Module Details

ITALIAN LITERATURE II

L0932

Course
ITALIAN LITERATURE II
Code
L0932
Academic Year
2026/2027
Curriculum Year
2025/2026
Degree Programme
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Curriculum
000 - CORSO GENERICO
Course coordinator
Lecturers
Credits
6
Lecture Hours
30
Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)
L-FIL-LET/10 - Italian Literature
Course Type
Single-subject learning activity
Course Delivery
OBB - Obbligatoria
Year
2
Teaching period
Secondo Semestre
Campus
VERCELLI
Teaching language
Italian
Course Contents
Gabriele d'Annunzio's Craft.
Reference Texts
1) The teacher will prepare a dossier containing the texts to be discussed in class; this will be made available at the Copisteria Lisa copy shop in Vercelli (Via Galileo Ferraris 76) prior to the start of the course. A notice will be posted on the DIR platform – in the section dedicated to the course – once the dossier is available.2) Students must also read one of the following works by D’Annunzio in its entirety: Il piacere (recommended editions: Garzanti Grandi Libri, edited by Ilvano Caliaro; or Rizzoli BUR, with notes by Enrica Gambin); Le vergini delle rocce (recommended editions: Rizzoli BUR, with notes by Nicola Di Nino; or the critical edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Nicola Di Nino, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Il Fuoco (recommended editions: Oscar Mondadori, edited by Niva Lorenzini; or the critical edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Gioele Cristofari, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Fedra (recommended editions: Oscar Mondadori, with notes by Pietro Gibellini; Mondadori, with notes by Tiziana Piras; or the critical and annotated edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Edoardo Ripari, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Notturno (recommended edition: Garzanti Grandi Libri, edited by Elena Ledda); Cento e cento e cento e cento pagine del libro segreto di Gabriele d’Annunzio tentato di morire (recommended edition: Rizzoli BUR, edited by Pietro Gibellini).3) Additional readings for further study (recommended but not mandatory): Gianni Oliva, D’Annunzio e la malinconia, Milan, Bruno Mondadori, 2007; Francesca Suppa, Il fanciullo: sulla genesi di un testo programmatico, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 1, June 2014, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2014/1/il-fanciullo-sulla-genesi-di-un-testo-prog/art-10.14277-2421-292X-12p.pdf; Maria Rosa Giacon, Gabriele d’Annunzio «grande plagiario al cospetto di Dio», in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 5, October 2018, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2018/5/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2018-05-004_2OnTtGF.pdf; Cristina Montagnani, Pierandrea De Lorenzo, Come lavorava D’Annunzio, Rome, Carocci, 2018; Maria Belponer, L’eredità di Ovidio in Giovanni Pascoli e Gabriele d’Annunzio, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 6, October 2019, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2019/6/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2019-06-005_tri2d7g.pdf; Elena Maiolini, Stato, problemi, applicazioni critiche della filologia dannunziana, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 6, October 2019, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2019/6/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2019-06-007_oten1gH.pdf; Cecilia Gibellini, Tra estetica e politica: le Città del silenzio di Gabriele d’Annunzio, in Le città italiane nelle letterature del XX secolo, Conference Proceedings (Kragujevac, Faculty of Philology and Arts, December 7, 2019), Kragujevac, 2021, pp. 75–87; Pasquale Guaragnella, Su La città morta, Tragedia, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 8, October 2021, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2021/1/art-10.30687-AdA-2421-292X-2021-01-001_EaclRog.pdf.4) Additional materials, including those from the D'Annunzio Philology Laboratory, will be uploaded to the DIR platform during the course; it is therefore advisable to check the platform regularly.
Learning Outcomes
The course aims to develop the fundamental methodological tools for the study of the Italian language and literature through direct engagement with the verse and prose works of Gabriele d'Annunzio. The learning objectives are structured across two levels:Basic level: Historical and cultural contextualization of D'Annunzio and his work; knowledge of his major works; and the ability to read, paraphrase, analyze, and comment on the texts examined during the course.Advanced level: Acquisition of skills in philology (workshop on philology and textual variants) and intertextual analysis (identifying key sources and the mechanisms of their reworking); stylistic analysis (lexis and syntax; metrics and rhetoric); and bibliographic orientation (utilizing the primary tools of D'Annunzio scholarship).
Prerequisites
Historical-literary, linguistic-stylistic and basic metrics knowledge.
Teaching Methods
Lectures with discussion; reading, paraphrasing, and commentary on texts in class, with questions and discussion; workshops on manuscripts and critical editions; online teaching (DIR).
Additional Information
The teacher will make teaching materials available via the the university's online platform (DIR), to which students are invited to register before the start of lessons. Students unable to attend the majority of classes are asked to contact the teacher (cecilia.gibellini@uniupo.it) for general guidance on exam preparation and information regarding supplementary readings.Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilit%C3%A0-e-dsa. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the teacher in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of a two-hour written test designed to assess the student's knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge to the course texts. Specifically, the test will comprise three open-ended questions, structured as follows:1) A question assessing knowledge of D'Annunzio's biography, poetics, and major works (chronology, composition history, structure, themes, and formal characteristics); examples: D'Annunzio's early narrative works, spanning Verismo and Symbolism; the reworking of classical myth in D'Annunzio's tragedies; the origins and characteristics of the «prose di ricerca»). [30% of the exam grade]2) A question assessing the ability to reconstruct the textual development of a passage by D'Annunzio and to comment on authorial variants, based on the examination of an autograph draft with the aid of a critical edition. [30% of the exam grade]3) A question assessing the ability to paraphrase, contextualize, and interpret texts, as well as to formulate reasoned critical judgments: paraphrase, analysis, and commentary on a passage selected from the texts studied during the course. [40% of the exam grade]To pass the exam, students must provide satisfactory answers to all three questions, demonstrating knowledge of D'Annunzio's biography, poetics, and major works – at least regarding their key aspects – as well as the ability to correctly paraphrase and contextualize the course texts and comment on them using appropriate terminology. A broader knowledge of the syllabus content – demonstrated by the ability to draw connections between different texts and substantiate them with precise references – will result in a grade above the minimum passing level. To achieve an excellent grade, students must demonstrate the ability to present their knowledge independently – going beyond the material covered in class – by drawing comparisons with other primary texts and the relevant critical scholarship, and by formulating well-reasoned critical judgments. In text analysis and commentary exercises, achieving an excellent grade requires enriching the literal explanation and contextualization of the text with observations regarding philological aspects (textual development, authorial variants), intertextuality (sources and how they were reworked), and stylistic elements (lexis, syntax, and rhetorical figures).
Detailed Syllabus
Introduction to the analysis of poetic texts.Biography.From Verism to Symbolism: early narrative works.Aestheticism and Symbolism: early poetry collections, Il piacere.From «Prose di romanzi» to «Prose di ricerca».The turn to theatre.The Laudi period: Maia, Alcyone, Elettra.D'Annunzio's shadow in twentieth-century poetry.Workshop on D'Annunzio philology.
Expected Learning Outcomes
To achieve a satisfactory level of knowledge and competence, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the key biographical milestones, poetics, and works of D'Annunzio, including their relationship to the European cultural context of the late 19th and early 20th centuries;knowledge of the chronology, compositional history, structure, themes, and formal characteristics of the major works covered during the course;knowledge of the author's writing and of his text-development methods through the study of autograph drafts and critical editions;(COMPETENCE)the ability to read, paraphrase, and contextualize the texts examined during the course, situating them within their genres and connecting biographical, ideological, and literary elements;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to present knowledge, information, and opinions regarding the texts and issues discussed clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and terminology.To achieve an advanced level, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the principal tools of philology and criticism regarding D'Annunzio;(COMPETENCE)the ability to comment on texts from an intertextual perspective, recognizing key sources and echoes and analyzing how they are reworked;the ability to examine texts from a stylistic standpoint, analyzing vocabulary, syntax, and rhetorical devices;the ability to discuss interpretive issues, including in light of critical scholarship;the ability to use critical editions of D'Annunzio's works to reconstruct the texts' development and examine authorial variants;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to formulate critical, well-reasoned judgments about the texts, drawing comparisons with other primary texts and critical scholarship independently – going beyond the material presented in class.
Last update:09-09-2026 00:14:31