ENGLISH LITERATURE 1 MOD. 2

This module is part of the curriculum in English literature in the LLEAP MastersA and it is part of the EUROPEAN JOINT DEGREE IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES programme. It is an advanced course that builds on the students’ solid knowledge of English literary history and criticism.
Students are expected to:
1. have a very good knowledge of English Literature of the 19th century;
2. read a variety of Victorian works which are representative of the period under scrutiny;
3. handle stylistic and formal concepts, applying them to the texts in the syllabus referring to their contexts and to the impact on the readers;
4. read and discuss the critical sources in the syllabus, formulating judgements;
5. analyze and contextualize primary and secondary texts in an appropriately and autonomously.

The module examines the literature of the Victorian era, by studying a selection of key themes and texts in relation to the social and political context. The module introduces the students to some fundamental concepts, methods, and vocabulary employed in Victorian Studies. The course is part of the syllabus of EUROPEAN JOINT DEGREE IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES, and the competence achieved will be tested in the foreign universities where Joint Degree students spend a semester as part of the programme, in interaction with international students.

- This module engages the student in gaining a critical appreciation of 19th-century literature by exploring some poems, novels, non-fiction of British authors.
- The student will develop his/her skills in critical analysis and close textual reading, will learn to place selected works within the social, cultural, and literary contexts, and evaluate the influence of Romanticism on Victorian representations of Italy.
- The aim is to enable the student to gain a deeper understanding of British literature, also in an interdisciplinary perspective, applying cultural theories, and exploring particular aspects of visual culture.
- The student will develop his/her critical abilities and independent capacity of judgement, and reflect on the social and ethical issues at the heart of the works, reaching an advanced capacity of expressing the range of cultural and literary acquisitions in an appropriate English language, of arguing critically about them, and of communicating them clearly.

An excellent command of the English language.
Good general knowledge of the history of English literature.

Italy and the Victorians

This module investigates the pivotal role of Italy in the cultural imagination of Victorian Britain. Throughout the long nineteenth century, Italy functioned simultaneously as a real travel destination, a political symbol, and an imaginative landscape that shaped literary form and artistic discourse. From the Romantic legacy to the rise of aestheticism, Italy became a site of revelation, crisis, and transformation for Victorian writers and artists.
Through close readings of poetry, fiction, art criticism, and travel writing, students will explore how Italy was represented, idealised, contested, and reinterpreted across genres. The course will focus on major authors such as Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Ruskin, and George Eliot, while also considering lesser known travelogues and autobiographical narratives that contributed to the British myth of Italy.

Charles Dickens, Pictures of Italy (a selection); the Italian chapters from Little Dorrit
Robert Browning, Dramatic Monologues (esp. “My Last Duchess,” “Andrea del Sarto,” “Fra Lippo Lippi”)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (selected books); Casa Guidi Windows
John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice (selected chapters); Modern Painters vol. III (selected chapters)
George Eliot, Romola; the Italian chapters from Middlemarch
Walter Pater, The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry. 1873 (selected chapters).
Excerpts from Victorian travelogues (Anna Jameson, John Murray’s Handbooks, Vernon Lee)

Criticism:
Bodenheimer, Rosemarie. “Eliot’s Italy.” Victorian Web.
Buzard, James. The Beaten Track: European Tourism, Literature, and the Ways to Culture, 1800–1918. 1993.
Chard, Chloe. Pleasure and Guilt on the Grand Tour. 1999.
Evangelista, Stefano. “Browning and Italy.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. —. British Aestheticism and Ancient Greece. 2009.
Gilmour, David. The Pursuit of Italy. 2011..
Mills, Sara. Discourses of Difference: Women’s Travel Writing and Colonialism. 1991.
Pemble, John. The Mediterranean Passion: Victorians and Edwardians in the South. 1987.
Pratt, Mary Louise. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. 1992.

A full list of secondary readings will be provided at the beginning of the module and, if unavailable at the library, will be uploaded on the Moodle platform.

The assessment for this module consists of three components:

1. Close Reading Exercise (1,500 words) – A written analysis of a selected passage from one of the primary texts. 20%
2. Seminar Presentation (15 minutes) – An oral presentation on an author, theme, or historical context relevant to the course. 20%
3. Final Oral Examination (20 minutes) – An oral examination on the main topics addressed throughout the module. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the primary texts, and the ability to draw connections across authors, genres, and cultural contexts. 60%

written and oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

28-30: mastery of the topics covered in the lectures and in the reference texts; ability to order information and present it orally; familiarity with the appropriate critical terminology. Honours will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and understanding of the syllabus, judgement and communication skills;

26-27: very good knowledge of topics covered in lectures and in reference texts; good ability to order information and present it orally; familiarity with critical terminology;

24-25: good knowledge of the topics covered in the lecture and in the reference texts; orderly oral presentation but not always correct use of critical terminology;

22-23: fair knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the reference texts; oral exposition unclear and lacking in critical terminology;

18-21: Superficial knowledge of the topics dealt with in the lecture and in the reference texts; oral exposition confused, with little use of specific terminology.

lectures, guest lectures, seminars, students' presentations