The Divine Comedy, written in the early fourteenth century by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri, has come to be regarded as one of our great human treasures. Mordent and sublime by turns, the Comedy offers an almost encyclopedic presentation of medieval ethics, philosophy and theology, a powerful political vision, and some of the most imaginative, stirring and beautiful poetry ever written.
The poem redefined literature and language in Italy and throughout Europe. But why should we read this 14th-century masterpiece 700 years after Dante set pen to parchment? How does the Comedy teach and engage us today both intellectually and spiritually? This is one of the many questions the class will address.
In order to allow time for class discussion of the poem, we will focus on the first two cantiche of the Divine Comedy, Inferno and Purgatorio, and accompany the pilgrim Dante from midlife despair to the Earthly Paradise. The final classes will be dedicated to an overview of the third cantica, Paradiso.

The class will combine short lectures, guided close readings of the text, and discussion. Using a bilingual edition of the text, we will read and discuss the English translation, but make reference to the Italian text where it is relevant. Class requirements include participation in discussions, an oral midterm, a final research paper of 12 pages, and the recitation of the first 27 lines of Inferno in Italian. The class is open to all students.