Learning outcomes

Historical knowledge of Italian Literature from Seventeenth Century to Italian Unification (1861) with regard to its texts, contests, influences and codifications. Critical bibliography and essential tools and implements to understand literary forms and structures.

Program

Prerequisites: Complete knowledge of the former Italian literary tradition (from the beginning to the Sixteenth Century) is required; before taking Letteratura Italiana Exam (p), students must have passed the Letteratura Italiana exam (i) for 12 cfu.

Course content: For the introductory part: presentation of the main movements and authors of the Italian literary tradition from Seventeenth Century to Italian Unification (1861) making reference to exemplary texts.
The second part of the course will be dedicate to: Giacomo Leopardi poeta e prosatore

Reference Texts: For the introductory part: Gino Tellini, Letteratura italiana. Un metodo di studio, Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2011 (the section: Dalla Nuova Scienza all’epica risorgimentale). Students will complete this study with a selection of the main authors of our literary tradition from Seventeenth Century to Italian Unification (available in e-learning platform). Worktexts will be suggested during the lectures.
Non attending students will demonstrate to be able to analyze:
G.B. Marino: a passage from Adone;
G. Galilei: a passage from Saggiatore or Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo;
C. Goldoni: choise of one act of any comedy play;
G. Parini: one ode and one passage from Il Giorno;
V. Alfieri: one act of Mirra and one passage from Vita;
U. Foscolo: two sonnets and one section of Dei Sepolcri;
G. Leopardi: three cantos and one choise from Operette morali;
A. Manzoni: one poem and one passage from I Promessi Sposi;
A written list of the students choises must be shown during the exam.
For the second part of the exam:
Giacomo Leopardi, Canti, a cura di Franco Brioschi (Milano, Rizzoli-BUR); Operette morali, a cura di Laura Melosi (Milano, Rizzoli-BUR). Any other edition of Canti and Operette morali is accepted provided unabridged and commented.
One of the following texts (two for non attending students):
Marco Antonio Bazzocchi, Leopardi, Bologna, il Mulino;
Emilio Bigi, Una vita più vitale. Stile e pensiero in Leopardi, Venezia, Marsilio;
Franco Brioschi, La poesia senza nome. Saggio su Giacomo Leopardi, Milano, il Saggiatore;
Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo, Leopardi antiromantico e altri saggi sui Canti, Bologna, il Mulino;
Gilberto Lonardi, Classicismo e utopia nella lirica leopardiana, Firenze, Olschki.

Teaching methods: Lectures and reading and text interpretation exercises. Seminars and papers.

Examination Methods

Oral test on every single point of the syllabus.