Dante

Intro to Dante

Textbook: The Divine Comedy

4th edition: pp. 331-333

5th edition pp.325-326

“Comedy”

• written in the vulgar (Italian)

• begins in despair and ends in bliss, as opposed to tragedy

• realistic view of human nature

• wide variety of human types

The Divine Comedy as “spiritual epic”

• the poet’s quest for salvation

• iter mentis ad Deo

Structure of The Divine Comedy

• Three canticles: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso

• Each canticle contains 33 cantos. (There is one introductory canto.)

• 100 total cantos

• Each canto is written in terza rima

• three-line stanza

• interlocking rhymes

• Number symbolism: multiples of 3

Levels of interpretation

• literal: Dante as a character

• allegorical: commentary on contemporary politics

• anagogical: Everyman’s quest for salvation

Structure of Inferno

• Dante witnesses the “gamut of human sins and their punishments.”

• Structured on the seven deadly sins, which are arranged in three categories.

• Incontinence, sins of the flesh

• Sloth

• Lust

• Gluttony

• Violence

• Wrath

• Greed

• Envy

• Fraud

• PRIDE

   

Introductory lecture from Yale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=679FGDpZBew

Divine Comedy Full Text

William Blake's sketches of Inferno:

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/ashp/blakes_dante.html

and here (very cool): http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/copy.xq?copyid=but812.1&java=yes

The Medieval Bestiary: http://bestiary.ca/ 

Really good maps: The World of Dante

Questions and activities for each canto we study. Please add your own questions to these pages.

Canto 1

Canto 3

Canto 5

Canto 26

Canto 33

Canto 34

Side by side 200/12 journals

Canto 1:       Stephen Crane's "The Wayfarer"

Canto 3:      ee cummings and Robert Frost: 2 poems 

Canto 5:       canto5_side.doc

Canto 26:     CuriosityAlastair Reed_dante_26.doc

Canto 33:     "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor

• Compare the pairs in the story to the pairs in Inferno, particularly Canto 33.
• What is the significance of Joy's name change?
• What is the significance of the prosthetic leg?
• What kinds of treason occur in the story?
• What is Hulga's punishment? How is it appropriate?
• What is the significance of the title?

Canto 34:   A poem by Robert Frost and one by William Blake

Expand a side by side journal entry into an essay

Process:

• Choose one of your journal entries.
• Expand that journal entry into a brief essay that compares and contrasts a canto of Inferno with the side by side text.
• The essay should be no more than 2 typed pages double spaced in 12-point standard font. 

The essay should have these three "chunks"*: 

• Chunk 1: A paragraph that makes a clear, direct statement of exactly how the canto and the side by side text could read together. (answer the question)
• Chunk 2: A paragraph or two that performs a text-rooted analysis of how the the poem and the canto could be read together. (provide the evidence)
• Concentrate on the WORDS-- their meanings, connotations, and metaphorical values. The text is the final (and only) arbiter of the validity of a reading. If there is no textual evidence, there is no argument. 
• Consider the TONE of the speaker(s). Their attitude toward the subject matter is of paramount importance.
• Chunk 3: A paragraph or two that demonstrates how your analysis leads to a deeper understanding of the canto. (significant to the work as a whole, theme)
• A theme can be thought of as a statement of what is IRONIC about the text. 

*CHUNK: a section of an essay that performs a particular function. A chunk can, among other things, introduce the thesis, analyze a section of text, or consider a theme. A CHUNK can be one or more paragraphs.

SCORING

• Three chunks. Each chunk performs its function as described above.  75 points, or 25 points per chunk
• Grammar, syntax, usage, clarity: The essay has been proofread and revised for correctness and clarity. 25 points