DECEMBER 4/5/6: A CHRISTIAN EPIC/THE END OF THE JOURNEY (DANTE'S INFERNO, CANTOS 1-5, 8-9, 11, 24-26)
READINGS (Monday, December 4): the Inferno, cantos 1-5, pp. 3-47.
READINGS (Tuesday night, December 5): the Inferno, cantos 1-5, pp. 3-47; cantos 8-9, pp. 69-83; canto 11, pp. 95-101; cantos 24-26, pp. 217-45.
READINGS (Wednesday, December 6): the Inferno,
cantos 8-9, pp. 69-83; canto 11, pp. 95-101; cantos 24-26, pp. 217-45.
Goals: In our discussions of the Inferno, I will suggest three approaches to Dante’s work: poetic, political/historical and moral/religious. We will use the first cantos of the Inferno to show how the work can be read on several levels and be interpreted from these different perspectives. We will pay special attention to Dante’s presentation of Virgil as his poetic mentor and guide on his journey. We will highlight Dante's encounter with the sinners, Francesca and Paolo. In this dramatic scene, we will see the different perspectives of Dante, the pilgrim, and Dante, the poet, and we will discuss Dante's views of love and love poetry. We may compare his views with the ideas about love that we found in Sophocles' Antigone and in Virgil's story of the love affair between Dido and Aeneas,  and with the criticisms of literature that we read in Plato's Republic and Augustine's Confessions.We will conclude with reflections on Dante's view of the relationship between ancient and medieval culture, and the place of the arts in the Christian culture of the Middle Ages by considering Dante’s use of Virgil; his references to the Roman poets, Ovid and Lucan (Inf. 25); and his description of Ulysses’ last, tragic journey (Inf. 26).

THREE PERSPECTIVES ON DANTE’S INFERNO

  1. Dante's poetry:  How does Dante use Virgil to create a Christian epic in the vernacular language, Italian?  How does he describe his poetic "journey" in the poem itself?  How is his poetry shaped by the tradition of reading the Bible figuratively on several levels?
  2. Dante's vision of Christian history and Italian politics: How does Dante link pagan and Christian Rome?  How does he respond to the involvement of the church in worldly affairs and the conflicts that divide the Italian cities?
  3. Dante's moral vision:  Compare Dante's journey with Augustine's progress towards conversion or Aeneas' development in the Aeneid.  How does Dante the poet describe the moral progress of Dante the pilgrim?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: INTERPRETING AND APPRECIATING DANTE'S INFERNO
-Cantos 1-5
-In the first canto, how does Dante make you aware that this is more than a story of a walk in the woods?
-Why does Dante admire Virgil?  Why is he an appropriate guide for Dante?
-In canto 2, how does Dante relate pagan and Christian Rome?
-How is Dante’s journey compared with that of Aeneas?
-Why has Dante been summoned to take this journey?
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Compare Dante's description of the ferryman, Charon, and the souls waiting to cross the Acheron river (canto 3), with Virgil's description of the souls and the crossing (Aeneid 6.390-416).
-Explain Dante’s response to the souls in LIMBO.
 -In Canto 5, why are these souls in the Second Circle of hell?  How is their sin described?
-When Virgil names some of the sinners here, how does Dante respond?   Explain his response.
-Explain Dante's response to FRANCESCA's first speech.  Does Dante sympathize with Francesca and Paolo?  Why does Dante faint?
-Why is the story of LANCELOT important to Dante's narrative?
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Compare Dante's view of reading with that of Augustine.
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Compare Dante's view of poetry with that of Plato.
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Compare the view of love expressed by Dante with those expressed by Virgil in the story of Dido and Aeneas.
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Examine the relationship between Dante, the poet, and Dante, the pilgrim, in canto five, and compare it with the relationship between an author and character in another work we have studied.
-COMPARING WORKS>>> Compare Dante's encounter with sin with Augustine's reflections on his own sinful past.
Cantos 8-9, 11, 24-26
-Does Dante respond appropriately to FILIPPO ARGENTI in canto 8?
-Explain the importance of Virgil's doubts and hesitations in cantos 8 and 9.
-Did Virgil save Dante by protecting him from the MEDUSA in canto 9?
-In canto 11, Virgil explains the categories of sin, their causes, and their different degrees of severity.  How does this view of sin and evil compare with other explanations of evil and suffering that we have encountered in the course?
-Explain the significance of Virgil’s words of encouragement to Dante in canto 24 (lines 46-57).
-Why does Dante refer to the "believability" of his poetry and that of Virgil (13: 46-48; 25: 46-48)?
-In Canto 25, Dante implies that he has outdone the Roman poets, Lucan and OVID (lines 94-102). How have they been surpassed?  In the next canto, why does he say that he must curb his talent (26: 20-24). Is he curbing his talent? Analyze the similes that follows those remarks (25-42)
-Why does Virgil speak to ULYSSES on Dante's behalf?
-Compare Dante's reaction to Francesca and Paolo with his reaction to Ulysses.
-What is the significance of Ulysses' speech to his men (lines 112-120)?
-What is the meaning of Ulysses' journey?  How does it compare to Aeneas' journey (lines 90-99) or that of Dante?Why does it fail?

I leave you with Virgil’s last words to Dante at the threshold of the Earthly Paradise, mankind’s lost Garden of Eden, (Purgatorio 27.127-142/Allen Mandelbaum translation, Bantam Books):
My son, you’ve seen the temporary fire
and the eternal fire; you have reached
the place past which my powers cannot see.
  I’ve brought you here through intellect and art;
from now on, let your pleasure be your guide;
you’re past the steep and past the narrow paths.
  Look at the sun that shines upon your brow;
look at the grasses, flowers, and the shrubs
born here, spontaneously, of the earth.
  Among them, you can rest or walk until
the coming of the glad and lovely eyes -
those eyes that, weeping, sent me to your side,
  Await no further word or sign from me:
your will is free, erect, and whole - to act
against that will would be to err: therefore
  I crown and miter you over yourself.”

It’s all over...I hope you liked it!

FINAL EXAM, DECEMBER 11/12
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Monday/Wednesday)
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Tuesday night)
RETURN TO HUM 2211