FLT036 - MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH THEATRE

courses

ID:

FLT036

Duration (hours):

42

CFU:

SSD:

LETTERATURA INGLESE

Located in:

CHIETI

Url:

Course Details:

PHILOLOGY, LINGUISTICS AND LITERARY TRADITIONS/CORSO GENERICO Year: 2

Year:

2025

Course Catalogue:

https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (01/03/2026 - 31/05/2026)

Course Objectives

The end of the nineteenth century is characterized by an overt discussion on the themes and modes of representation of the world that had depicted the Victorian literature and drama so far. Oscar Wilde, a controversial fin-de-siècle dandy, starts a new season of British drama which turns to the so-called “comedy of manners” to challenge the ongoing conventions while combining aestheticism with larger social themes.
Abilities: At the end of the course, students will be able to read critically and analyze some of the plays by Wilde and to discuss themes and characteristics of the late-Victorian period.
Self-assessment: Students will have to acquire sufficient skills in order to give a critical response to the texts proposed and their contexts.
Communicative Skills: Students will have to use appropriate language and speak of texts, contexts, topics and writing strategies connected to the primary texts also in relations to English literature and culture at large.

Course Prerequisites

An upper-intermediate level of English is required, according to the requirements of the MA course in Philology, Linguistics and Literary Traditions.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, guided reading of texts and multimedia/internet resources. Dedicated seminars.

Assessment Methods

The final assessment consists of an oral exam on the entire syllabus. The aim is to assess students’ skills and in particular, an understanding of the issues discussed during the course, an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme, a correct command of the specific language as well as critical and methodological abilities will be evaluated. The grading scale goes from 1 to 30 with honours (cum laude): 1-17 fail, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good, 28-29 very good, 30-30 with honours (cum laude) excellent.

Texts

Primary sources:

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, BUR English-Italian text;
Oscar Wilde, The Ideal Husband, BUR, English-Italian text;
Oscar Wilde, Salomè, BUR, English-Italian text.

Secondary Sources:

Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, Vintage, 1988;
Paolo Bertinetti, Il teatro inglese. Storia e capolavori, Einaudi, 2013;
A.E. Soccio, "Classical Ideals and Late-Victorian Society in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband", RSV, 54, July 2022.

Further critical essays and articles for each play will be provided during the teaching semester and made available on Moodle.

The course unit will focus in the analysis of three plays by Oscar Wilde in which the individual is represented by excess, paradox, humor and satire. The Importance of Being Earnest, probably the bestknown of Wilde’s plays, stages the problem of identity with a paradox in order to denounce triviality and deception in late-Victorian society. An Ideal Husband is also a representation of London society in the ‘90s with its aristocracy and dandies, its intrigues and corruption in politics and finance, which Wilde treats with humor and a cultivated but desecrating language. Salomè represents the most obscure side of Wilde’s dramatic production. Inspired by the biblical figure of Erodiade’s daughter, this is a one-act play which was forbidden by the British authorities because it was considered as scandalous. The three plays altogether tell us about Wilde the man and the author-playwright but also about the Victorian age which was to be dissolved by the modernity of the new century.

Course Language

Italian and English

More information

Non-attending students should contact Prof. Soccio before taking the exam. Erasmus incoming students are welcome. They will be provided with further study material, guidance services and tutorship in English. They can also take the exam in English.