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Therefore, for your own good, I think it well

you follow me and I will be your guide

            and lead you forth through an eternal place.

            There you shall see the ancient spirits tried

in endless pain, and hear their lamentation

            as each bemoans the second death of souls.

                      —Dante, Inferno, Canto 1, Lines 105-110, trans. John Ciardi

“The Divine Comedy expresses everything in the way of emotion, between depravity’s despair and the beatific vision, that man is capable of experiencing. It is therefore a constant reminder to the poet, of the obligation to explore, to find words for the inarticulate, to capture those feelings which people can hardly even feel, because they have no words for them….”

                                                                        —T. S. Eliot, “A Talk on Dante”

Join us on a journey through hell. Continuing RSH’s series of classes focused on discussing epic poetry, we finally delve into the opening of Dante’s timeless masterpiece, Inferno. A selection of secondary sources will help further our understanding of how the poem intertwines the political, religious, historical, and mythopoetic in order to arrive at a grand vision of humanity. Each week, students will also have the opportunity to select their favorite passages and lead a discussion on it! These classes are known for lively discussion in which everyone is involved, and we work together to build a deeper appreciation of the work in question.

Secondary Sources to be read and discussed during class:

Carter, Barbara Barclay. “Dante’s Political Ideas.” In The Review of Politics, 1943.

Cogan, Marc. “Delight, Punishment, and the Justice of God in the Divina Commedia.” In Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society, 1993.

Eliot, T.S. “A Talk on Dante.” In The Kenyon Review, 1952.

Freccero, John. “Dante’s Ulysses: From Epic to Novel.” In Dante: the poetics of conversion, 1986.

“How to Read Dante;” “Translator’s Note” and “Introduction.” In the Berkley edition of The Divine Comedy, translated by John Ciardi.

Marenbon, John. “Virtuous Pagans, Hopeless Desire and Unjust Justice.” In Vertical Readings in Dante’s Comedy, 2015.