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Reading it is one thing — hearing it is another
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Two works, in Italian, read closely: At HL only, you study two literary works written in Italian, and your literary individual oral is built on a short extract from one of them. This isn't speed-reading for a plot summary — you read to understand how the work is built and what it means, so you can talk about it. This micro teaches you how to read for the course.
- l'opera letteraria / le opere letterarie
- the literary work(s)
- il romanzo
- the novel
- l'opera teatrale / il dramma
- the play
- il racconto lungo / la novella
- the novella / long short story
- il racconto (breve)
- the short story
- l'autore / l'autrice
- the author
- il narratore / la narratrice
- the narrator
- il capitolo
- the chapter
- il brano / l'estratto
- the extract / passage
Read on four levels: A good first reading tracks four things at once. You'll come back to each one in the next sections.
Trama e temi
- la trama — che cosa succede, in ordine
- il tema — la grande idea che esplora (la memoria, l'identità…)
I personaggi
- il/la protagonista — il personaggio principale
- come cambia nel corso dell'opera
Voce e stile
- chi racconta — prima o terza persona
- il tono e la lingua dell'autore
Why this matters: Your oral isn't a plot retelling — the examiner expects you to discuss theme, character and the author's style from an extract. Reading with those in mind from page one is what makes the oral easy later.
Reading is note-taking: Passive reading fades by the oral. Read actively: as you go, mark the moments that matter so you can find them again. Keep a simple reading log — one page per work is enough.
Mark these as you read
- Segna i temi — note where a theme appears (la memoria, la libertà, la famiglia).
- Segna i personaggi — note who they are and how they change.
- Segna le citazioni chiave — copy 3–5 short, vivid quotations word for word.
- Segna il punto di svolta — the turning point where something shifts (il punto di svolta).
- Annota le tue domande — anything you don't understand, to look up or ask about.
| What to record (Italian) | Why it helps the oral |
|---|---|
| il tema principale e due temi secondari | You can name what the work is about, not just what happens. |
| una breve citazione per ogni tema | A quotation is evidence — it lifts a comment into analysis. |
| come si sviluppa il/la protagonista | Character change is a classic oral talking point. |
| la voce narrante (io / lui-lei narrante) | Lets you discuss how the story is told, not just the plot. |
Quote, don't summarise: A short quotation in Italian — «Non era una domanda» — is worth more than three sentences of summary. The quotation is your proof; your job in the oral is to explain what it shows.
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Close reading, step by step: Your oral is based on one extract. Read this short ORIGINAL fragment of an (invented) novel once for the situation, then tap Mostra la traduzione if you need it. Then we'll notice the theme, character and voice together.
Brano — «Il ritorno a casa»: La casa odorava di caffè e di pioggia. Elena rimase ferma sulla soglia, con la valigia ancora in mano, e guardò in fondo al lungo corridoio che non attraversava da dieci anni.
«Sei tornata», disse sua nonna, senza alzarsi dalla poltrona. Non era una domanda.
Elena non rispose subito. Lentamente posò la valigia sul pavimento, come se temesse di svegliare qualcosa che dormiva. «Solo qualche giorno», pensò; eppure la casa, con il suo vecchio silenzio, sembrava decisa a tenerla per sempre.
- la soglia
- the threshold / doorway
- attraversare
- to cross / walk through
- la poltrona
- the armchair
- lentamente
- slowly
- temere
- to fear / be afraid
- il vecchio silenzio
- the old silence
IB-style task — a cosa fare attenzione in un brano
A cosa fare attenzione, passo dopo passo
- Il tema (theme). The work is about return and memory: «il lungo corridoio che non attraversava da dieci anni». A ten-year absence sets up la memoria and il passato as themes.
- Il personaggio (character). Elena is hesitant, not triumphant: she sets the suitcase down «lentamente …, come se temesse di svegliare qualcosa che dormiva». The slowness shows fear of the past, not joy at coming home.
- La voce (voice). The grandmother's line «Sei tornata … Non era una domanda» uses a short, flat sentence — the narrator tells us it is not a question, which makes the homecoming feel like a verdict, not a welcome.
Close-reading technique: Always anchor a comment in the text: name the device (a short sentence, a sensory detail, the narrator's intrusion), quote it, then say what it does. «Dettaglio → citazione → effetto» is the whole skill.
Build your extract sheet as you read: By the end of each work you want one page you can revise from. Record the same five things for every work — that page becomes your oral preparation.
What to record per work — 5 steps
1
I temi
One main theme + two secondary, each in a phrase. «la memoria», «la famiglia», «tornare a casa».
2
I personaggi
The protagonist and how they change. «Elena passa dalla paura all'accettazione».
3
Le citazioni chiave
3–5 short quotations you can recite, each tied to a theme. «Non era una domanda».
4
Il punto di svolta
The moment something shifts, and why it matters to the theme.
5
La voce narrante
Who narrates (io / lui-lei narrante) and the author's tone. «Narratore in terza persona, tono malinconico».
Theme → Character → Quotations → Turning point → Voice
Pick your extract early: Choose the extract you'd be happy to speak about long before the oral. It should be short, rich, and let you say something about theme and character and voice — not just describe what happens.
One page, in Italian: Keep the sheet in Italian so the vocabulary you'll speak with is already on the page. English notes mean translating in the oral itself — slow and risky.
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Read for analysis, not just story: Most lost marks in the literature component come from treating the work like a story to summarise. Compare the habits that score with the ones that don't.
Fai così (do)
- Leggi cercando temi, personaggi e voce narrante.
- Annota citazioni brevi ed esatte con la loro pagina.
- Commenta l'effetto: «questa frase breve crea tensione».
- Tieni gli appunti in italiano.
Evita questo (avoid)
- Raccontare solo la trama («succede questo, poi questo»).
- Inventare ciò che l'autore «voleva dire», senza prove.
- Confondere il narratore con l'autore.
- Imparare a memoria un riassunto in inglese e tradurlo all'orale.
Narrator ≠ author: If a novel is narrated in the first person, the «io» is the narrator (il narratore / la narratrice), a character — not the author. Saying «l'autore dice io» is a classic slip. Always write «il narratore».