30931 - Italian Literature 1 (GR. B)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has a good understanding of the Italian literary tradition, knows the fundamental issues of the critical discussion about the authors and texts and is able to use the main methods of analysis of texts and contexts; he has also acquired the ability of adequately expressing himself in writing.

Course contents

The World of Metaphor: Baroque Poetry, Culture and Science

The course will examine the poetics and genres of Baroque literature through the perspective of metaphor, linking the theoretical reflection  to the verbal invention of poets and narrators. We will start from the insights of E. Tesauro's Cannocchiale aristotelico, which, going beyond the Aristotelian canon of verisimilitude, conquers new regions of wonder and fantasy to the literary imagination, thanks to the inexhaustible creative power of wit and metaphor. Then we will move on to the texts, paying particular attention to the poetic experimentation of Marino (in the Lira and the Adone) and his followers, but also to the prose of novelists, moralists and scientists, in order to show how metaphor becomes the unifying centre around which the system of literary genres of the Baroque age is organised.

The 60-hour course takes place in the first semester.

Group B includes students from CRJ to LUZ (last name initials). The subdivision also applies to Erasmus students.

Course changes are not permitted.

Non-attending students should contact the lecturer for specific instructions on exam preparation.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading and commenting on a choice of 10 cantos from Dante's Comedy is required (e.g. Inf. I, II, V, X, XXVI, XXXIII; Purg. I, III, XXVI; Par. I). The site dante.dartmouth.edu is also very useful. It is recommended to show up for the exam with a list of the chosen cantos. Some lessons will be devoted to the reading of Dante's cantos, in order to provide, in addition to the basics of metrics and rhetoric, models of textual analysis.

For the historical and literary contexts related to the authors examined the reference manual is Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Profilo di Letteratura italiana. Dalle origini a fine Ottocento, Milano, Mondadori, 2021 or later reprints (single volume).

Texts:

G. B. Marino, L’Adone, a cura di E. Russo, Milano, Rizzoli, 2013

Antologia della poesia italiana, diretta da C. Segre e C. Ossola, Il Seicento, Torino, Einaudi Tascabili, 1997

Galileo, Il Saggiatore; Dialogo sopra i massimi sistemi; Scritti letterari (examined pieces will be available on the Virtuale platform);

 

Bibliography:

A. Battistini, Il Barocco. Cultura, miti, immagini, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2000

J. A. Maravall, La cultura del barocco. Analisi di una struttura storica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999

G. Getto, Il Barocco letterario in Italia, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2000.

 

Directions on the use of  bibliography will be provided during the course.

Teaching methods

Lectures and analyses of literary texts.

Assessment methods

The assessment of the student's acquired knowledge and skills consists of an oral test designed to verify general preparation on all course topics.

During the year 6 oral tests are delivered.

The oral test consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students. The students will be invited to discuss the tests on the course programme. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme. Access to the oral test depends on having passed the written test. The final mark is not a mathematical average of the two tests.

 

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.

 

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a ‘fair' mark.

 

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.

 

Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Some texts will be made available on the Internet (http://virtuale.unibo.it)            

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Baffetti