Unit name | Dante's Inferno |
---|---|
Unit code | ITAL20024 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Kay |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Italian |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit aims to acquaint students with the first canticle of arguably the greatest work of Italian literature and the medieval environment that produced it. The analysis of specific episodes in the Inferno will show how this canticle is an expression of Dante's thoughts on crime and punishment, his interpretation of the poets of antiquity, his understanding of the Christian moral code and his thoughts on the politics of his time. The unit will also introduce students to Dante's use of the Italian language and his mastery of poetics.
Aims:
Successful students will:
Normally one lecture hour and one seminar hour per week across one teaching block (22 contact hours), often with student presentations. In units with a smaller number of students the lecture hour may be replaced by a second seminar or a workshop. Units involving film may require students to view films outside the timetabled contact hours.
Essay 75%, short essay 25%
Texts
Italian editions:
La Divina Commedia, commentary by U. Bosco G. Reggio. Firenze: LeMonnier, 1993. Commedia, commentary by A. M. Chiavacci Leonardi. Milano: Mondadori, 1991-97.
Translations and commentary in English
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, translated with a commentary by D. Sinclair. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
The Divine Comedy, translated by Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam, 1982.
The Divine Comedy, translated with a commentary by Charles Singleton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970-75.