Literature Music Performing Arts

Visions and Re-Visions of Macbeth: From Early Modern Culture to the Contemporary Stage The course aims to provide an overview of Elizabethan and Jacobean literary culture, with particular attention to the relationship between theatre, poetry, and visual culture. It begins with the analysis of selected sonnets by Shakespeare and poems by John Donne, in order to outline the transformations of early modern sensibility in its transition towards modernity. From this poetic and cultural background, the course will focus on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, studied in Agostino Lombardo’s Italian translation with facing English text. The play will be read and analysed in its entirety, highlighting the complexity of its linguistic and symbolic construction and the ways in which Shakespeare transforms theatrical language into image, gesture, and vision. As many critics have observed, Macbeth revolves around the dynamics of seeing and perceiving. In this tragedy, Shakespeare builds a world where images do not merely represent reality but contaminate it, producing both illusion and tangible effects that unsettle the senses and alter perception—for the characters as well as the audience. While considering the various interpretative perspectives offered by the text, the course proposes to read Macbeth as a tragedy of vision and its excess. The desire to see too much—to know the future, to read the signs of power, to cross the limits of perception—leads the characters to ruin and to the collapse of their own worldview. To support this approach, the analysis of the play will be accompanied by a focus on early seventeenth-century visual culture, illustrating how theatre contributed to the construction of a shared symbolic imagery between literature, religion, and the visual arts. In the final part of the course, attention will turn to contemporary rewritings and adaptations, with particular reference to Zinnie Harris’s Macbeth (An Undoing) (2024). The course will conclude with the analysis of selected film adaptations: Roman Polański’s Macbeth (1971) and Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). Primary Texts -Shakespeare, W. (2019). Sonetti (G. Melchiori, A. Serpieri & A. Lombardo, A cura di). Milano: Garzanti. Sonetti in programma: 3, 22, 24, 43, 62, 65, 73, 77, 113, 129, 130, 138, 147. -Shakespeare, W. (2008). Macbeth (A. Lombardo, Trad.). Milano: Feltrinelli. (Testo inglese a fronte) -Donne, J. (2000). “Witchcraft by a Picture”, “Here Take My Picture”, “The Crosse”. In C. A. Patrides (Ed.), The Complete English Poems (pp. 30–45). London: Everyman’s Library. -Harris, Z. (2023). Macbeth (an Undoing). London: Faber & Faber. Secondary Texts -Caporicci, C., & Sabatier, A. (Eds.). (2019). The art of picturing in early modern English literature. New York: Routledge, capp. 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13. -Compagnoni, M. (2018). I mostri di Shakespeare: Figure del deforme e dell’informe. Roma: Carocci. -Crisafulli, E., & Elam, K. (Eds.). (2010). Manuale di letteratura e cultura inglese. Bologna: Bononia University Press, pp. 14-15, 19-138. -Kermode, F. (2000). Shakespeare’s Language. London: Penguin Books. (Cap. 9, pp. 201–216) -Kott, J. (2006). Shakespeare nostro contemporaneo (C. D’Arcangelo, Trad.). Milano: Feltrinelli, pp. 79-91. -Lombardo, A. (2008). Lettura del Macbeth. Roma: Feltrinelli. -Melchiori, G. (1994). Shakespeare. Roma-Bari: Laterza, pp. 3-25, 233-250, 499-519. -Tempera, M. (A cura di). (2010). Macbeth: Dal testo alla scena. Bologna: Cue Press. -Tosi, L. (2019). Guida a Macbeth di William Shakespeare. Roma: Carocci. Film Adaptations -Polański, R. (1971). Macbeth [Film]. Londra: Caliban Productions. -Coen, J. (2021). The Tragedy of Macbeth [Film]. Los Angeles: A24 / IAC Films.

An advanced level of English is not required, as the course will be taught in Italian. However, students should be able to read and understand literary texts in the original language. A basic knowledge of English literary history and of the main authors of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods is expected. Some familiarity with textual analysis and close reading techniques will be helpful.

Primary Texts -Donne, J. (2000). “Witchcraft by a Picture”, “Here Take My Picture”, “The Crosse”. In C. A. Patrides (Ed.), The Complete English Poems (pp. 30–45). London: Everyman’s Library. -Harris, Z. (2023). Macbeth (an Undoing). London: Faber & Faber. Secondary Texts -Caporicci, C., & Sabatier, A. (Eds.). (2019). The art of picturing in early modern English literature. New York: Routledge, capp. 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13. -Kermode, F. (2000). Shakespeare’s Language. London: Penguin Books. (Cap. 9, pp. 201–216) Film Adaptations -Polański, R. (1971). Macbeth [Film]. Londra: Caliban Productions. -Coen, J. (2021). The Tragedy of Macbeth [Film]. Los Angeles: A24 / IAC Films.

Audiovisual materials will be used throughout the course. Attendance is not compulsory but strongly recommended. Classes will be held in person and conducted in Italian. The course will combine lectures with group discussions. Active participation in class will be one of the elements considered in the final assessment. Students will also be required to complete an integrative assignment as part of the course activities.

The exam will be written and will last two hours. It will consist of two open-ended questions: 1)Text analysis (poetic, narrative, or dramatic excerpt) – max 15 points 2)Conceptual or critical question (theme, author, comparison, or theoretical reflection) – max 15 points A minimum score of 18/30 is required to pass the exam. To be admitted to the exam, students must complete an integrative assignment, which can award up to 3 additional points. Evaluation grids and detailed information about the assignment are available on Classroom. The integrative assignment must be sent to francesca.forlini@uniroma1.it at least 10 days before the exam session for which the student has registered. Attending students may complete the integrative assignment during the course and may choose whether to take the final exam in written or oral form.

Primary Texts -Shakespeare, W. (2019). Sonetti (G. Melchiori, A. Serpieri & A. Lombardo, A cura di). Milano: Garzanti. Sonetti in programma: 3, 22, 24, 43, 62, 65, 73, 77, 113, 129, 130, 138, 147. -Shakespeare, W. (2008). Macbeth (A. Lombardo, Trad.). Milano: Feltrinelli. (Testo inglese a fronte) -Donne, J. (2000). “Witchcraft by a Picture”, “Here Take My Picture”, “The Crosse”. In C. A. Patrides (Ed.), The Complete English Poems (pp. 30–45). London: Everyman’s Library. -Harris, Z. (2023). Macbeth (an Undoing). London: Faber & Faber. Secondary Texts -Caporicci, C., & Sabatier, A. (Eds.). (2019). The art of picturing in early modern English literature. New York: Routledge, capp. 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13. -Compagnoni, M. (2018). I mostri di Shakespeare: Figure del deforme e dell’informe. Roma: Carocci. -Crisafulli, E., & Elam, K. (Eds.). (2010). Manuale di letteratura e cultura inglese. Bologna: Bononia University Press, pp. 14-15, 19-138. -Kott, J. (2006). Shakespeare nostro contemporaneo (C. D’Arcangelo, Trad.). Milano: Feltrinelli, pp. 79-91. -Lombardo, A. (2008). Lettura del Macbeth. Roma: Feltrinelli. -Melchiori, G. (1994). Shakespeare. Roma-Bari: Laterza, pp. 3-25, 233-250, 499-519. -Tempera, M. (A cura di). (2010). Macbeth: Dal testo alla scena. Bologna: Cue Press. -Tosi, L. (2019). Guida a Macbeth di William Shakespeare. Roma: Carocci. Film Adaptations -Polański, R. (1971). Macbeth [Film]. Londra: Caliban Productions. -Coen, J. (2021). The Tragedy of Macbeth [Film]. Los Angeles: A24 / IAC Films.

Classes will take place on campus. The course will combine lectures with group discussions, and audiovisual materials will be used throughout. Attendance is strongly recommended. Active participation in class will be one of the components of the final assessment.