Entering Dante's dark wood: an introduction to the Inferno

Aims of the course

The course aims to:

1. Introduce students to Dante’s writing with particular focus on the Divine Comedy;
2. Introduce students to the diversity and complexity of texts from the medieval period;
3. Introduce students to theological and philosophical perspectives, literary innovations and the wider European context within which Dante’s texts were written

Content

This course explores Dante’s writing, focusing on the Divine Comedy. The texts will be discussed in translation and particular attention will be paid to medieval culture and Dante's influence on English literature, including Chaucer. The final session will examine the impact of Dante’s writing upon modern authors, including Samuel Beckett.

Presentation of the course

This course will take place primarily through group discussions, guided by the lecturer. All students will be encouraged to participate fully in discussion of the texts and the issues surrounding them, and may be invited to prepare informal individual presentations on particular aspects of a text or historical issue. 

Class sessions

1. Dante Amongst the Poets (Inferno 1, 2 and 4)
In this session, we will explore the very beginning of the Inferno (Inferno 1, 2 and 4), reflecting upon the reasons for Dante's journey through the afterlife, his initial encounter with Virgil, and the tensions between classical literature and the vernacular writing of Dante's own time. 
2. Love, Loss and Reading Dangerously (Inferno 5)
In this session, we will focus primarily on Inferno 5, in which Dante encounters Francesca da Rimini, who explains the way in which she and her lover met their grisly fate. This session will focus on the dangers of vernacular love poetry, as well as some of the implications for Dante's own writing. 
3. Suffering in Hell (Inferno 13)
In this session, we discuss Dante's journey to the circle of the suicides (Inferno 13). This is a remarkable canto, in that it contains a crucial moment of confusion between Dante and Virgil, a stunning allusion to the Aeneid, and the first explicit attempt in the poem to explain the logic of suffering in Hell. 
4. Pity or Piety Down Below? (Inferno 20)
In Session 4, we discuss the tension between pity and piety in Dante's vision of Hell, responding particularly to Inferno 20 and Dante's reprimand by Virgil for responding too emotionally to the pain of the sinners before him. Following this, we explore Samuel Beckett's early short story, 'Dante and the Lobster', which was published as part of the collection, More Pricks than Kicks (1934).
5. Dante's Ugolino and Chaucer's Hugelyn (Inferno 33)
In our final session, we follow Dante to the very depths of Hell (Inferno 33), where he encounters Ugolino, frozen in ice and chewing endlessly on the skull of his enemy, the Archbishop Ruggieri. This prompts a discussion of the (failed) parent figures threaded 
throughout the Commedia. The session concludes with a comparison of Chaucer's 'Monk's Tale', from The Canterbury Tales.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:
1. Introduce students to Dante’s writing with particular focus on the Divine Comedy.
2. Enhance critical appreciation of the texts discussed by close reading and practical criticism.
3. Encourage awareness of the diversity and complexity of texts from the period, including attention to theological and philosophical perspectives, literary innovations and the wider European context within which the texts were written.

Required reading

Dante, Divine Comedy ---, Inferno, trans. by Kirkpatrick (London: Penguin Classics, 2006) * [This is the recommended edition but any parallel text edition is sufficient.]

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.