HISTORY OF CLASSICAL TRADITION

This is an optional class in the philological-literary curriculum of the Degree in Classics. Through the study and application of the basic principles of literary criticism, with special focus on the history of transmission and reception of Greek and Latin texts since the Middle Ages through the 20th century, as well as on the modern debate on the very essence of "Classical tradition", it aims to provide a wide-ranging panorama of the main moments in Western tradition when - in different contexts and with different aims - the ancient heritage has played a decisive role. The active participation of students through individual work will be encouraged.

Students will on the one hand get acquainted with some pivotal texts and topics of Western literature and culture, which have always - albeit in various measures - revolved around the Classical heritage, and on the other hand acquire a critical understanding of the multiple forms and the manifold paths of "reception".
Knowledge and comprehension
- know and problematise the concept of "Classical tradition"
- know the main steps of the Nachleben of Greek and Latin literary texts in Western culture
- know the main texts that have influenced (also in the form of handbooks, encyclopaedias etc.) the reception of Classical authors
- know some of the most important ancient myths in their modern dimension
- know some aspects of the intersection between literature and art in the reception of ancient culture.
Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension
- be able to recognise and discuss the modern appropriations (of identitary, political or cultural nature) of the ancient heritage
- be able to recognise and assess the possible echoes from the ancient heritage in a literary text
- be able to recognise the most important literary topoi that have marked Western literature
Judgment skills
- be able to criticise use and abuse of the Classical tradition in modern times
- be able to unmask and discuss the debt of contemporary authors and artists towards the ancient heritage
Communication skills
- be able to present orally a single myth in a synthetic but well documented presentation, on the basis of its literary and artistic occurrences
Learning skills
- be able to interact with colleagues in order to compare instances of Classical reception close to us in time

An elementary knowledge of Greek and Roman literature and culture is required. The knowledge of Greek and Latin is not a prerequisite, although it is of course welcome.

The course will take its cue from the lively debate on the very idea of "reception", and attempt to present some interesting cases of persistance of the ancient model (in terms of texts, of literary genres, of tales and myths, of words and cultural heritage) in later cultures, with special reference to the Western world: along the lines of G. Highet's handbook, a chronological path through the centuries will be followed, and some representative passages will be presented and discussed. Although the focus will be primarily on literature, aspects of the Nachleben of ancient culture in art and music will also be dealt with.
Among the authors discussed (representative passages will be read): Bernardus Silvestris, Roman de Troie, Guido de Columnis, Ovide moralisé, Dante, Boccaccio, Poliziano, Trissino, Sannazaro, Ronsard, Spenser, Erasmus, Rabelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Boileau, Perrault, Swift, Corneille, Racine, Metastasio, Fénelon, Gibbon, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Hölderlin, Byron, Keats, Shelley, Alfieri, Leopardi, Baudelaire, Tennyson, Carducci, Nietzsche, Renan.
Depending on the number of students, a personal (or team) research work will be included in the class, consisting in the study of the literary Nachleben of a Greek myth (probably on the books of the Marsilio series "Variazioni sul mito").
Students not attending the class will choose further reading among the books mentioned in the bibliography: they are anyway invited to discuss their individual programme with the teacher.

As a reference handbook students will read:
G. Highet, The Classical Tradition. Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature, Oxford 1949 (often reprinted)
The book is long and exists only in English, but the classes will help students read it and study it.

More texts and documents (mainly passages of the aforementioned authors) will be distributed during the course.

Other reference books that may be of interest (and will be discussed during the course):
M. Silk, I. Gildenhard, R. Barrow, The Classical Tradition: Art, Literature, Thought, Malden, MA; Oxford; Chichester 2014.
A. Grafton - G.W. Most - S. Settis (eds.), The Classical Tradition, Harvard 2010.
C. Kallendorf (ed.), A Companion to the Classical Tradition, Malden-Oxford 2007
L. Hardwick, Reception Studies, Oxford 2003
L. Hardwick - Chr. Stray, A Companion to Classical Receptions, Oxford 2008
R.R. Bolgar, The Classical Heritage and its Beneficiaries, Cambridge 1954

The exam will consist of a written test made of 6 open questions, amongst which candidates will choose 4. The questions will be focused on the handbook and on the topics discussed during the course: they will namely concern single moments of the history of Classical tradition in Western literature. Answers should be of medium length, and display both some familiarity with factual notions and a critical attitude towards the topics discussed.

Frontal teaching, with projection of images. If possible, we shall organise one or two small excursions in order to ascertain the presence and impact of the "classical" in the Venetian context.

Italian

written