ITA 237 Midterm: Italian Folklore, Witchcraft & Rhetorical Analysis

Who is the key author of 'Fiabe Italiane'?

Italo Calvino

In what year was 'Fiabe Italiane' published?

1956

What was Italo Calvino's contribution to Italian folklore?

He translated and adapted 200 folk tales from various regional dialects into Standard Italian.

What did literary critic Jack Zipes say about Calvino's edition of 'Fiabe Italiane'?

He asserted that it is 'more important than the Grimm's tales' for preserving regional identities.

What challenge did Massimo d'Azeglio articulate regarding Italian identity?

'Italy has been made, and now it is time to make Italians.'

What percentage of the Italian population could read and write in Standard Italian in 1861?

Only 2.5%.

What educational policy was instituted after the Unification of Italy?

Mandatory schooling to cultivate a national identity.

Who was Giuseppe Pitrè?

A Sicilian physician and folklorist who compiled a monumental Sicilian oral collection.

What was Vittorio Imbriani known for?

Gathering Florentine and Lombardy folktale collections while preserving oral dialect purity.

How did Calvino's approach differ from Pitrè and Imbriani?

Calvino translated regional tales into Standard Italian, sacrificing dialectal purity for accessibility.

What is the difference between informal and formal culture in the context of folklore?

Informal culture is decentralized and oral, while formal culture is published and institutionalized.

What role did oral storytelling play in agrarian peasant communities?

It expressed local morality, fears, and customs.

What is the significance of oral transmission in folklore?

It relies on unwritten, fluid narratives passed down through generations.

What is the impact of literary translation on oral folklore?

It fixes dynamic performances into static published prose.

What is the relationship between dialect and the national Italian language in Calvino's work?

Calvino sacrificed strict linguistic purity of dialects to create a standardized literary language.

How do gender roles manifest in folklore according to the course material?

Female informants are primary transmitters, and stories often encode traditional gender norms and subversions.

What is a metadiegetic narrative?

A story nested within another story, establishing a multi-layered storytelling environment.

What is the function of a second-hand narrator in folktales?

It signals that the narrative has traversed an oral chain of transmission, conferring communal authority.

How does Calvino preserve oral rhythms in his standard Italian prose?

By utilizing parataxis and maintaining a colloquial, conversational register.

What cultural markers does Calvino retain in his translations?

Domestic settings, regional food items, and magical folklore motifs.

What was the primary linguistic conflict in Italy post-Unification?

The majority spoke regional dialects and experienced Standard Italian as a foreign tongue.

How did the government respond to the linguistic conflict in post-Unification Italy?

By implementing mandatory schooling and publishing educational textbooks.

What is the 4-Step Short-Answer Method used for?

To analyze passages on metadiegetic narration.

What does Calvino's translation of dialectal motifs demonstrate?

The adaptation from oral dialect to standard literary Italian while preserving oral storytelling elements.

What is the significance of the phrase 'E la rechina la 'Ncuratella disse' in Calvino's work?

It illustrates the transition from dialect to Standard Italian in his storytelling.

What does the term 'parataxis' refer to in Calvino's narrative style?

The joining of short, independent clauses with basic conjunctions to retain narrative rhythm.

What does Calvino's editorial decision reflect about his approach to folklore?

A balance between preserving regional identity and creating a unified national literary language.

Who is the author of La chimera?

Sebastiano Vassalli

What is the temporal setting of La chimera?

Early 17th century (1590 to 1610) during the Counter-Reformation.

Where is La chimera set geographically?

Zardino, a small village in the Novara plain, Piedmont region, Duchy of Milan.

What major historical event is occurring during the setting of La chimera?

The devastating 1630 Plague.

What is the core objective of Vassalli in La chimera?

To expose the institutional, social, and religious mechanisms of witch-hunting.

What is the significance of the character Antonia in La chimera?

An orphan accused of witchcraft and executed, representing marginalized victims.

How does Vassalli depict witchcraft in La chimera?

As a socio-political construct rather than a supernatural phenomenon.

What role does gossip play in the narrative of La chimera?

It escalates into fatal criminal charges against non-conforming women.

What literary device does Vassalli use to emphasize historical erasure?

Anaphora, particularly the repetition of 'nulla' ('nothingness').

What does the term 'nulla' signify in La chimera?

The historical erasure of marginalized victims and their narratives.

What is the relationship between Antonia and Hester Prynne?

Both are women punished for their non-conformity in their respective societies.

How does Vassalli use irony in La chimera?

To highlight the hypocrisy of authorities executing divine justice while committing atrocities.

What rhetorical questions does Vassalli embed in the narrative?

Questions that dissect victim-blaming dynamics, such as 'what right had she to be so beautiful?'

What metaphor does Vassalli use to describe the landscape in the prelude?

The mist symbolizes historical amnesia and buried violence.

What does Vassalli compare his research to in the prelude?

The spring sun clearing away fog, restoring clarity to Zardino's past.

What is the significance of the ecclesiastical trial in La chimera?

It serves as a state-sanctioned spectacle to restore social control.

What type of narrative structure is employed in La chimera?

Metadiegetic framing with a primary narrator introducing a secondary storyteller.

What does Vassalli aim to resurrect through his narrative?

The silenced narratives of historical victims like Antonia.

What is the role of the community in Antonia's trial?

The community's demand for a scapegoat drives the trial and execution.

How does Vassalli connect historical events to modern behavior?

By illustrating that scapegoating persists despite technological progress.

What is the impact of Antonia's beauty on her fate?

Her beauty and independence are twisted into evidence of a demonic pact.

What does the phrase 'tittle-tattle, intrigues, slanders' represent?

The trivial mechanisms of daily gossip that lead to witch accusations.

What is the significance of the public burning in the narrative?

It symbolizes the loss of narrative control and the community's desire for order.

What does the term 'scapegoat' refer to in La chimera?

A person blamed for the misfortunes of the community, exemplified by Antonia.

What is the narrative purpose of the historical and archival basis in La chimera?

To ground the fictional story in real historical events and records.

What does Vassalli's use of simile in the prelude convey?

It emphasizes the author's mission to illuminate forgotten histories.

Who is the author of I misteri d'Italia?

Dino Buzzati

What year was I misteri d'Italia originally written?

1965

In what year was I misteri d'Italia published as a book?

1978

What genre does I misteri d'Italia belong to?

Paranormal journalistic reportage

What is the main focus of Buzzati's investigative journalism in I misteri d'Italia?

Supernatural claims, rural omens, and paranormal events

How does Buzzati depict witches and mediums in his work?

He domesticates them, presenting them as ordinary housewives.

What narrative technique does Buzzati use to create a polyphonic structure?

Incorporating shifting voices from various sources, including local subjects.

What rhetorical device contrasts journalistic objectivity with literary sensationalism in Buzzati's writing?

Maintaining a matter-of-fact tone while building psychological tension.

How does Buzzati use direct speech in his narratives?

To capture authentic local dialects and voices of interviewees.

What is the significance of the character Pasqualina Pezzolla in I misteri d'Italia?

She represents the domesticity of the uncanny, contrasting with gothic stereotypes.

What does Buzzati's portrayal of Melinda reveal about the supernatural?

It frames the supernatural as a quiet aspect of everyday domestic life.

What literary award did Buzzati win for Sessanta racconti?

Premio Strega in 1958

What is the thematic connection of Buzzati's work to modern Italian anxiety?

It highlights how belief in the mysterious persists within ordinary suburban settings.

What does the term 'uncanny' refer to in Buzzati's work?

Eerie, disturbing, or inexplicable phenomena intruding into everyday life.

What is the effect of Buzzati's use of irony in his narratives?

It maintains a rational buffer between superstition and journalistic inquiry.

What does the phrase 'pull this story out of nothingness' signify in the context of historical erasure?

It critiques how dominant power structures erase marginalized victims.

What critical observation does Buzzati make about the character of Pasqualina?

He strips away gothic stereotypes by placing her in a mundane domestic space.

What is the purpose of using visual realism in Buzzati's descriptions?

To make paranormal visions unsettling to rational observers.

How does Buzzati's work reflect the blending of journalism and literature?

By combining investigative techniques with psychological horror and literary prose.

What is the dual jury system of the Premio Campiello?

An expert committee selects finalists, and a jury of ordinary readers chooses the winner.

What is the significance of the year 1972 in relation to Dino Buzzati?

It is the year he died.

What does Buzzati's clinical observation style aim to achieve?

To create a sense of detachment and objectivity in his reporting.

How does Buzzati's work challenge traditional narratives of the supernatural?

By presenting supernatural figures in relatable, everyday contexts.

What is the impact of the phrase 'as if she were reading a grocery list' in Buzzati's writing?

It emphasizes the anti-sensational delivery of extraordinary claims.

What literary award distinction exists between Premio Strega and Premio Campiello?

Premio Strega is judged by established authors, while Premio Campiello involves ordinary readers.

What does the term 'psychological horror' imply in the context of Buzzati's genre?

It refers to the unsettling exploration of fear and the unknown within ordinary life.

What is the setting of the film L'Accabadora?

Primarily set during the 1950s in the fictional Sardinian village of Soreni.

Who is Tzia Bonaria Urrai?

The accabadora, an elderly seamstress who adopts Maria as a child of the soul.

What does 'fillus de anima' mean?

It translates to 'child of the soul,' referring to Maria, the fourth daughter of Anna Teresa Listru.

What is the role of Anna Teresa Listru in the story?

She is Maria's impoverished biological mother.

Who is Nicola Bastìu?

A young village man who suffers an amputation and begs for an accabadura.

What does the term 'accabadura' refer to?

The traditional practice of ending the suffering of a terminally ill person, interpreted as a form of euthanasia.

What is the etymology of 'accabadura'?

Derived from Spanish 'acabar' and Sardinian 'accabare,' meaning 'to terminate' or 'to finish.'

What does Michela Murgia say about the historical existence of the accabadora?

She suggests that while there is no documentary proof, the oral folklore makes it feel as if such a figure existed.

How does Bonaria Urrai embody maternal duality?

She is both an adoptive mother to Maria and 'the last mother' who comforts the dying.

What are the Feast for the Dead traditions in Sardinia?

Household doors must be closed at night to prevent the dead from stealing human breath, with festive meals set out as distractions.

How do the villagers perceive Bonaria?

With a mix of respect, fear, and curiosity, questioning her motives for adopting Maria.

What does the phrase 'the door must be closed, and closed firmly' signify?

It emphasizes the urgency and rigidity of folk rituals against spiritual intrusion.

What literary device is used in 'squashed like a pressed grape'?

It is a grotesque simile describing Sisinnio Listru's death.

What does the metaphor of 'the black female soul' represent?

It frames Bonaria as a ghostly figure of death, emphasizing her role in mercy killing.

What internal conflict does Andría experience?

He feels terror and moral confusion as he witnesses Bonaria's actions.

What is the significance of the 'sauce of the culurgiones for blood' imagery?

It links traditional food to bodily imagery and fear, reflecting local folklore.

What does Bonaria's character symbolize in the film?

She symbolizes the complex nature of maternal authority and the moral dilemmas surrounding mercy killing.

What is the impact of oral folklore on cultural reality according to Murgia?

It shapes perceptions and beliefs, regardless of formal academic documentation.

How is the theme of social isolation depicted through Bonaria?

Her lack of biological reproduction and single status mark her as an outsider in the village.

What does the phrase 'she seemed ageless, immutable, frozen in time' suggest about Bonaria?

It characterizes her as an outsider and reflects her premature social aging.

What does the term 'maternal duality' refer to in the context of Bonaria?

It refers to her dual role as both a nurturing mother and a figure who facilitates death.