Virgil, the author of our last epic, The Aeneid, is Dante’s guide through the underworld in his epic, The Inferno. Because Virgil belongs to a time before the Christian era (one of the pagan poets), Dante uses him as a type of guide/protector through the Inferno because no one returns to earth from the underworld without protection. Dante is the heir of Virgil in the line of epic poetry. He continues the tradition of the epic hero visiting the underworld. We will use John Ciardi’s translation of The Divine Comedy, of which “The Inferno” is the first book.
Virgil, the author of our last epic, The Aeneid, is Dante’s guide through the underworld in his epic, The Inferno. Because Virgil belongs to a time before the Christian era (one of the pagan poets), Dante uses him as a type of guide/protector through the Inferno because no one returns to earth from the underworld without protection. Dante is the heir of Virgil in the line of epic poetry. He continues the tradition of the epic hero visiting the underworld. We will use John Ciardi’s translation of The Divine Comedy, of which “The Inferno” is the first book.
Monday, 1:30-3:30 pm | 6 weeks, April 6–27 and May 4–11
Location: Zoom
Instructor: Don Melander
Don Melander is a Professor of English Emeritus at New England College, where he served as a professor of literature and humanities for over fifty years. This includes three English courses a year at NEC’s programs at the NH State Prison, and a stint as Director of the British Campus in Arundel, Sussex. He holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from Syracuse University.
