All exams will be held in St. Augustine Center 401, the History
Department Seminar Room.
Since the scanner refuses to upload the text, we will rely on
low-tech xeroxes. Copies of this text are in an envelope in the Honors
Office.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Divine Comedy, Canto 4
Dante's epic describing his journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven begins when, in the middle of his life, having lost his way spiritually, he encounters the poet Virgil, who will serve as his guide for the first part of the poem, the descent into Hell. Virgil was particularly appropriate since Dante thought of himself accomplishing in the vulgar Italian what Virgil had done for classical Latin. As Dante descends into Hell the sins become ever more grave and the punishments correspondingly and appropriately more severe until finally at the bottom he sees Satan himself. Canto 4 tells of the first and highest circle.