World Literature Module 5.4

The Inferno

Study Guide: World Literature (Excellence in Literature, English 5)

Focus Text: Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante Alighieri translated by Anthony Esolen; or The Divine Comedy translated by John Ciardi (contains all three parts of the epic poem: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso)

Honors Text: Paradiso and/or Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri (both are contained in the Ciardi translation, and available as stand-alone volumes with excellent notes in the Esolen translation.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/home.html

NOTE: The Divine Comedy is an epic poem, created to be heard. I strongly recommend listening to it, or at least a portion of it.

Audiobook: http://amzn.to/2rUDOKS

EIL 5.4 Context Resources

These links represent only the online resources referenced in this module. Instructions, background information, offline resources, and assignments are all found in the Excellence in Literature study guide listed above.

 Readings

http://www.gicas.net/inferno.html#3

http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/

https://dante.princeton.edu/pdp/

http://www.worldofdante.org

http://www.worldofdante.org/media/Dante_Instructions_640x480.mov

http://www.gotquestions.org/Divine-Comedy-Dantes-Inferno.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04628a.htm

http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/dante/lecture.htm

https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/approaching-the-divine-comedy-by-stacy-esch

The Author’s Life

Dante: Poet, Author, And Proud Florentine by John C. Davenport: at Amazon.com.

http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/09/15.html

https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/dante-biography/

Poetry

http://www.florin.ms/Bankers.html

http://www.dunphy.de/Medieval/Walther

http://www.planck.com/rhymedtranslations/versetrans.htm

Audio

Your library may have Inferno on CD, but you can also download it free at Librivox (this is an amateur production, so check your library first). If you enjoy the poem, you may want to purchase an audio version from www.Audible.com.

Audiobook: http://amzn.to/2rUDOKS (Recommended)

https://librivox.org/the-divine-comedy-version-2-dramatic-reading-by-dante-alighieri/ (Amateur)

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/13/177045282/dantes-beauty-rendered-in-english-in-a-divine-comedy

Music

https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/medieval-music-cynthia-cyrus/

http://www.worldofdante.org/comedy/dante/musicEssay

http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/harmony/13c.html

Video

https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/recitation-of-dantes-inferno-by-roberto-benigni

https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/dantes-inferno-the-1911-silent-movie

Visual Arts

http://www.worldofdante.org/maps_main.html

http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/gates-hell

https://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/artworks/dali/divinecomedy.htm

http://www.worldofdante.org/gallery_main.html

https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/cb1df5f1-7435-468b-8860-d56db988b929/

Historical Context

http://www.aboutflorence.com/history-of-Florence.html

http://timelineflorence.com/

http://www.dantemass.org/html/guelphs-and-ghibellines.html

https://research.bowdoin.edu/dante-today/

https://academic-eb-com.eres.qnl.qa/levels/collegiate/article/Western-literature/108641

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Index of World Literature context link pages

Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links provided for your convenience; full information in footer.

World Literature Texts (recommended editions)

British Lit study guide, and links to focus and honors texts (opens in a new tab at the author’s Everyday Education site)