Dante in Translation

This Yale College course is an introduction to Dante and his cultural milieu through a critical reading of the Divine Comedy and selected minor works (Vita nuova, Convivio, De vulgari eloquentia, Epistle to Cangrande). An analysis of Dante's autobiography, the Vita nuova, establishes the poetic and political circumstances of the Comedy's composition. Readings of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise situate Dante's work within the intellectual and social context of the late Middle Ages, with special attention to political, philosophical, and theological concerns. Topics explored include the relationship between ethics and aesthetics; love and knowledge; and exile and history. The course was taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes and recorded for Open Yale Courses in Fall 2008.