31031 - English Literature 1 (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students should know the general outline of literary history. They shall be able to read, understand and translate texts from English into Italian and  be acquainted with the methods and analytical tools that will enable them to interpret the works of the main authors, contextualising them within their cultural and historical period. 

Course contents

(Re)reading Shakespeare

In the history of British literature from its origins to the end of the XVII century, Shakespeare’s works are undoubtedly at the centre of the canon. The course will analyze his most famous plays, showing how and why they can be interpreted in different ways, and their continuous request to be considered not only as literary works but also as plays that need to be performed.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will read three plays:

 

Richard III

Romeo and Juliet

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Merchant of Venice

Henry V

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

King Lear

Macbeth

Othello

The Tempest

 

Critical texts

Harold Bloom, “Shakespeare, Center of the Canon” in The Western Canon, London, Macmillan, 1995, pp. 45-75

Rocco Coronato, Leggere Shakespeare, Roma, Carrocci, 2017

Margreta De Grazia and Stanley Wells, edited by, The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001: E. Honigmann, “Shakespeare’s life”, pp. 1-12; John H. Astington, “Playhouses, players, and playgoers in Shakespeare’s time”, pp. 99-113

Stephen Greenblatt, “General Introduction”, in The Norton Shakespeare, New York, Norton, 1997, pp. 1-65

Frank Kermode, Il linguaggio di Shakesepare, Milano, Bompiani, 2000, pp. 13-33

Giorgio Melchiori, “Shakespeare e il mestiere del teatro”, in Shakespeare, Bari, Laterza, 2005, pp. 3-25

John Peck and Martin Coyle, How to Study a Shakespeare Play, London, Macmillan, 1985, pp. 3-15

Kiernan Ryan, Shakespeare, London, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989, pp. 1-14

E.M.W. Tillyard, “L'immagine del mondo degli elisabettiani”, in Claudia Corti, a cura di, Il Rinascimento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1994, pp. 59-68

 

Teaching methods

Assessment methods

Erasmus or Overseas students could sit the exam as the Italian students or write an essay (about 10-15 pages), whose topic must be approved by the teacher.

Teaching tools

Office hours

See the website of Gino Scatasta