Middlebury

ITAL 6631

Myth of Ulysses in Ital Lit

The Mediterranean Myth of Ulysses in Italian Literature

This course looks to deepen the understanding of the figure of Ulysses, as legend in the foundation of Mediterranean culture. The course will examine the multifarious nature of the character of Ulysses, i.e., its ancient as well as modern aspects. The figure of Ulysses offers itself as a symbol of innumerable potentialities: a varying heroismk constantly reinterpreted with the passage of centuries. It stimulated expression from Homer to authors of the twentieth century, and inspired a plurality of protagonists very different from one another. After an analysis of the Ulysses in Homeric poetry (the Illiad and the Odyssey), the course will focus on the metamorphosis of the character in some classical authors of Italian literature: from Dante Alighieri to Ugo Foscolo, from Gabriele D’Annunzio to Giovanni Pascoli, and to Guido Gozzano; from Primo Levi to Umberto Saba.

Required Text:
G. Tellini, Letteratura italiana. Un metodo di studio. Firenze, le Monnier UniversitĂ , 2011.

Additional reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
Subject:
Italian
Department:
Italian
Division:
Language School
Requirements Fulfilled:
Civ Cul & Soc Literature

Sections in Summer 2012, Mills 7 Week Session

Summer 2012, LS 6 Week Session

ITAL6631A-L12 Lecture (Tellini)