Comprehending Dante

Originally published on March 5, 2021 (Bonus Episode)

Introduction

This bonus episode is with Guy Raffa, last heard in Episode 183 discussing his book Dante’s Bones: How a Poet Invented Italy. That was a wonderful conversation about Dante and the culture and idea of Italy. But since then I had been wanting to talk with Guy about Dante’s poetry itself, particularly the Divine Comedy.

This episode gave me the chance to do that—and to ask him how to approach poetry that is famously difficult to understand. It’s hard enough for us to do it. How does Guy help others do it? What do we have to do in order to comprehend difficult things?

Here are the passages we discuss, with Guy’s brief explanations:

• Inferno 34.70–81, 88–93: Virgil’s flip and the 180-degree change in perspective. Through the center of gravity, the world is literally upside down.

• Purgatorio 1.1–6, 130–136: The opening verses (poem as voyage, definition of Purgatorio) and the final verses of the canto with the reed of humility—renewal, cleansing, and hope, the main theme of the second cantica.

• Paradiso 1.64–72: Blast-off from Terrestrial Paradise to the celestial realm. The Glaucus simile, Ovidian echoes, and Dante’s coinage of trasumanar—new language for a place “beyond the human.”

They’re conceptually difficult passages, which is exactly why Guy chose them. We recommend following along either with your own printed copy or online at Digital Dante.

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About the Guest

Guy Raffa is Emeritus Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Dante’s Bones: How a Poet Invented Italy and creator of the multimedia site Danteworlds, which combines textual commentary, artistic images, and audio recordings of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

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For Further Investigation

• Digital Dante

• Danteworlds: a multimedia journey through the Divine Comedy

• Episode 183: Dante’s Bones, a History of the Idea of Italy

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Listen & Discuss

What strategies help you comprehend difficult texts? Share your thoughts in the comments—and pass this episode to a friend who enjoys Dante or the challenge of “reading the hard stuff.”