Teaching code

4S011735

Teacher

Corrado Viola

Coordinator

Corrado Viola

Credits

12

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE

Period

CuCi 2 A, CuCi 2 B

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims to give students a full knowledge of the diachronic dimension of Italian literature, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, to enable them to master the essential tools (linguistic, syntactic, stylistic, rhetorical, metrical ...) for reading and for the interpretation of texts, structures and forms.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Notions of philology, stylistics, metrics, rhetoric, history of criticism; manual knowledge (at 'high school' level) of the texts and fundamental lines of development of the Italian literary tradition from the origins to the whole of the sixteenth century. These prerequisites will in any case be recalled during the lessons

Program

Introductory part: presentation of the main moments and authors of the Italian literary tradition from the Origins to the 16th century, with analysis of exemplary texts.
Advanced part: Culture, literature and poetry in Dante's "Commedia". Dante at the goal: the "Paradise"
• INTRODUCTORY PART:
1. P. FRARE - S. BRENNA, Dalle origini a Leopardi. La letteratura italiana e le sue grandi opere, Milano, Pearson, 2023, pp. 1-351
2. Anthology of texts by the major authors of our literary tradition from the Origins to the Renaissance. The anthology will be uploaded to the University e-learning platform. The texts to be analyzed will be indicated by the teacher during the course. During the exam, non-attending students must submit a written and detailed list of the selected pieces, under penalty of exclusion from the exam itself. These passages will be chosen from each of the following works according to the instructions indicated below:
-FRANCESCO PETRARCA, Canzoniere: five lyrics, of which at least one song
-GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO, Decameron: five novelle
-NICOLÒ MACHIAVELLI: two chapters of the Principe and a scene from the Mandragola
-LUDOVICO ARIOSTO, Orlando furioso: one of the songs in the anthology
-TORQUATO TASSO, Gerusalemme liberata: one of the songs in the anthology
• ADVANCED PART: Culture, literature and poetry in Dante's "Comedy". Dante at the goal: the "Paradise"
The bibliography of this part includes four sections: A (reference texts); B (manuals); C (handout of critical texts): D (readings). The texts indicated, all of which must be prepared, are easily available in any bookstore or library in Italy:
A) REFERENCE TEXTS
- D. Alighieri, Divina Commedia (any edition, as long as it is commented and complete; e.g.: Bosco-Reggio, Florence, Le Monnier, 1979; Pasquini-Quaglio, Milan, Garzanti, 1987; Chiavacci Leonardi, Milan, Mondadori, 1991- 1997; Merlante-Prandi, Brescia, La Scuola, 2005. We note the La Commedia Multimediale, edited by R. Bruscagli and G. Giudizi, book + CD Rom containing the complete reading of the Commedia by Ivano Marescotti and the introductions to the single songs by R. Bruscagli, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2011)
The integral reading and knowledge of the Commedia in its general lines are presupposed (structure of the whole and of the parts and content of each single canto of each cantica). More specifically, the analytical understanding of the text (paraphrase and commentary) of the following cantos will be required and therefore also verified during the exam:
- Inferno: I, V, VI, X, XIII, XV, XXVI, XXXIII, XXXIV
- Purgatorio: I, II, III, IV, VI, XXIV, XXVI, XXIX, XXXIII
- Paradiso: all cantos, from I to XXXIII
B) MANUALS (MANDATORY PREPARATION)
- S. Bellomo, Filologia e critica dantesca, Brescia, La Scuola, 2008ss.
C) DISPENSA OF CRITICAL TEXTS (MANDATORY PREPARATION AND PURCHASE IN PHOTOCOPY AT COPISTRY):
The Dispensa, prepared by the teacher, will contain, among others, the following essays (and like the Anthology, it will also be available in photocopies at the copy shop):
- Letteratura italiana. Le opere, I, cap. Comedìa di R. Mercuri, pp. 211-329 (N.B.: optional)
- Enciclopedia dantesca, Roma, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana G. Treccani, 1970ss.: voce Paradiso
- J. Freccero, Dante. La poetica della conversione, Bologna, il Mulino, 1989, pp. 277-288 e 319-350
- E.G. Parodi, La costruzione e l'ordinamento del "Paradiso" dantesco, in Id., Poesia e storia nella "Divina Commedia", a cura di G. Folena e P.V. Mengaldo, Venezia, Neri Pozza, 1965, pp. 361-386
- C. Viola, Un'antifona per Paradiso XXV 112-14, «Rivista internazionale di ricerche dantesche», III, 2022, pp. 145-154
- C. Viola, Pellicani danteschi. Paradiso XXV, Inferno XXXIII, Purgatorio XXIII, «Atti e memorie dell’Arcadia», 11, 2022, pp. 7-39
D) REQUIRED READINGS
- J.L. Borges, Nove saggi danteschi, Milano, Adelphi, 2001
The following volumes by Vittorio Sermonti are also recommended for preparation, especially the third about Paradiso:
- V. Sermonti, L’Inferno di Dante, con la supervisione di G. Contini, Milano, Rizzoli, 1993ss.
- Id., Il Purgatorio di Dante, con la supervisione di G. Contini, Milano, Rizzoli, 1993ss.
- Id., Il Paradiso di Dante, con la supervisione di G. Contini, revisione di C. Segre, Milano, Rizzoli, 1993ss.
Lesson plans, notes and other teaching materials will be entered into the "e-learning" digital platform, which all students are required to consult regularly, also for notices concerning the organization of the course during its course. Further materials and bibliographic references will be provided during the lessons. Since the introductions and any appendices to the volumes listed are an integral part of the programme, it is strongly recommended that you use the editions indicated here.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Frontal lessons. Reading and interpreting exercises of literary texts. Possible seminars and written exercises. The teaching materials proposed are adherent to the exam programme.

Learning assessment procedures

Oral assessment of the knowledge acquired, relating to each of the two parts into which the program is divided, both for attending and non-attending students. In particular for the first part: 1) verification of historical-literary knowledge and related contextualization ability; 2) verification of the ability to understand and analyze different types of literary texts through the detailed examination of exemplary verse and prose texts. In particular for the second part: 1) verification of the ability to contextualize and critically analyze the texts also with reference to the main investigation methods; 2) verification of knowledge of the critical bibliography of reference and the ability to use it in reference to the texts analysed. In relation to this second part, the students will take, at the same time as the oral interview, a quick written test or questionnaire made up of short answer questions designed to verify their direct knowledge of the texts on the programme.

Evaluation criteria

In thirtieths, according to the following parameters:
-Insufficient: under 18/30
-Sufficient: from 18 to 21
-Good: from 22 to 25
-Fair: from 26 to 29
-Excellent: 30 and 30 and praise

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Oral exam result

Exam language

Italiano