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Dante (in English) ITAS 263‐01 *** (Domenico Da Michelino, Dante and his Poem) M./Th. 1.30‐2.40pm, GRH 338 Instructor: Francesca Southerden Office: Founders 224D, x 2966 Email: [email protected] Office hours : 3‐4pm, Mondays and Thursdays; or by appointment at other times. Course Description In this course we will read the whole of Dante’s Divine Comedy , one of the greatest works of European literature, almost unparalleled in terms of the scope of its author’s imagination and intellect. We will follow Dante on his journey through the three realms of the afterlife: the descent into Hell, the climb up the mountain of Purgatory, and the final ascent to Paradise. We will reflect upon the meaning of the encounters he has with so many historical and contemporary figures from his own time and consider the ways in which the text of the Divine Comedy constructs a vision of the otherworld that is intimately bound up with the question of what it means to be a human being also in this life, on earth. As with the study of all medieval texts, in approaching Dante’s Comedy , you will be invited to enter a different kind of world from the one you are used to, and a new way of thinking. You will be introduced to the history, politics, philosophy, and theology of the 13th‐ and 14th‐century Florence of Dante’s time, as well as to the rich literary qualities of the poem itself, which have kept readers returning to Dante’s poem again and again. Studying Dante also opens up fascinating insights into many other areas of literature, from the Middle Ages to the modern period. Through reading and engaging with the complexity of the Divine Comedy , you will be developing your skills of critical inquiry and learning how to think about a text both on its own terms and in relation to the literary, cultural and historical contexts in which it was written.

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Page 1: Dante (in English) - Wellesley College · Dante, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: volume 1: Inferno, ed. and trans. by Robert M. Durling and Ronald L. Martinez (Oxford University

Dante(inEnglish)ITAS263‐01

***

(DomenicoDaMichelino,DanteandhisPoem)

M./Th.1.30‐2.40pm,GRH338Instructor:FrancescaSoutherdenOffice:Founders224D,x2966Email:[email protected]:3‐4pm,MondaysandThursdays;orbyappointmentatothertimes.

CourseDescriptionInthiscoursewewillreadthewholeofDante’sDivineComedy,oneofthegreatestworksof European literature, almost unparalleled in terms of the scope of its author’simaginationandintellect.WewillfollowDanteonhisjourneythroughthethreerealmsoftheafterlife: thedescent intoHell, theclimbup themountainofPurgatory,andthefinalascent to Paradise.Wewill reflect upon themeaning of the encounters he haswith somany historical and contemporary figures from his own time and consider the ways inwhichthetextoftheDivineComedyconstructsavisionoftheotherworldthatisintimatelyboundupwiththequestionofwhatitmeanstobeahumanbeingalsointhislife,onearth.Aswiththestudyofallmedievaltexts,inapproachingDante’sComedy,youwillbeinvitedtoenteradifferentkindofworldfromtheoneyouareusedto,andanewwayofthinking.Youwillbe introduced tothehistory,politics,philosophy,and theologyof the13th‐and14th‐centuryFlorenceofDante’stime,aswellastotherichliteraryqualitiesofthepoemitself,whichhavekeptreadersreturningtoDante’spoemagainandagain.StudyingDantealsoopensupfascinatinginsightsintomanyotherareasofliterature,fromtheMiddleAgesto themodern period. Through reading and engagingwith the complexity of theDivineComedy, you will be developing your skills of critical inquiry and learning how to thinkabouta textbothon itsown termsand in relation to the literary, cultural andhistoricalcontextsinwhichitwaswritten.

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In order to cover all thematerial in this course, it is essential that youDO THE PRESCRIBEDREADINGONTIMEandCOMETOCLASSPREPAREDTOASKQUESTIONSandPARTICIPATEINDISCUSSION.Requiredtexts:Dante,TheDivineComedyofDanteAlighieri:volume1:Inferno,ed.andtrans.byRobertM.DurlingandRonaldL.Martinez(OxfordUniversityPress,1997)TheDivineComedyofDanteAlighieri: volume2:Purgatorio, ed.and trans.byRobertM.DurlingandRonaldL.Martinez(OxfordUniversityPress,2004)The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: volume 3: Paradiso, ed. and trans. by Robert M.DurlingandRonaldL.Martinez(OxfordUniversityPress,2011)Virgil,AeneidVI[ER]Augustine,Confessions,Book4.7‐22[ER]Recommendedtexts:The Cambridge Companion to Dante, ed. by Rachel Jacoff, 2nd Edition (CambridgeUniversityPress,2007)AlltextslistedaboveareavailableattheWellesleyBookstore,or–inthecaseofElectronicresources[ER]–onlineinourSakaiprojectfolder.YoumayalsofindSingleton’scommentaryofthepoemhelpfulin:The Divine Comedy, trans. by Charles S. Singleton (Princeton University Press, 1970‐75),availableatthereservedeskoftheClapplibrary.OtherUsefulResources:PrincetonDanteProject:http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/DartmouthDanteProject:http://dante.dartmouth.edu/Danteworlds:http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/ThePrincetonDanteProjecthasthecompleteworksofDanteintranslationavailableonlineinsearchabletext.TheDartmouthProjectincludesanextensivesetofEnglishcommentariesoneverycantooftheComedy,andindividuallines.Danteworlds is an interactive, multimedia resource that combines text and images torecreate Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. This website contains ausefulglossaryofkeytermsandepisodesbycantoandcanhelporientyoutotheveryrichliteraryandculturalcontextsinwhichDantewaswriting,fromtheClassicstoScripturetocontemporarypoliticsatDante’stime.SecondaryReadings:During the course of the semester, I expect to assign a limited number of secondaryreadingstohelporientyoutokeyepisodes inthepoem,andtheircritical reception.Thebooksfromwhichthesereadingswillbetakenareas follows(allavailableatthereservedeskoftheClapplibrary):

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Teodolinda Barolini, The Undivine ‘Comedy’: Detheologizing Dante (Princeton: PrincetonUniversityPress,1992)andDante’sPoets:TextualityandTruthinthe‘Comedy’(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1984)John Freccero, Dante: The Poetics of Conversion, ed. by Rachel Jacoff (Cambridge, MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1986)PeterS.Hawkins,Dante:ABriefHistory(Maiden,MA;London:Blackwell,2006)RobinKirkpatrick,Dante:TheDivineComedy(Cambridge;NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,1987)RichardLansingandothers,TheDanteEncyclopedia(NewYork:Garland,2000)JohnA.Scott,UnderstandingDante(NotreDame:NotreDameUniversityPress,2004)ClassPreparation:BelowistheSCHEDULEFOROURDISCUSSIONS,withtheassignmentsforeachclass.Youshouldprepareforclassinthefollowingway:

1. READ THE PRESCRIBED CANTOS along with the commentary by Durling‐Martinez. YoumayalsofindtheadditionalcommentaryinSingletonhelpful(seeabove).However,trytoformyourownideaandunderstandingofthetextthroughanalysisandclosereadingbeforeembarkingonsecondaryreadings.

2. Use the STUDYQUESTIONS toeachcanto (tobedistributed in classandavailableon

sakai) tohelpguideyou inyourreading,andtoassistyouwiththePREPARATIONOFNOTESanddiagrams.

3. Think about the questions you find hard to resolve andwhy those difficulties in

interpretationmightexist.

4. BRING ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE TO CLASS and be prepared to talk about yourimpressionsofthecanto(s)whenasked.

5. Use your spirit of intellectual inquiry as a critical tool for probing the depths of

Dante’stext.EVENWHENYOUTHINKYOU’VE‘GOTIT’,KEEPLOOKING!Youwillberewardedforyourefforts.

GRADING:Thisisagradedcourse.Yourfinallettergradeforthiscoursewillbedeterminedfromthepercentagesbelow:Writtenassignments(2intotal:1shortpaper,1articlecritique) 20%2Takehomeexams,1FinalTakehomeexam 60%Classparticipation,includingcontributiontoclasspresentation 20%WrittenAssignments(2‐3ppinlength)willconsistoftheclosereadingofDante’smeetingwithBrunettoLatini(Inf.15)andanarticlecritique.

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2 Take home exams and a Final take home exam: Therewill be one exam on each ofInferno and Purgatorio, and a final exam on Paradiso. Each exam will consist of twoquestions:acommentaryon30 linesofthepoemandanessayonatopiccentral tothecanticlejuststudied.Clearinstructionswillbegivenwitheachexam.Classparticipationinvolvesactiveparticipationinclassdiscussions,notjustyourpresencein class. For the class presentation, which you will do as part of a group, you willcollaboratewithyourpeers.ThiscoursehasaSAKAIPROJECTSITE,whereyouwillfindcopiesofadditionalmaterialsandresources:

https://sakai.wellesley.edu LoginusingyourWellesleydomainname/password

Attendancepolicy:Duetotheintensivenatureofthiscourse,itisveryimportantthatyoucometoeachclass,sothatyoudonotfallbehind.Attendancewillberecordedandyourclassparticipationgradewill suffer if youareabsentwithoutgood reason. If youhavealegitimatereasontomissaclass,pleaseemailmeat least24hours inadvanceto informmeofthis.

Latepolicy:Ifyourequireanextension,youmustcontactmeatleast24hoursinadvanceoftheduedate.Extensionswillonlybegrantedforgoodreasons,suchasseriousillnessorfamilyemergency.Havingalotofworktodoforothercoursesisnotagoodreason.Latepapersandexamsubmissionswillbepenalized1/3ofalettergradeforevery24hrperiodwithinwhichtheyarelate(e.g.submittingapaperwithinthe24hrsfollowingthedeadlinewouldtakeanA‐papertoaB+andsoon).

Ifyouhaveadisabilityandneeddisability‐relatedaccommodations,youareencouragedtoworkwithJimWice,theDirectorofDisabilityServices(ifyoueitherhaveaphysicaldisabilityorareuncertainwhetheryoudo)toarrangethoseaccommodations.Jim’sofficeislocatedinthePforzheimerLearning&TeachingCenterinClappLibrary.See:http://www.wellesley.edu/DisabilityServices/DShome.htmlforinformation.

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DANTE(INENGLISH)

ITAS263‐01

***Week1:Sept.1 Dante’sLifeandWorld:ApproachingtheDivineComedyI.INFERNO:DELVINGINTODARKNESS

Week2:Sept.5 LABORDAY:noclassesSept.7 MONDAYSCHEDULE

LostintheDarkWood Inf.1‐3;BeginreadingAeneidVI[ER]

Thinkabouthow thepoembegins.Considerhow itestablishes thenatureof, and motivation for, Dante’s journey through the afterlife and thedefiningcharacteristicsofhispoem.Howdoes itimplyweshouldreadtheComedy?

Sept.8 DanteandVirgil Inf.4;AeneidVI[ER]

What is the nature of the relationship between Dante and Virgil so farestablished?Howdoyouexpectittodevelop?WhatisyourviewofVirgil’sfateandDante’streatmentofhimandtheothervirtuouspagans?1pagecomparativeanalysisofDante’sandVirgil’s‘leafsimile’inInf.3andAen.VI[thisassignmentwillbeungraded]

***

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Week3:Sept.12 DanteandFrancesca

Inf.5.Whereareyoursympathiesincanto5andwhy?Howdoesthewayinwhichthetextiswrittencomplicateours(andthepilgrim’s)initialresponsetoFrancesca?Writingdue:1pagecomparativeanalysisofDante’sandVirgil’s‘leafsimile’

Sept.15 Politics:DanteandFlorence

Inf. 6‐10.Wewill talk about howpolitics becomes intrinsic to the poem’sdrama. We will focus on Inf. 6 and 10. The essay by Najemy in theCambridgeCompaniontoDanteisexcellentonFlorentinepolitics.ShortpaperonInf.15assigned.

***Week4:Sept.19 LowerHell:TheCirclesofViolence

Inf.11‐15.Canto11laysoutthestructureofHellandthecategoriesweusetothinkabout it.Wewillconcentrateourdiscussiononcantos13and15.What tensions can you identify in the presentation of the sinners Dantemeetsthere?Short paper on Inf. 15 due. Look at the relationship between Dante andBrunetto Latini. What makes it difficult for us to decide how Dante feelsaboutBrunetto?

Sept.22 Malebolge[EvilPouches]:IntotheDepthsofHell

Inf.16‐22.FocusonDante’spresentationofGeryonandonDante’sattitudetothePapacy(inInf.19).ManymoderncriticsthinkofGeryonasafigureofthepoemitselfand itscomplex interminglingof fictionandtruth.Canyouseewhy?

***Week5:Sept.26 MoreMalebolge:PerverseMetamorphoses

Inf.23‐25.OurdiscussionwillfocusonthepresentationofthethievesinInf.24‐25.What claimdoesDantemake for the newness of his poetics here?What specialqualitydohismetamorphoseshave?Why is it thatOvidandLucanmust‘besilent’?

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Sept.29 TheDangersofShipwreck:UlyssesInf.26‐28.Wewillfocusoncanto26.ThinkaboutDante(pilgrimandpoet)andUlysses:similaritiesanddifferences.Whymightthissinnergetsomuchspace?What concerns –which are alsoDante’s own– does the figure ofUlyssesbringtothefore?

***Week6:Oct.3 ClassvisittoSpecialCollections,ClappLibrary.Thisisauniqueopportunity

for you to see early and illustrated editions of Dante’sComedy and otherworks,andtolearnaboutmanuscriptandprintculture.

Oct.6 ‘BestialSigns’andThePitoftheUniverse

Inf. 29‐34. We will focus on Dante’s encounter with Ugolino and itsimplications for the poemas awhole.Why and how areUgolino and thestoryhe tells suchagrotesqueandhorrificembodimentof sin?Howdoeshis punishment fit the crime? How does this episode prefigure theencounterwithSatan?TakehomeexamonInfernodistributed,dueonOct17.

***II.PURGATORIO:REDEEMINGLOVE

Week7:Oct.10‐11 FALLBREAK:NOCLASSESOct.13 DeadPoetryRisesAgain:TheShoresofPurgatory Purg.1‐3 ReadingDue:Augustine,Confessions,Book4.7‐22[ER]

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AnalysetheepisodeofDante’smeetingwithhischildhoodfriendCasellaincanto2alongsidethepassagefromAugustine’sConfessions.Whatdotheyimplyaboutthenatureoftherelationshipbetweenmemoryand desire in Purgatorio? Focus especially on Casella’s song and Cato’srebuke.

***Week8:Oct.17 Ante‐Purgatory:WaitingRooms Purg.4‐9

Ante‐purgatoryiseffectivelyacreationofDante’s.Whatisdistinctiveaboutthis space? What does it suggest about the nature of purgation andredemptionforthesoulsinPurgatory?TakehomeexamonInfernodue.

Oct.20 EntrancetoPurgatoryProper

Purg.10‐12.God’s‘art’andtheTerraceofPride.WhyshouldDantelingersolongonthisterrace?Whatmajorissueisbeingexplicated upon here? Of which ritual elements does purgation consist?Whatdifferences canyou identifybetween thestructureofPurgatoryandthatofHellinthesecantos?Reading due: Schnapp, ‘Introduction to Purgatorio’ in CambridgeCompanion

ArticleCritiqueassigned

***Week9:Oct.24 OrderingLove

Purg. 13‐19. These are the some of the most philosophical cantos of thepoem.Whatisthemajorsubjectofthephilosophicaldiscussions?Howisitthatlovecanbethemotiveforceofallhumanaction,bothgoodandbad?What is the implication of this for our understanding of the poem andespeciallythePurgatorio?

Oct.27 ‘Through you I was a poet, through you a Christian’: TheMeeting with

StatiusPurg.20‐22WhatistherelationshipbetweenVirgil,Dante,andStatiusinthispartofthepoem?Whatdoes it indicateabouttherelativesalvificandpoeticvalueofeach of their texts? How, in particular, does it underscore the tragedy ofVirgil’sfate?ArticleCritiqueDue

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***Week10:Oct.31 PoetsinPurgatory Purg.23‐27

WhatdoesDante’streatmentofthepoetshemeetsontheterraceof lustsuggestaboutthestatusandfunctionoflovepoetryandthelyric?Howisitrelatedtohisownpoeticpractice intheDivineComedy?HowdoesDante,onceagain,‘comeoutontop’?TakehomeexamonPurgatoriodistributed,dueThurs10November

Nov.3 ParadiseRegained:TheReunionwithBeatrice Purg.28‐33.FocusonCanto30.

What is the significance of Beatrice’s arrival in Eden with respect to themeaning of the Divine Comedy as a whole? How can we reconcile themysticalpageant,whichheraldsherreturn,withheridentityasthewomanDantelovedinhisyouth?What isthesignificanceofVirgil’sdisappearanceandBeatrice’stakingoverasDante’sguide?

III.PARADISO:FLYINGONTHEWINGSOFDESIRE

***Week11:Nov.7 RisingtoParadise Par.1‐2 Readingdue:Jacoff,‘IntroductiontoParadiso’,inCambridgeCompanion

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WhatclaimsdoesDantemakeaboutthenatureoftheparadisiacaljourney?HowwillDanteinvolvethereaderinthatjourneyandwhatwarningdoeshegives?

Nov.10 TheEarth’sShadow Par.3‐9

Thispartofheaven issetapart fromtherest.Why?Whatspecial functiondoesPiccardahaveinclarifyingtheformandstructureofDante’sParadiso,andwhatunderstandingoftheexperienceofbeatitudeemergesfromwhatshesays?TakehomeExamonPurgatoryDue.ClassPresentationsonCacciaguidaassigned.

***Week12:Nov.14 HeavenoftheSun Par.10‐14

Focus on cantos 11‐12.Howarewe encouraged to view themas an idealdiptych(pair?)WhatissignificantaboutDantechoosingStThomasAquinastotell thestoryofStFrancis,andBonaventurethatofStDominic?Howinspeakingof‘one’,dotheyspeakof‘both’?

ClasstimesetasidetoworkonCacciaguidapresentationsNov.17 DanteandCacciaguida

Par. 15‐18. Concentrate on canto 17. What is its significance for Dante’swriting of his ‘sacred poem’? What traumatic event does Cacciaguidaprophesyandwhatpossiblepayoff/compensationwillDantereceive?ClasspresentationsonthisepisodeConsider in particular the related themes of Dante’s exile and poeticauthorityinthisepisode.

***Week13:Nov.21 HeavenlyEnunciations/Annunciations Par.18‐22

Whatviewofdivine justiceemergesfromtheEagle’sspeech incantos19‐20?WhatisinitselfstrikingaboutthisEagleandthewayitisdescribed?

Nov.22‐27 THANKSGIVINGBREAK ***

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Week14:Nov.28 CLASSESRESUME

Dante’sTheologicalExamPar. 23‐26. Focus on cantos 23 and 25.How cancanto 23 be viewed as aprefigurationofthefinalvision?Howdoescanto25establishDante’shopesforhisownpoemandthatofitsauthor?

Dec.1 TurningtheUniverseInsideOut:ThePrimumMobile Par.27‐29

Howarewebeingaskedtoviewtheuniverseinsideouthere?Whatdowelearn about the angelic hierarchies and how is the question of the angelsrelatedtothequestionofhumankind?

***Week15Dec.5 FacetoFacewithGod:TheEmpyrean Par.30‐33

WhatsupremechallengefacesDante‐poetatthispoint?Howdoesthetextattempttoovercomeit?

IwillgiveyouyourfinaltakehomeexamonParadiso,dueDec.16.***Dec.16 FINALTAKEHOMEEXAMtobesubmittedinSAKAIdropfolderby4.30pm.