Myth and Modern Poetry 3321-Z3S25HL02
The classes examine how myth shapes modern poetic imagination in Italy - from early Modernism to contemporary writing - paying particular attention to modes of figuration and to the dynamic between individual experience and symbolic form. A central position in this approach is occupied by Cesare Pavese’s reflection, for whom “far poesia significa portare a evidenza e compiutezza fantastica un germe mitico” (La letteratura americana e altri saggi, pp. 350–351): poetry does not recount myth as such, but draws it out of the shadows of memory, giving it a form capable of reorganising experience.
The starting point consists of five mythic figures: Orpheus, Aeneas, Gaia, Dionysus and the Chimera. Each of these suggests a distinct model of modern imagination - from the poetics of loss, through ethical responsibility and ecological awareness, to transgression and the hybrid instability of the image. These figures will be examined in relation to selected authors, from Campana and Montale to Caproni, Zanzotto and De Angelis.
The course is run as a seminar and involves reading literary texts alongside short scholarly essays, developing students’ skills in analysis, interpretation and academic writing.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
K_W02: The student is familiar with advanced methods of literary analysis and can apply them to the interpretation of modern poetry, particularly in relation to myth, memory and temporality.
K_W09: The student understands the basic concepts and regulations concerning intellectual property and copyright, including those relevant to digital tools and generative artificial intelligence.
K_U01: The student can read and comprehend poetic and essayistic texts in Italian, recognising their stylistic features and conceptual dimensions.
K_U02: The student can articulate and defend their own interpretations, take part in academic discussion, and present selected topics in Italian using an appropriate academic register.
K_U03: The student can identify and classify different types of texts, situate them within a broader historical and cultural context, and analyse them using suitable terminology and interpretative methods.
K_U04: The student can independently expand their knowledge of Italian literature and linguistics, using a wide range of sources (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, monographs, digital archives, primary texts).
K_U06: The student can write and edit an academic paper in Italian, employing appropriate research methods and a reliable scholarly apparatus.
Assessment criteria
The course is based on active learning methods designed to foster students’ independent and critical engagement with both poetic and theoretical texts. A key organisational tool is the flipped-classroom approach: selected materials - poems as well as extracts from mythographic and theoretical essays - are made available before class, so that class time may be devoted to in-depth interpretation carried out through collective discussion.
At the centre of each meeting stands a guided discussion in which we analyse textual passages and confront them with the theoretical concepts under consideration. This work relies on close reading and aims to develop tools for recognising modern forms of myth’s presence in twentieth-century poetry.
Elements of problem-based learning (PBL) and short group activities are introduced, enabling students to compare interpretative strategies and to consolidate skills of argumentation and synthesis. Selected topics may be developed in the form of concise project assignments, supporting the integration of literary analysis with broader humanistic perspectives.
Students are also reminded that any use of generative artificial intelligence tools must be explicitly indicated, described and/or cited. Each participant bears responsibility for all content produced with such tools.
Assessment Criteria
Active participation in class: 20%
Presentation (including discussion): 30%
Essay: 50%
Two unjustified absences are permitted during the course.
Bibliography
Bertoni Alberto, La poesia contemporanea, Il Mulino, Bologna 2012.
Id., Poesia italiana dal Novecento a oggi, Marinetti, Bologna 2020.
Campana Dino, Opere e contributi, a cura di Enrico Falqui, Vallecchi, Firenze 1973.
Caproni Giorgio, Tutte le poesie, Garzanti, Milano 2007.
Colli Giorgio, La sapienza greca, v. I, Adelphi, Milano 1977.
De Angelis Milo, Tutte le poesie. 1969-2015, Mondadori, Milano 2017.
Debenedetti Giacomo, Poesia italiana del Novecento, Garzanti, Milano 1974.
Galaverni Roberto, Dopo la poesia. Saggi sui contemporanei, Fazi Editore, Roma 2002.
Mazzoni Guido, Sulla poesia moderna, Il Mulino, Bologna 2005.
Montale Eugenio, Tutte le poesie, a cura di Giorgio Zampa, Mondadori, Milano 1984.
Pavese Cesare, Dialoghi con Leucò, Einaudi, Torino 1999.
Id., Feria d’agosto, Einaudi, Torino 2017.
Id., Il mestiere di vivere, Einaudi, Torino 1994.
Id., Le poesie, Einaudi, Torino 2014.
Zanzotto Andrea, Tutte le poesie, Mondadori, Milano 2011.
Items not available in the University of Warsaw libraries will be made accessible to students by the lecturer.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: