. - English Language and Literature (Year 1, Three-year Course Students,
Curricula: Language Expert for Management and Tourism; Languages,
Communication and Media)
. - English Language and Literature (Year 1, Three-year Course Students) (Oneyear Course Students of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy)
English Language and Literature (Year 1, Three-year Course Students,
Curricula: Language Expert for Management and Tourism; Languages,
Communication and Media)
GROUP A-K AND GROUP L-Z: PROF. CRISTINA VALLARO
COURSE AIMS
The course will study the main literary genres and major authors of the 16 th, 17th
and 18th centuries to introduce the student to English literature. The course will
start with the literary, semantic and textual analysis of some of the most important
texts to provide the student with the tools needed to define an effective
autonomous method of study.
In Semester Two, The Tempest and the ‘Progresses’ of Elizabeth I will enable the
student to learn about the world of Shakespearian theatre and one of England’s
greatest historical figures.
COURSE CONTENT
SEMESTER ONE
History of English literature from the 16 th to the 18th century: the evolution of the
sonnet from Petrarch to Milton, the love poem, the Elizabethan and Miltonian epic,
the first voyages of discovery, philosophical thought, satire, and the birth of the
novel and periodicals.
The full programme is published on Blackboard and the lecturer’s webpage.
SEMESTER TWO
William Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre. The Tempest: dating, sources and
their manipulation, printed texts, textual analysis, the characters and the places.
Elizabeth I: the Propaganda and the ‘Progresses’, the historical figure. Kenilworth
and Elvetham: dating, context, textual analysis, the characters and the places.
READING LIST
Texts for Semester One:
M.H. ABRAMS-S. GREENBLATT (ed), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, W.W. Norton &
Company, New York-London, Vol. I, 8th edition.
A. CATTANEO, A Short History of English Literature, Mondadori Università, Milan, 2011.
J. AUSTEN, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin.
N. HORNBY, High Fidelity, Penguin.
Texts for Semester Two:
W. SHAKESPEARE, The Tempest, ed. by S. Orgel, The Oxford Classics, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 2008.
C. VALLARO, Queen Elizabeth on Progress, Vita e Pensiero, Milan, 2011.
G. MELCHIORI, Shakespeare, Laterza, Bari, 1994 or later editions (in particular, the following
chapters: Shakespeare e il mestiere del teatro, I drammi romanzeschi, “The Tempest”).
Suggested reading:
L. INNOCENTI, Il teatro elisabettiano, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1994.
B. CRYSTAL, Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, Icon Books, London, 2009.
D. SUSAN, Queen Elizabeth I, British Library Historic Lives, British Library Publishing Division,
London, 2003.
TEACHING METHOD
This is an annual course split into four hours of lectures per week. A series of practical
classes on the compulsory course texts is also scheduled. In addition to the Reading List, the
lecturer will indicate the hard-to-find texts and images and publish them on her webpage and
on Blackboard.
The students will also be shown film adaptations of the texts dealt with in the course.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Final exam in the scheduled exam sessions at the end of the course, consisting of a
written part on the course content of Semester One and an oral part on that of Semester Two.
Both parts of the exam require the student to translate and analyse the linguistic, rhetorical
and stylistic features of the course texts. In addition, the student will need to demonstrate a
good knowledge of the key aspects of the historical periods dealt with in the course.
Students are reminded that to qualify for the English Language and Literature exam they
first must pass the mid-term written and spoken English tests called for by the Faculty’s
study programme.
NOTES
Attending students must comply with the Università Cattolica Code of Ethics.
Students are expected to obtain the course texts, in particular, The Norton Anthology,
before classes commence.
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage at
http://docenti.unicatt.it/web/searchByName.do?language=ENG, or on the Faculty notice
board.
English Language and Literature (Year 1, Three-year Course Students) (Oneyear Course Students of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
PROF. CRISTINA VALLARO
Text under revision. Not yet approved by academic staff
COURSE AIMS
The course will introduce the student to English literature by studying and
analysing the literary, semantic and textual aspects of one of Elizabethan theatre’s
most famous plays, The Tempest. Starting with Shakespeare’s biography and the
study of his world and canon, the student will learn to recognise the world of the
great English playwright and to place it in the right cultural dimension of the late
16th century.
That aim will be achieved with the support of the introduction of the historical
figure of Elizabeth I and, in particular, the literary, semantic and textual analysis of
two of her most famous ‘Progresses’, Kenilworth and Elvetham.
COURSE CONTENT
William Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre. The Tempest: dating, sources and
their manipulation, printed texts, analysis of the texts, characters and places.
Elizabeth I: the Propaganda and the ‘Progresses’, the historical persona.
Kenilworth and Elvetham: dating, context, analysis of the text, the characters, and
the places.
READING LIST
Compulsory texts
W. SHAKESPEARE, The Tempest, ed. by S. Orgel, The Oxford Classics, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 2008.
C. VALLARO, Queen Elizabeth on Progress, Vita e Pensiero, Milan, 2011.
G. MELCHIORI, Shakespeare, Laterza, Bari, 1994 or later editions (in particular, the chapters
Shakespeare e il mestiere del teatro, I drammi romanzeschi, “The Tempest”).
Suggested reading:
L. INNOCENTI, Il teatro elisabettiano, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1994.
B. CRYSTAL, Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, Icon Books, London, 2009.
D. SUSAN, Queen Elizabeth I, British Library Historic Lives, British Library Publishing Division,
London, 2003.
TEACHING METHOD
This is an annual course split into four hours of lectures per week. A series of practical
classes on the compulsory course texts is also scheduled. In addition to the Reading List, the
lecturer will indicate any hard-to-find texts and images and publish them on her webpage
and on Blackboard.
The students will be shown film adaptations of the texts dealt with in the course.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Final exam in the scheduled exam sessions at the end of the course, consisting of a
written part on the course content of Semester One (the course held by Professor A.
Cattaneo) and an oral part on that of Semester Two. Both exams require the student to
translate and analyse the linguistic, rhetorical and stylistic features of the course texts. In
addition, the student will need to demonstrate a good knowledge of the key aspects of the
historical periods dealt with in the course.
Students are reminded that they first must pass the mid-term written and spoken English
tests called for by the Faculty’s study programme to qualify for the English Language and
Literature exam.
NOTES
Attending students must comply with the Università Cattolica Code of Ethics.
Students are expected to obtain the course texts before classes commence.
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage at
http://docenti.unicatt.it/web/searchByName.do?language=ENG, or on the Faculty notice
board.