. 1-15;
- Alessandro Martini, Ritratto del madrigale poetico fra Cinque e Seicento, in «Lettere italiane», XXXIII, 1981, pp. 529-548;
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, Bologna, il Mulino, 1993 (one chapter chosen from the following: La canzone, pp. 15-62; Le ballate di Dante e del Petrarca, pp. 219-242);
- Fabio Magro, Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano. Dalle origini a oggi, Roma, Carocci, 2017 (one chapter chosen from the following: cap. 3 Petrarca e il Trecento; cap. 4 L'età dei petrarchismi; cap. 5 Il sonetto tra manierismo e barocco).
Non-attending Students
Parts A and B
Students must prepare topics and texts using a handbooks of their own choice and this collection of texts: "Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni", ed. by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milano, Cortina, 2022. To consolidate the historical and literary framework and the knowledge of the authors and works analyzed, the students are free to choose the handbook of Italian literature. Some handbooks are suggested here below:
- Giulio Ferroni, "Profilo storico della letteratura italiana", 2 voll., Einaudi;
- Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, "Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari", 2 voll., Mondadori Università;
- "Letteratura italiana", ed. by Andrea Battistini, 2 voll., il Mulino;
- Hermann Grosser, "Il canone letterario", Principato (3 voll., including "Il secondo Cinquecento. Seicento. Settecento");
- Claudio Marazzini, Simone Fornara, "Dove 'l sì suona", Loescher (3 voll.: "Dalle origini ai siculo-toscani"; 1. "Dallo stilnovo a Tasso"; 2. "Dal Barocco a Manzoni");
- Claudio Giunta, "Cuori intelligenti", DeAgostini-Garzanti (Blue edition: 2 voll., including "Dal Barocco al Romanticismo");
- Corrado Bologna, "Rosa fresca aulentissima", Loescher (3 voll., including "Dal Barocco all'età dei Lumi").
At the end of parts A and B students will find on Ariel a detailed list of subjects and texts to be prepared for the exam.
Part C
I. Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, a cura di Paola Vecchi Galli, annotazioni di Paola Vecchi Galli e Stefano Cremonini, Milano, Rizzoli, 2019 (first edition 2012). The complete and definitive list of the analyzed texts will be provided at the end of the lessons.
II. Loredana Chines, Francesco Petrarca, Bologna, Pàtron, 2016.
III. Natascia Tonelli, Leggere il «Canzoniere», Bologna, il Mulino, 2017.
IV. Marco Santagata, I frammenti dell'anima. Storia e racconto nel «Canzoniere» di Petrarca [1992], Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
V. Paolo Cherchi, Verso la chiusura. Saggio sul «Canzoniere» di Petrarca, Bologna, il Mulino, 2008.
Part D
I. The exemplification of the elements of metrics and rhetoric will take place on poetic texts of the Italian literary tradition, taken from Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, ed. by Gabriele Baldassari e Guglielmo Barucci, as well as - possibly - from other sources (which will be made available on the Ariel website). The complete and definitive list of the texts analyzed will be provided at the end of the lessons. As regards the metric side, it is necessary to be able to divide the verses into metric syllables (taking into account the metric figures: dialefe, sinalefe, etc.), to perceive the rhythmic accents (and, consequently, to distinguish for example between a hendecasyllable a maiore and one a minore) and recognize the metric forms (sonetto, canzone, etc.). As for the rhetorical side, the identification of the presence and function of the tropes and speech and thought figures is required.
II. For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric, it is necessary to study:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2012 (I ediz. 1996);
- Bice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2021 (I ediz. 2010).
III. It is also necessary to study two of the following texts:
- Maria Picchio Simonelli, La sestina dantesca fra Arnaut Daniel e il Petrarca, in Eadem, Figure foniche dal Petrarca ai petrarchisti, Firenze, Licosa, 1978, pp. 1-15;
- Alessandro Martini, Ritratto del madrigale poetico fra Cinque e Seicento, in «Lettere italiane», XXXIII, 1981, pp. 529-548;
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, Bologna, il Mulino, 1993
- (one chapter chosen from the following: La canzone, pp. 15-62; Le ballate di Dante e del Petrarca, pp. 219-242);
- Fabio Magro, Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano. Dalle origini a oggi, Roma, Carocci, 2017 (one chapter chosen from the following: cap. 3 Petrarca e il Trecento; cap. 4 L'età dei petrarchismi; cap. 5 Il sonetto tra manierismo e barocco).
Parts A and B
Students must prepare topics and texts using a handbooks of their own choice and this collection of texts: "Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni", ed. by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milano, Cortina, 2022. To consolidate the historical and literary framework and the knowledge of the authors and works analyzed, the students are free to choose the handbook of Italian literature. Some handbooks are suggested here below:
- Giulio Ferroni, "Profilo storico della letteratura italiana", 2 voll., Einaudi;
- Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, "Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari", 2 voll., Mondadori Università;
- "Letteratura italiana", ed. by Andrea Battistini, 2 voll., il Mulino;
- Hermann Grosser, "Il canone letterario", Principato (3 voll., including "Il secondo Cinquecento. Seicento. Settecento");
- Claudio Marazzini, Simone Fornara, "Dove 'l sì suona", Loescher (3 voll.: "Dalle origini ai siculo-toscani"; 1. "Dallo stilnovo a Tasso"; 2. "Dal Barocco a Manzoni");
- Claudio Giunta, "Cuori intelligenti", DeAgostini-Garzanti (Blue edition: 2 voll., including "Dal Barocco al Romanticismo");
- Corrado Bologna, "Rosa fresca aulentissima", Loescher (3 voll., including "Dal Barocco all'età dei Lumi").
At the end of parts A and B students will find on Ariel a detailed list of subjects and texts to be prepared for the exam.
Part C
I. Lecture notes.
II. Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, a cura di Paola Vecchi Galli, annotazioni di Paola Vecchi Galli e Stefano Cremonini, Milano, Rizzoli, 2019 (first edition 2012). The complete and definitive list of the analyzed texts will be provided at the end of the lessons.
III. Natascia Tonelli, Leggere il «Canzoniere», Bologna, il Mulino, 2017.
IV. Eventual critical studies reported in class.
Part D
I. Lecture notes.
II. The exemplification of the elements of metrics and rhetoric will take place on poetic texts of the Italian literary tradition, taken from Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, ed. by Gabriele Baldassari e Guglielmo Barucci, as well as - possibly - from other sources (which will be made available on the Ariel website). The complete and definitive list of the texts analyzed will be provided at the end of the lessons.
III. For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric, it is necessary to study:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2012 (I ediz. 1996);
- Bice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2021 (I ediz. 2010).
IV. It is also necessary to study one of the following texts:
- Maria Picchio Simonelli, La sestina dantesca fra Arnaut Daniel e il Petrarca, in Eadem, Figure foniche dal Petrarca ai petrarchisti, Firenze, Licosa, 1978, pp. 1-15;
- Alessandro Martini, Ritratto del madrigale poetico fra Cinque e Seicento, in «Lettere italiane», XXXIII, 1981, pp. 529-548;
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, Bologna, il Mulino, 1993 (one chapter chosen from the following: La canzone, pp. 15-62; Le ballate di Dante e del Petrarca, pp. 219-242);
- Fabio Magro, Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano. Dalle origini a oggi, Roma, Carocci, 2017 (one chapter chosen from the following: cap. 3 Petrarca e il Trecento; cap. 4 L'età dei petrarchismi; cap. 5 Il sonetto tra manierismo e barocco).
Non-attending Students
Parts A and B
Students must prepare topics and texts using a handbooks of their own choice and this collection of texts: "Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni", ed. by Gabriele Baldassari and Guglielmo Barucci, Milano, Cortina, 2022. To consolidate the historical and literary framework and the knowledge of the authors and works analyzed, the students are free to choose the handbook of Italian literature. Some handbooks are suggested here below:
- Giulio Ferroni, "Profilo storico della letteratura italiana", 2 voll., Einaudi;
- Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, "Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari", 2 voll., Mondadori Università;
- "Letteratura italiana", ed. by Andrea Battistini, 2 voll., il Mulino;
- Hermann Grosser, "Il canone letterario", Principato (3 voll., including "Il secondo Cinquecento. Seicento. Settecento");
- Claudio Marazzini, Simone Fornara, "Dove 'l sì suona", Loescher (3 voll.: "Dalle origini ai siculo-toscani"; 1. "Dallo stilnovo a Tasso"; 2. "Dal Barocco a Manzoni");
- Claudio Giunta, "Cuori intelligenti", DeAgostini-Garzanti (Blue edition: 2 voll., including "Dal Barocco al Romanticismo");
- Corrado Bologna, "Rosa fresca aulentissima", Loescher (3 voll., including "Dal Barocco all'età dei Lumi").
At the end of parts A and B students will find on Ariel a detailed list of subjects and texts to be prepared for the exam.
Part C
I. Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, a cura di Paola Vecchi Galli, annotazioni di Paola Vecchi Galli e Stefano Cremonini, Milano, Rizzoli, 2019 (first edition 2012). The complete and definitive list of the analyzed texts will be provided at the end of the lessons.
II. Loredana Chines, Francesco Petrarca, Bologna, Pàtron, 2016.
III. Natascia Tonelli, Leggere il «Canzoniere», Bologna, il Mulino, 2017.
IV. Marco Santagata, I frammenti dell'anima. Storia e racconto nel «Canzoniere» di Petrarca [1992], Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
V. Paolo Cherchi, Verso la chiusura. Saggio sul «Canzoniere» di Petrarca, Bologna, il Mulino, 2008.
Part D
I. The exemplification of the elements of metrics and rhetoric will take place on poetic texts of the Italian literary tradition, taken from Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni, ed. by Gabriele Baldassari e Guglielmo Barucci, as well as - possibly - from other sources (which will be made available on the Ariel website). The complete and definitive list of the texts analyzed will be provided at the end of the lessons. As regards the metric side, it is necessary to be able to divide the verses into metric syllables (taking into account the metric figures: dialefe, sinalefe, etc.), to perceive the rhythmic accents (and, consequently, to distinguish for example between a hendecasyllable a maiore and one a minore) and recognize the metric forms (sonetto, canzone, etc.). As for the rhetorical side, the identification of the presence and function of the tropes and speech and thought figures is required.
II. For the historical and theoretical aspects of metrics and rhetoric, it is necessary to study:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, Gli strumenti della poesia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2012 (I ediz. 1996);
- Bice Mortara Garavelli, Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2021 (I ediz. 2010).
III. It is also necessary to study two of the following texts:
- Maria Picchio Simonelli, La sestina dantesca fra Arnaut Daniel e il Petrarca, in Eadem, Figure foniche dal Petrarca ai petrarchisti, Firenze, Licosa, 1978, pp. 1-15;
- Alessandro Martini, Ritratto del madrigale poetico fra Cinque e Seicento, in «Lettere italiane», XXXIII, 1981, pp. 529-548;
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, Bologna, il Mulino, 1993
- (one chapter chosen from the following: La canzone, pp. 15-62; Le ballate di Dante e del Petrarca, pp. 219-242);
- Fabio Magro, Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano. Dalle origini a oggi, Roma, Carocci, 2017 (one chapter chosen from the following: cap. 3 Petrarca e il Trecento; cap. 4 L'età dei petrarchismi; cap. 5 Il sonetto tra manierismo e barocco).
Assessment methods and Criteria
-Assessment methods: the 6 CFU exam consists of an oral test on teaching parts A and C. The exam for 12 or 9 CFU consists of a preliminary written test on parts A and B and an oral test on parts C and D (only C for a 9 CFU exam). The written test will be held in December 2022, May and September 2023; passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral exam. Written tests will be graded sufficient, discreet, good, excellent and will be part of the final overall grade. Grades of the written test will be published on Ariel in the specifically dedicated section.
-Type of test: the written test has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements in the programme, and a third question which consists in the paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme and in few short questions about it. Students who had to take the support course (OFA, "Text comprehension") and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The oral test consists of an interview on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms, meters and rhetorical figures through the texts to be prepared for part D.
-Criteria: the criteria used to evaluate the written test are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the right formal register and to use the appropriate specialized vocabulary, and, for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language. The student will have to demonstrate a full ability to paraphrase the text.
The criteria used to assess the oral test are: ability to critically organize information from lectures and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using the appropriate technical language.
-Grade: the final grade will be determined in 30s, and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Information on the programme and on the exam will be provided during the first lecture of the course.
International and Erasmus students are invited to promptly get in touch with the professor in order to arrange a reading plan (available in English) for exam preparation.
The format of the exam for students with disabilities must be be defined in advance with the teacher, as well as the relevant office.
-Type of test: the written test has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements in the programme, and a third question which consists in the paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme and in few short questions about it. Students who had to take the support course (OFA, "Text comprehension") and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The oral test consists of an interview on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms, meters and rhetorical figures through the texts to be prepared for part D.
-Criteria: the criteria used to evaluate the written test are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the right formal register and to use the appropriate specialized vocabulary, and, for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language. The student will have to demonstrate a full ability to paraphrase the text.
The criteria used to assess the oral test are: ability to critically organize information from lectures and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using the appropriate technical language.
-Grade: the final grade will be determined in 30s, and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Information on the programme and on the exam will be provided during the first lecture of the course.
International and Erasmus students are invited to promptly get in touch with the professor in order to arrange a reading plan (available in English) for exam preparation.
The format of the exam for students with disabilities must be be defined in advance with the teacher, as well as the relevant office.
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Baragetti Stefania
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Baragetti Stefania
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Colella Massimo
Unita' didattica D
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Colella Massimo
O-Z
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Title of the course: "History and interpretation of the literary text" (80 hours, 12 cfu)
Teaching part A (20 hours, 3 cfu): The first centuries [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part B (20 hours, 3 cfu): From Humanism to Baroque [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part C (20 hours, 3 cfu): "Decameron" by Giovanni Boccaccio [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part D (20 hours, 3 cfu): Elements of prosody, metre and rhetoric through texts of Italian literature [Sandra Carapezza]
The first year course is aimed at undergraduate Humanities and Liberal Studies in Communication students whose surname begins with O-Z. Humanities students will take a 12 cfu exam; Liberal Studies in Communication students can choose between 6 (parts A and C) and 9 cfu (parts A, B, C). Students who take a 6 CFU exam will take only an oral exam.
Students who have already taken an exam of Italian literature must contact the teacher.
The teaching programme of parts A and B focuses on the history of Italian literature from Origins to Baroque; teaching part C is dedicated to the analysis of Giovanni Boccaccio"Decameron" in its formal and cultural context; teaching part D will consist of an in-depth analysis and reading of poems and texts, providing the students with elements of metrics and rhetoric.
Teaching part A (20 hours, 3 cfu): The first centuries [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part B (20 hours, 3 cfu): From Humanism to Baroque [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part C (20 hours, 3 cfu): "Decameron" by Giovanni Boccaccio [Sandra Carapezza]
Teaching part D (20 hours, 3 cfu): Elements of prosody, metre and rhetoric through texts of Italian literature [Sandra Carapezza]
The first year course is aimed at undergraduate Humanities and Liberal Studies in Communication students whose surname begins with O-Z. Humanities students will take a 12 cfu exam; Liberal Studies in Communication students can choose between 6 (parts A and C) and 9 cfu (parts A, B, C). Students who take a 6 CFU exam will take only an oral exam.
Students who have already taken an exam of Italian literature must contact the teacher.
The teaching programme of parts A and B focuses on the history of Italian literature from Origins to Baroque; teaching part C is dedicated to the analysis of Giovanni Boccaccio"Decameron" in its formal and cultural context; teaching part D will consist of an in-depth analysis and reading of poems and texts, providing the students with elements of metrics and rhetoric.
Prerequisites for admission
There are no required prerequisites. Yet, Humanities students who have passed the entrance examination with a score lower than 25 in the section "Text comprehension" must fulfill additional learning obligations (OFA, Obblighi formativi aggiuntivi) according to the provisions of the Humanities Study Program, as indicated in Course website. All Humanities students enrolled in 2022 must consult the Course website page about OFA.
Teaching methods
The course will be offered in a lecture format; attendance is not mandatory, though strongly recommended.
Teaching parts A and B will be taught on texts included in the lecture notes. During the lectures, slide projections will be used. The focus will be on movements, authors and works and their cultural context; on the main critical problems of every topic, through quotations from critical essays and comparisons between different positions; on tradition and reception of works and texts; on their most interesting formal aspects. All the materials will be available on Ariel (http://ariel.unimi.it).
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
In teaching part C, through the analysis of the commented edition of "Decameron", of the materials provided on Ariel, and of the critical bibliography, one of the most important works of Italian literature will be studied in its cultural, social and political context.
Teaching part C will provide an opportunity to refine critical and formal tools and to better learn the technical lexicon.
In teaching part D, the study of the materials available on Ariel will allow students to become acquainted with both the formal elements and continuity, transformation and intersection of the metric forms.
Teaching parts A and B will be taught on texts included in the lecture notes. During the lectures, slide projections will be used. The focus will be on movements, authors and works and their cultural context; on the main critical problems of every topic, through quotations from critical essays and comparisons between different positions; on tradition and reception of works and texts; on their most interesting formal aspects. All the materials will be available on Ariel (http://ariel.unimi.it).
Analysis of the texts will start from paraphrase, paying attention to the most important differences in interpretation, and will consider the prominent cultural and formal elements.
In teaching part C, through the analysis of the commented edition of "Decameron", of the materials provided on Ariel, and of the critical bibliography, one of the most important works of Italian literature will be studied in its cultural, social and political context.
Teaching part C will provide an opportunity to refine critical and formal tools and to better learn the technical lexicon.
In teaching part D, the study of the materials available on Ariel will allow students to become acquainted with both the formal elements and continuity, transformation and intersection of the metric forms.
Teaching Resources
Teaching part A
Texts to be studied in teaching parts A and B will be available on the Ariel platform (Contenuti > Materiali Didattici < "Dispensa") prior to the beginning of the class. Students are required to download the reading material from Ariel and bring it to each lesson. No course handouts will be provided.
A full knowledge of the historical and cultural context of works and authors is strictly necessary.
A good handbook for high schools with a wide anthological selection is recommended (e.g. Baldassari-Barucci, Antologia della letteratura italiana, Milano, Cortina, 2022; Guglielmino-Grosser, Il sistema letterario, Milano, Principato; Grosser, Il canone letterario, Milano, Principato; Segre-Martignoni, Leggere il mondo, Milano, Bruno Mondadori; Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Letteratura italiana, Milano, Mondadori).
Teaching part B
See Teaching part A.
Teaching part C
Text:
Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
An overall knowledge of the work (composition, structure, plot, topics, style) is required; 'novelle' specifically required for the exam wil be defined at the end of the course. Furthermore, students will study §§ "Scheda dell'opera", "Notizia biografica", "Nota al testo" in Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
More texts to be discussed in the class will be available on Ariel.
Attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Giancarlo Alfano, Introduzione alla lettura del Decameron di Boccaccio, Laterza, 2014
- Giorgio Barberi Squarotti, Il potere della parola. Studi sul Decameron, Federico & Ardia, 1983, §§. 1. La cornice del Decameron o il mito di Robinson, 2. L'orazione di Alatiel, 7. L'ambigua sociologia di Griselda
- Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio, Salerno, 2000, §§. 7. Il Decameron: l'elaborazione dell'opera, 8. Il Decameron: la scelta prosastica e narrativa. L'adozione del genere novella, 9. Il Decameron: struttura dell'opera. Elementi tradizionali e innovativi nella cornice, 10. Il Decameron: amore, beffa, avventura nelle novelle di Boccaccio. Il problema delle fonti, 11. Il Decameron: il realismo di Boccaccio, 12. Il Decameron: un modello di prosa volgare.
- Renzo Bragantini, Il Decameron e il medioevo rivoluzionario di Boccaccio, Carocci, 2022, §§. 1. L'impegno del diletto, 2. La fisionomia esterna del testo, 3. Strutture e strategie, 4. Personaggi, ruoli, gruppi sociali
- Renzo Bragantini e Pier Massimo Forni, Lessico critico decameroniano, Bollati Boringhieri, 1995, §§. 2. Autore/narratori (Michelangelo Picone), 6. Filoginia/misoginia (Claude Cazalé Bérard), 11. Morale (Victoria Kirkham), 12. Rappresentazione (Carlo Mazzacurati)
- Maurizio Fiorilla e Irene Iocca, Boccaccio, Carocci, 2021, §§. 4. Il capolavoro narrativo: il Decameron (Maurizio Fiorilla), 7. La prosa polemica: il Corbaccio (Stefano Carrai), 11. La lingua e lo stile (Roberta Cella), 12. Gli autografi (Marco Cursi), 13. Petrarca e le amicizie epistolari (Monica Bertè).
- Elisabetta Menetti, La realtà come invenzione. Forme e storia della novella italiana, FrancoAngeli, 2015 ,§§. 1. L'invenzione della novella, 2. La voce del Decameron.
- Michelangelo Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione della novella. Letture del Decameron, Longo, 2008, §§. 9. Il romanzo di Alatiel, 11. Le papere di fra Filippo, 16. La novella-cornice di madonna Oretta, 22. L'exemplum sublime di Griselda.
Teaching part D
Texts for part D will be provided on Ariel prior to the beginning of the course.
Furthermore, students will study one of the following texts:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, il Mulino, 1991, capitolo 1. Elementi di teoria metrica, capitolo 2. Profilo storico della metrica italiana (§ 2.1. Metrica italiana e metrica romanza dalle origini alla fine del Quattrocento)
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, il Mulino, 1993, Parte prima. Le forme primarie del testo poetico
- Fabio Magno e Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano dalle origini a oggi, Carocci, 2017, §§ 1. La forma, il genere, 2. Le origini, 3. Petrarca e il Trecento
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
Teaching parts A and B
For teaching parts A and B, the programme is the same as for attending students.
Teaching part C
Text:
Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR
An overall knowledge of the work (composition, structure, plot, topics, style) is required; 'novelle' specifically required for the exam wil be defined at the end of the course. Furthermore, students will study §§ "Scheda dell'opera", "Notizia biografica", "Nota al testo" in Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
Non-attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Giancarlo Alfano, Introduzione alla lettura del Decameron di Boccaccio, Laterza, 2014
- Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio, Salerno, 2000, §§ 7. Il Decameron: l'elaborazione dell'opera, 8. Il Decameron: la scelta prosastica e narrativa. L'adozione del genere novella, 9. Il Decameron: struttura dell'opera. Elementi tradizionali e innovativi nella cornice, 10. Il Decameron: amore, beffa, avventura nelle novelle di Boccaccio. Il problema delle fonti, 11. Il Decameron: il realismo di Boccaccio, 12. Il Decameron: un modello di prosa volgare.
- Renzo Bragantini, Il Decameron e il medioevo rivoluzionario di Boccaccio, Carocci, 2022, §§ 1. L'impegno del diletto, 2. La fisionomia esterna del testo, 3. Strutture e strategie, 4. Personaggi, ruoli, gruppi sociali
- Maurizio Fiorilla e Irene Iocca, Boccaccio, Carocci, 2021, §§ 4. Il capolavoro narrativo: il Decameron (by Maurizio Fiorilla), 7. La prosa polemica: il Corbaccio (by Stefano Carrai), 11. La lingua e lo stile (by Roberta Cella), 12. Gli autografi (by Marco Cursi), 13. Petrarca e le amicizie epistolari (by Monica Bertè).
Furthermore, one of the following texts:
- Giorgio Barberi Squarotti, Il potere della parola. Studi sul Decameron, Federico & Ardia, 1983, §§ 1. La cornice del Decameron o il mito di Robinson, 2. L'orazione di Alatiel, 7. L'ambigua sociologia di Griselda
- Renzo Bragantini e Pier Massimo Forni, Lessico critico decameroniano, Bollati Boringhieri, 1995, §§ 2. Autore/narratori (di Michelangelo Picone), 6. Filoginia/misoginia (di Claude Cazalé Bérard), 11. Morale (di Victoria Kirkham), 12. Rappresentazione (di Carlo Mazzacurati)
- Elisabetta Menetti, La realtà come invenzione. Forme e storia della novella italiana, FrancoAngeli, 2015, §§ 1. L'invenzione della novella, 2. La voce del Decameron.
- Michelangelo Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione della novella. Letture del Decameron, Longo, 2008, §§. 9. Il romanzo di Alatiel, 11. Le papere di fra Filippo, 16. La novella-cornice di madonna Oretta, 22. L'exemplum sublime di Griselda.
Teaching part D
Texts for part D will be provided on Ariel prior to the beginning of the course.
Furthermore, non-attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, il Mulino, 1991, capitolo 1. Elementi di teoria metrica, capitolo 2. Profilo storico della metrica italiana (§ 2.1. Metrica italiana e metrica romanza dalle origini alla fine del Quattrocento)
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, il Mulino, 1993, Parte prima. Le forme primarie del testo poetico
- Fabio Magno e Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano dalle origini a oggi, Carocci, 2017, §§. 1. La forma, il genere, 2. Le origini, 3. Petrarca e il Trecento
Non-attending students are strongly recommended to contact the teacher via email for further information (for the timetable, check in advance the Who and Where on Unimi homepage).
Texts to be studied in teaching parts A and B will be available on the Ariel platform (Contenuti > Materiali Didattici < "Dispensa") prior to the beginning of the class. Students are required to download the reading material from Ariel and bring it to each lesson. No course handouts will be provided.
A full knowledge of the historical and cultural context of works and authors is strictly necessary.
A good handbook for high schools with a wide anthological selection is recommended (e.g. Baldassari-Barucci, Antologia della letteratura italiana, Milano, Cortina, 2022; Guglielmino-Grosser, Il sistema letterario, Milano, Principato; Grosser, Il canone letterario, Milano, Principato; Segre-Martignoni, Leggere il mondo, Milano, Bruno Mondadori; Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Letteratura italiana, Milano, Mondadori).
Teaching part B
See Teaching part A.
Teaching part C
Text:
Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
An overall knowledge of the work (composition, structure, plot, topics, style) is required; 'novelle' specifically required for the exam wil be defined at the end of the course. Furthermore, students will study §§ "Scheda dell'opera", "Notizia biografica", "Nota al testo" in Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
More texts to be discussed in the class will be available on Ariel.
Attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Giancarlo Alfano, Introduzione alla lettura del Decameron di Boccaccio, Laterza, 2014
- Giorgio Barberi Squarotti, Il potere della parola. Studi sul Decameron, Federico & Ardia, 1983, §§. 1. La cornice del Decameron o il mito di Robinson, 2. L'orazione di Alatiel, 7. L'ambigua sociologia di Griselda
- Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio, Salerno, 2000, §§. 7. Il Decameron: l'elaborazione dell'opera, 8. Il Decameron: la scelta prosastica e narrativa. L'adozione del genere novella, 9. Il Decameron: struttura dell'opera. Elementi tradizionali e innovativi nella cornice, 10. Il Decameron: amore, beffa, avventura nelle novelle di Boccaccio. Il problema delle fonti, 11. Il Decameron: il realismo di Boccaccio, 12. Il Decameron: un modello di prosa volgare.
- Renzo Bragantini, Il Decameron e il medioevo rivoluzionario di Boccaccio, Carocci, 2022, §§. 1. L'impegno del diletto, 2. La fisionomia esterna del testo, 3. Strutture e strategie, 4. Personaggi, ruoli, gruppi sociali
- Renzo Bragantini e Pier Massimo Forni, Lessico critico decameroniano, Bollati Boringhieri, 1995, §§. 2. Autore/narratori (Michelangelo Picone), 6. Filoginia/misoginia (Claude Cazalé Bérard), 11. Morale (Victoria Kirkham), 12. Rappresentazione (Carlo Mazzacurati)
- Maurizio Fiorilla e Irene Iocca, Boccaccio, Carocci, 2021, §§. 4. Il capolavoro narrativo: il Decameron (Maurizio Fiorilla), 7. La prosa polemica: il Corbaccio (Stefano Carrai), 11. La lingua e lo stile (Roberta Cella), 12. Gli autografi (Marco Cursi), 13. Petrarca e le amicizie epistolari (Monica Bertè).
- Elisabetta Menetti, La realtà come invenzione. Forme e storia della novella italiana, FrancoAngeli, 2015 ,§§. 1. L'invenzione della novella, 2. La voce del Decameron.
- Michelangelo Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione della novella. Letture del Decameron, Longo, 2008, §§. 9. Il romanzo di Alatiel, 11. Le papere di fra Filippo, 16. La novella-cornice di madonna Oretta, 22. L'exemplum sublime di Griselda.
Teaching part D
Texts for part D will be provided on Ariel prior to the beginning of the course.
Furthermore, students will study one of the following texts:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, il Mulino, 1991, capitolo 1. Elementi di teoria metrica, capitolo 2. Profilo storico della metrica italiana (§ 2.1. Metrica italiana e metrica romanza dalle origini alla fine del Quattrocento)
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, il Mulino, 1993, Parte prima. Le forme primarie del testo poetico
- Fabio Magno e Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano dalle origini a oggi, Carocci, 2017, §§ 1. La forma, il genere, 2. Le origini, 3. Petrarca e il Trecento
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
Teaching parts A and B
For teaching parts A and B, the programme is the same as for attending students.
Teaching part C
Text:
Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR
An overall knowledge of the work (composition, structure, plot, topics, style) is required; 'novelle' specifically required for the exam wil be defined at the end of the course. Furthermore, students will study §§ "Scheda dell'opera", "Notizia biografica", "Nota al testo" in Giovanni Boccaccio, "Decameron", edited by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli BUR.
Non-attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Giancarlo Alfano, Introduzione alla lettura del Decameron di Boccaccio, Laterza, 2014
- Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio, Salerno, 2000, §§ 7. Il Decameron: l'elaborazione dell'opera, 8. Il Decameron: la scelta prosastica e narrativa. L'adozione del genere novella, 9. Il Decameron: struttura dell'opera. Elementi tradizionali e innovativi nella cornice, 10. Il Decameron: amore, beffa, avventura nelle novelle di Boccaccio. Il problema delle fonti, 11. Il Decameron: il realismo di Boccaccio, 12. Il Decameron: un modello di prosa volgare.
- Renzo Bragantini, Il Decameron e il medioevo rivoluzionario di Boccaccio, Carocci, 2022, §§ 1. L'impegno del diletto, 2. La fisionomia esterna del testo, 3. Strutture e strategie, 4. Personaggi, ruoli, gruppi sociali
- Maurizio Fiorilla e Irene Iocca, Boccaccio, Carocci, 2021, §§ 4. Il capolavoro narrativo: il Decameron (by Maurizio Fiorilla), 7. La prosa polemica: il Corbaccio (by Stefano Carrai), 11. La lingua e lo stile (by Roberta Cella), 12. Gli autografi (by Marco Cursi), 13. Petrarca e le amicizie epistolari (by Monica Bertè).
Furthermore, one of the following texts:
- Giorgio Barberi Squarotti, Il potere della parola. Studi sul Decameron, Federico & Ardia, 1983, §§ 1. La cornice del Decameron o il mito di Robinson, 2. L'orazione di Alatiel, 7. L'ambigua sociologia di Griselda
- Renzo Bragantini e Pier Massimo Forni, Lessico critico decameroniano, Bollati Boringhieri, 1995, §§ 2. Autore/narratori (di Michelangelo Picone), 6. Filoginia/misoginia (di Claude Cazalé Bérard), 11. Morale (di Victoria Kirkham), 12. Rappresentazione (di Carlo Mazzacurati)
- Elisabetta Menetti, La realtà come invenzione. Forme e storia della novella italiana, FrancoAngeli, 2015, §§ 1. L'invenzione della novella, 2. La voce del Decameron.
- Michelangelo Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione della novella. Letture del Decameron, Longo, 2008, §§. 9. Il romanzo di Alatiel, 11. Le papere di fra Filippo, 16. La novella-cornice di madonna Oretta, 22. L'exemplum sublime di Griselda.
Teaching part D
Texts for part D will be provided on Ariel prior to the beginning of the course.
Furthermore, non-attending students will study one of the following texts:
- Pietro G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, il Mulino, 1991, capitolo 1. Elementi di teoria metrica, capitolo 2. Profilo storico della metrica italiana (§ 2.1. Metrica italiana e metrica romanza dalle origini alla fine del Quattrocento)
- Guglielmo Gorni, Metrica e analisi letteraria, il Mulino, 1993, Parte prima. Le forme primarie del testo poetico
- Fabio Magno e Arnaldo Soldani, Il sonetto italiano dalle origini a oggi, Carocci, 2017, §§. 1. La forma, il genere, 2. Le origini, 3. Petrarca e il Trecento
Non-attending students are strongly recommended to contact the teacher via email for further information (for the timetable, check in advance the Who and Where on Unimi homepage).
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam for 12 or 9 cfu consists of a preliminary written test on teaching parts A and B and an oral test on teaching parts C and D (only C for a 9 cfu exam); both are aimed at ascertaining students' knowledge of the bibliography. The 6 CFU exam consists of an oral test on teaching parts A and C.
The written test is held in December 2022, May and September 2023; passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral exam. Written tests will be graded sufficient, discreet, good, excellent and will be part of the final overall grade. Grades of the written test will be published on Ariel in the specifically dedicated section.
The written test, lasting 90 minutes, consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements listed in the programme, and a third question which consists in the recognition and paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme. Students who, on the basis of the entrance examination, had to take the OFA "Text comprehnsion" course and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The criteria used to assess students' performance are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the proper formal register and to employ the appropriate specialized lexicon; for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language will be considered.
The oral test consists of an interview and discussion on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms and meters. The criteria used to assess students' performance are: ability to critically organise information from lessons and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using proper technical lenguage.
The final grade will be expressed in the 30 grade point system, and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Non-attending students, International students and Erasmus students are invited to contact the professor via email for further information on the exam.
Examination methods for students with disabilities or SLD must be defined with the teacher in agreement with the University Disability and SLD Services
The written test is held in December 2022, May and September 2023; passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral exam. Written tests will be graded sufficient, discreet, good, excellent and will be part of the final overall grade. Grades of the written test will be published on Ariel in the specifically dedicated section.
The written test, lasting 90 minutes, consists of three open-ended questions: a question for each part A and part B focuses on the authors, works or literary movements listed in the programme, and a third question which consists in the recognition and paraphrase of one of the texts in the programme. Students who, on the basis of the entrance examination, had to take the OFA "Text comprehnsion" course and have passed its final exam will not have to take the third question.
The criteria used to assess students' performance are relevance, completeness and correctness; the ability to elaborate an organic and coherent response, to adopt the proper formal register and to employ the appropriate specialized lexicon; for the third question, the ability to adequately render a text showing a satisfactory knowledge of the literary language will be considered.
The oral test consists of an interview and discussion on fundamental topics of the work dealt with in part C and on poetic forms and meters. The criteria used to assess students' performance are: ability to critically organise information from lessons and bibliography; competence to comprehensively and effectively expose problems and questions using proper technical lenguage.
The final grade will be expressed in the 30 grade point system, and it will take into consideration the grade of the written test.
Non-attending students, International students and Erasmus students are invited to contact the professor via email for further information on the exam.
Examination methods for students with disabilities or SLD must be defined with the teacher in agreement with the University Disability and SLD Services
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica D
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday 9.30-12.30
Department of Literary Studies, Philology and Linguistics, Unit of Modern Studies, second floor