DANTE, LIFE, WORKS AND FORTUNE (FOCUSING ON THE DIVINE COMEDY)

Students will be able to consolidate and deepen their competence in Dante Studies, acquired during the three-year degree, by focusing on extended critical and philological discussion of Dante's texts.

Knowledge & understanding: Students should demonstrate advanced capabilities in the practice of critical analysis in relation to the texts and poetic forms addressed in the course, and competence in consultation of the appropriate bibliography;
Application of knowledge and understanding: capacity to apply the above skills to Italian literary texts;
Evaluation: development of interpretive and analytical skills in reading texts and in developing the ability to formulate and develop critical arguments independently;
Communicative skills: ability to communicate effectively the knowledge acquired on the course, and to discuss problems and possible solutions in interpretation, in a manner that could also be accessible to non-specialist audiences;
Learning: competence in addressing and applying at an advanced level the tools appropriate to advanced critical analysis of literary texts.

A knowledge of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italian literature.

The course focuses on critical analysis of Dante's texts, concentrating especially on the importance of his poetic representation of the figure of Beatrice. The course proceeds via critical study of the 'Vita nova' in extenso, alongside a selection of canti from the 'Commedia', aimed at exploring several, related interpretive themes of particular importance for discussion of the figure of Beatrice (e.g. poetry and vernacular eloquence; presence and absence; speech and silence; etc.).

To prepare for the exam:
Dante Alighieri, study of the complete 'Vita nova'/'Vita nuova', in any good modern edition that follows the chapter numbering established by Barbi (I-XLII) - recommended editions include that edited, e.g., by Donato Pirovano (Salerno, 2015)
Dante Alighieri, selected canti, in any good modern edition of the 'Commedia' - recommended editions include those edited, e.g., by Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi (Mondadori, 1991 and later editions), by Giorgio Inglese (Carocci, 2016). Selected canti: Inf. I-II, Purg. XXIII-XXXI, Par. XXX-XXXI
R. Rea, Dante, guida alla ‘Vita nuova’, Carocci, 2021
R. Rea & J. Steinberg (eds), Dante, Carocci, 2020: esp. ch. 2 D. Pirovano, 'Vita nuova'; ch. 18 L. Leonardi, 'Dante e la tradizione lirica'.

Recommended for further reading:
Z. Barański & H. Webb (eds), Dante’s ‘Vita nova’: A Collaborative Reading (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023)
G. Ledda, Leggere la ‘Commedia’, il Mulino, 2016

Further bibliography will be provided as the course proceeds.

Evaluation of students’ learning progress will take place through oral discussion of the issues discussed during classes and exercises in reading and commenting on extracts from the texts studied on the course.

Formal lectures and seminars

English

oral