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Dante's Inferno: Abandon All Hope (Lecture on Cantos I-IX) (Patreon)

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2024-09-29 20:42:10
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Content

'I found myself upon the brink of an abyss of suffering filled with the roar of endless woe. It was full of vapour, dark and deep. Straining my eyes toward the bottom, I could see nothing.'

Today we breach the gates of hell as we journey to the bottom of Dante's sublime and endlessly influential Inferno.

We're discussing the difficulty of Dante, medieval symbolism, dark woods, levels of meaning, scriptural allusions, the epic tradition, the law of contrapasso, and much more.

Timestamps:

0:00 how to overcome the difficulty of Dante

3:00 recommended imaginative reading process

5:00 how to approach Dante’s Inferno specifically

7:00 Dante the poet as audacious sect of one

9:00 Aquinas on four levels of biblical meaning

11:00 appreciating the symbolism of the dark wood

13:00 the soul’s journey & call to adventure

15:00 symbolism, states of mind, spiritual belief

16:00 allusive nature of the Divine Comedy

18:00 ‘I shall go to the gates of hell…’

20:00 symbolism of lion, leopard, she-wolf

21:00 what makes Dante’s Inferno sublime?

24:00 when Dante the Pilgrim meets Virgil

27:00 ‘you are my master and my author’

28:00 Inferno vs Purgatorio & Paradiso

30:00 epic tradition’s invocation to the muse

32:00 medieval numerological symbolism

34:00 ‘I alone prepared to face the struggle’

35:00 feeling doubt at the start of a journey

37:00 am I worthy of this highest quest?

38:00 Dante’s unrequited love for Beatrice

40:00 Hollander, Mandelbaum, Ciardi

41:00 Beatrice’s beautiful words to Virgil

44:00 ‘abandon all hope ye who enter here’

46:00 law of contrapasso in Dante’s Inferno

47:00 crossing the River Acheron with Charon

49:00 neutral angels during the War in Heaven

52:00 thinking about the creation of hell

54:00 ludicrous parody in Dante’s punishments

55:00 Charon ferries us across Acheron

57:00 meditating upon the Harrowing of Hell

59:00 meeting the virtuous pagans in Limbo

1:01:00 lustful adulterers in the second circle

1:03:00 meeting the figures Francesca & Paolo

1:06:00 Dante’s power of character creation

1:08:00 the importance of taking responsibility

1:09:00 differences of Shakespeare vs Dante

1:10:00 gluttonous sinners in the third circle

1:12:00 we always feels like the end is near

1:14:00 the first prophecy in Dante’s Inferno

1:16:00 ‘pape satan, pape satan, aleppe!’

1:17:00 opposite guilts meet in wretchedness

1:19:00 Dante the Pilgrim’s heart hardens

1:20:00 crossing the River Styx with Dante

1:24:00 descending further into Lower Hell

1:28:00 what are you make of Dante’s Inferno?

Resources:

  • Audiobook: The best audio version I have come across for Dante's Inferno is this one from Naxos, whose productions are always excellent and reliable. Heathcote Williams' narration is phenomenal.

  • Theology: If you're interested in exploring one of the thinkers who exerted the most profound influence upon Dante, then check out the writings of Thomas Aquinas. This Penguin paperback has curated a good selection of his writings.

  • La Vita Nuova: If you were moved by Dante's presentation of Beatrice and would like to go deeper into his work, you may find it rewarding to check out his lyrical work of courtly love in La Vita Nuova here.

  • Paradise Lost: If you read Paradise Lost with us, how does the beginning of Dante's epic stack up against the beginning of Milton's? If you haven't read Paradise Lost yet, then we have a lecture series running through that poem here too.

  • The Sublime: I have recommended the work of Edmund Burke before, but it would be rewarding to read Dante with his philosophical enquiry into the origins sublime in mind.

  • Animated Epic: Just for fun, you might like to check out this animation loosely inspired by the epic (actually inspired by an adaptation of a video game based on the epic). They've taken an extraordinary amount of poetic licence, but it's a solid animation and six different studios were involved to give the levels of hell a distinct feel. Speaking of adaptations, how would you transfer Dante to the big screen?

  • How to Read Dante's Inferno: For readers looking for a refresher on how best to break into this masterpiece, our introductory lecture is here.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will take us up to and including Canto XXII. So continue forging deeper into the bowels of Dante's Inferno, appreciating the poetry, and noting down any ideas, themes, or passages that personally resonate with you.

Questions for You:

1) What was your first reaction to the beginning of Dante's Inferno?

2) When have you felt the most significant call to adventure in your life?

3) Do you find Dante a challenging poet? How does his difficulty compare with other writers?

If this is a first reading, is Dante living up to your expectations? If this is a rereading, what things are resonating with you now? And please let us know what lines, passages, or ideas have stood out to you the most from the opening of Dante's Inferno.

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

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Comments

Ashley August

I just finished up the first 9 Canto's and am really enjoying this work. I can't but to draw a parallel between this work and what I've read of The Book of Enoch. It may be that Inferno has borrowed from the narrative style of this work, considering its age and the subject matter, but the similarities continue to come to mind. While Dante is being led through the circles of Hell by his teacher, mentor, man sent to him as a guide, Virgil, Enoch too is guided through Eden and shown the history of man and his journey to destruction. What I've found a bit jarring is the speed at which Dante is moving through these circles thus far. I recall in Ben's introduction that there is a shift approaching in which Dante has expanded his exploration of each circle with the increasing depth, but I would have loved to get more depth where we are here.

Peter F

Ben will get to Gyron in the following lecture. Canto XVII. But since we are in the election season, I see parallels. Gyron has a handsome face to lure the innocent, then a scorpion's tail to sting. It alludes to lenders, but I see politicians here. Vote for me and receive XYZ, but I will sting you with regulation and tax, which will bleed your soul.

Angela Montgomery

I read Inferno 2 years ago and Purgatorio last year. I loved them. This year I am reading Paradiso. I am really struggling with it. It is not as interesting. I am finding it a slog. I am reading a poetic and prose translation plus the original Italian. Tom LA Books has some very detailed lectures on YouTube.

Linda Collins

It’s been interesting listening to Ben’s lecture and simultaneously reading Moby Dick for the first time. I feel the Pequod should have had a sign upon it’s vessel: ‘abandon all hope ye who enter here’ Your Captain Thank you Ben for making this work accessible.

Anna

Now that I have finally caught up with most of you. Here’s my take on Ben’s questions. 1) What was your first reaction to the beginning of Dante’s Inferno? My first reaction was a mix of curiosity and recognition of how influential Dante’s depiction of Hell has been on my own understanding of it. Growing up Catholic, I realized how much Dante’s version of Hell—its structure, imagery, and punishments—had shaped not only my ideas but even some of the expressions my family used, whether they knew it came from Inferno or not. Reading it now, especially with the Hollanders’ edition, I can see how deeply ingrained these ideas are in my thinking. 2) When have you felt the most significant call to adventure in your life? One of the most significant calls to adventure in my life has been committing to my writing. It’s been a bit like a journey into the unknown, similar to what Dante embarks on in Inferno. There’s been uncertainty and doubt along the way, but also the pull of something greater—much like the quest for understanding and redemption that Dante pursues. 3) Do you find Dante a challenging poet? How does his difficulty compare with other writers? Yes, I find Dante challenging, but in a different way than other difficult writers. For readers who aren’t familiar with classic literature, Inferno can feel intimidating. But having the right translation, like the Hollanders’ edition, has made a huge difference for me this time around. (This is my second time reading Inferno). While writers like Joyce or Faulkner are challenging because of their narrative style or structure, Dante’s difficulty comes from the layers of allegory, religious references, and historical context. Once you start peeling back those layers, though, the richness of his poetry becomes much more accessible.

Susan Graham

I’m not reading along with you right now, although I’ve read the Inferno a number of times. I especially love teaching it in my HS World Lit class. I have them read about 1/3 of it and then we do this fun project where they create their own hell and populate it with who ever they like (a few rules about real people from school not withstanding.) Much like Dante, they have fun with it. I get things like “super hero villain hell,” “politician hell.” “Mean Girl Hell” is a perineal favorite. And while I’m not rereading this time, I am currently reading Virgil’s Aeneid (Shadi Bartch translation). I tried to read it a while back and wasn’t able to get into it and now it is just clicking. It’s kind of cool to listen to Ben’s lecture while reading Virgil. It’s quite relevant to our time, the remnants of civilization washing up on shore and starting over again. I’ve also been slowly making my way through Paradiso this year, although I got stuck at Venus a while ago. It’s beautiful but it’s dense. The theology is interesting, though. I like how each person in heaven is precisely where they want to be so while there’s a hierarchy it’s not punishment. It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around it though. This may sound cheesy but my most significant call to adventure was motherhood. My husband and I waited a while to have kids and when I realized I was expecting my first child, I was terrified. Didn’t felt like I had it in me. But my kids are now teens and they challenge me everyday. It’s hard but it’s an adventure. I have gone through hell with them, faced and continue to face many trials and because of them I have grown and become a better person. I turned 50 last week and have been reflecting a lot on my life and marriage and family. I’m so glad I accepted the call.

Susan Graham
>>151982256

I’ve been making my way through paradiso this year too and got stuck at Venus a few months ago. It’s a hard one.

Svetlana Monroe

Just a parallel with Pushkin: Dante Canto 5/49: “ Just as cranes chant their mournful songs, making a long line in the air, thus I saw approach, heaving plaintive sighs, shades lifted on that turbulence, so that I said: ‘Master, who are these whom the black air lashes?’” and Pushkin’s „Devils“: „сколько их? куда их гонят? что так жалобно поют?” (the whole thing here: https://russianlegacy.com/poetry-pushkin-devils?srsltid=AfmBOopdPkxR4ZxekOMHxpkMCpmo6UmPpayMyzbGn-s82N6PEh3PYRA1 )

Hannah

Initial thoughts were real interest in the structure of hell, the "grading" of sins and reflecting on the influence on Christianity/Catholicism. I'm struggling a little with Inferno and can't put my finger on why. I loved Song of Solomon and have some other personal reads that are grabbing my attention more at the moment! I am going to make a concerted effort to read aloud as this makes me enjoy it a lot more!

Josie Swallow

I’m wondering what Leo Tolstoy would have thought of Dante’s Divine Comedy - how it relates to Tolstoy’s thoughts about What Is Art

Josie Swallow

As it’s Halloween season, it occurs to me that really good ghost stories are sublime too

Kevin Rosero
>>152058562

Great parallel with Moby-Dick, one of my favorite books. Ahab definitely has abandoned, not the whale but the rest of life. Interesting to think about where in Hell (presumably) Dante would have placed Ahab, and what they might have said to each other.