ENGLISH LITERATURE 3

The course, as part of the courses specifically related to the languages taught in the LCSL degree course, enlarges the knowledge of the literary and cultural heritage of Great Britain by focussing on the main characteristics of early modern literature and drama and its social and political context. Students will become familiar with early modern English and extend their knowledge of the English language. They will also learn to discuss the reception and adaptation of early modern texts across time and cultures within the appropriate critical framework.

The course will enrich the basic knowledge of the main literary artistic and cultural movements of the British Isles with an in-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s OTHELLO and its reception, staging and adaptations along the ages. By attending the course students will enhance their skills in textual analysis and in relating dramatic texts to theatrical practice, as well as to the historical and cultural context.

Advanced skills in reading texts in the English language and understanding lectures in English.

Through an intensive engagement with Shakespeare's OTHELLO, this module is intended to provide students with a deeper understanding of the Elizabethan context and the literary culture of the early modern period as well as the main conventions of Elizabethan drama (theatres, acting conventions, language, etc). Students will be encouraged to learn how to contextualize Shakespeare’s plays for themselves, in order to facilitate their development of critical and independent thinking. While a firm grasp of the play’s original historical context will be crucial, attention will also be given to the play’s reception, as well as to adaptations and rewritings throughout the ages and in different historical contexts, with a focus on postcolonial, intersectional and “global Shakespeares” approaches. Lastly, other early modern writers, poets and playwights will be discussed throughout the course. The course is taught in English and students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions.

Jason Scott-Warren, EARLY MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE, Cambridge, Polity press, 2005
W. Shakespeare, OTHELLO, The Arden Shakespeare, 2016 (or any other critical edition).
Linda Hutcheon/Siobhan O'Flynn, A THEORY OF ADAPTATION, Routledge, 2012.
Orson Wells, OTHELLO, 1952
Oliver Parker, OTHELLO, 1995
Vishal Bhardwaj, OMKARA, 2006,
Toni Morrison/Rokia Traoré, DESDEMONA, Oberon Books, 2012

Additional texts (including excerpts from other early modern texts to be studied for the exam) will be made available on Moodle.

Oral exam. Students will be required to answer questions on the literary history of the sixteen and seventeenth century and OTHELLO in particular; to analyse short passages from OTHELLO which will have to be discussed and contextualised; to answer questions on the reception of OTHELLO or about a staging, adaptation or rewiting of Shakespeare’s play. The exam will be in English.

Lectures and discussions on screen adaptations of OTHELLO.

English

Students unable to attend classes are required to read the following texts:
- All the "extra materials" uploaded on Moodle (which are optional for attending students)
- Margreta de Grazia, Stanley Wells, THE NEW CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO SHAKESPEARE, Cambridge University Press, 2011 (selected essays: "Shakespeare's reading"; "The theatre of Shakespeare's London"; "Shakespeare and race"; "Shakespeare, sexuality and gender"; "Shakeseare on the stage"; "The critical reception of Shakespeare"; Shakespeare and globalization").
- Ben Okri, “Leaping Out of Shakespeare's Terror. Five Meditations on Othello” in A WAY OF BEING FREE, London: Phoenix, 1998, pp. 71-87.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development