Textual Stylistics

A.Y. 2023/2024
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
L-FIL-LET/14
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
Through the discussion of critical essays and literary works, the course aims at providing students with a thorough grounding in a number of theoretical issues that were much debated in the twentieth century, also in relation to textual analysis, in order to lead students to a deeper reflection on and analysis of the forms, modes and styles of literary texts, and to a contextualisation of the authors dealt with in the course.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: students will deepen notions of literary theory and knowledge of methods of analysis, with particular attention to the theoretical proposals of the twentieth century concerning interpretation, the relationship between the stylistic-expressive level and the attribution of meanings, authorship and the relationship between text and context

Skills: students will gain mastery of different textual levels: the ability to reflect on issues of literary theory, to read and critically discuss writing in verse or prose, the ability to analyse literary text from a linguistic, stylistic and rhetorical point of view, the ability to understand different forms of criticism and to relate texts to their historical context, authorial identity and notions of genre.
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Part A will address the relationship between rhetorics and literature, starting from the consideration of the rhetorical field and the complexity of an ancient discipline, revisited in function of the analysis of literary texts, within the communicative and relational mode of literature.
Part B and Part C consider two poets from the 1960s. In Part B we will focus on poetic experimentalism, reading two works by an author belonging to the neo-avant-garde, Elio Pagliarani, with the intention of decoding the mechanisms of language, and tracing the interpretation of verses back to the attribution of meanings; we will read "La ragazza Carla" and "Lezione di fisica".
Part C analyses Vittorio Sereni's "Gli strumenti umani," in which are deployed unusual modules and innovative forms in the representation of lyrical experience, in the direction of narrativity.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of poetry textual analysis.
Teaching methods
The course will mainly be comprised of lectures, but some time will be devoted to discussion. This will help students delve into the issues under discussion, improve their analysis, reasoning, and interpretation skill. To participate more actively, students will also be encouraged to read the works and essays in the course syllabus while they attend classes. The Ariel website of the course will be used to share the teaching materials that might be proposed for discussion. During some lessons, in the second and third parts, students can discuss in class their own analysis of a text, in dialog with the professor and the other students. This oral presentation is not mandatory and will be consider during examination. Regular class attendance is strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
PARTE A
B.M. Garavelli, "Prima lezione di retorica", Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2011;
L. Neri, "I campi della retorica. Letteratura, argomentazione, discorso", Roma, Carocci, 2011.

PARTE B
Elio Pagliarani, "La ragazza Carla" e "Lezione di fisica", in "Tutte le poesie", Milano, Il Saggiatore 2019, or any other edition.

Andrea Cortellessa, "Ma dobbiamo continuare a ballare", in Elio Pagliarani, "Tutte le poesie", Milano, Il Saggiatore 2019.
Federico Fastelli, "Dall'avanguardia all'eresia. L'opera poetica di Elio Pagliarani", Firenze, Società Editrice fiorentina, 2011.

PARTE C
Vittorio Sereni, "Gli Strumenti umani", Milano, Mondadori 2013, or any other edition.

Edoardo Esposito, "Lettura della poesia di Vittorio Sereni", Milano, Mimesis 2015.
Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo, "Iterazione e specularità in Sereni", in "Strumenti critici", febbraio 1972, n. 17, pp. 19-48.
Guido Mazzoni, "Verifica dei valori. Saggio su Gli strumenti umani", in "Allegoria", 1994, n. 18, pp. 45-81.

TEACHING RESOURCES FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Students who do not attend should supplement the texts indicated in the bibliography with the following readings:

Niccolò Scaffai, "Il poeta e il suo libro. Retorica e storia del libro di poesia nel Novecento", Firenze, Le Monnier 2005.

FURTHER INFORMATIONS
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher of the course. Also students with disabilities should contact the teacher of the course, in order to discuss alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent Office.
Further informations will be published on the online Ariel platform, on the website dedicated to Textual Stylistics.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final exam will consist of an oral exam about the topics of the course, aimed at ascertaining the knowledge and skills acquired by the student, regarding both theory and textual analysis. (Parts A, B and C for 9ETCS; Part A and either B or C for 6ETCS). Students will be asked to present the works comprised in the course syllabus and to critically discuss about the issues that will have been dealt with through them. Language proficiency (this includes technical language proficiency) and the accuracy of historical and literary references will also contribute to the final score. A precise knowledge of the bibliographic references in the program is required.
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/14 - LITERARY CRITICISM AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)