Dante's Inferno: An Introduction

[@Sassysboy]

Professor Nance. I taught "The Inferno" privately last year. Your lectures were priceless. Informative and enjoyable. Thank you!

[@alexbodnar4718]

Everyone else: Mr. Nance: Those first three lines I could talk about for a long time. Also Mr. Nance: AND I WILL!!!

[@Kritical727]

it's absolutely amazing that you can talk in depth about the symbology Dantes inferno all while having Calvin and Hobbes books behind you. and I'm not being sarcastic

[@Nancenotes]

Thanks! Though obviously vastly different in so many ways, Dante and Watterson both have their own special places in my heart.

[@INTJ92]

I got interested in this book from a video game "might sound awkward" and so I wanted to read the poem and know what it's like. I bought the book during my final year at college and didn't have time to read it even forgot about after graduation. So I thought about it lately and wanted to read, but was so lazy to do so, so I searched in KZbin for a video with a short summary for the 1st few cantos. I'd like to thank you for this video. It encouraged me to grab the book and will make me start reading it today. Thanks again, Tim!

[@Nancenotes]

Wael Hussain Glad I encouraged you to get back into it! The poem is richly layered and much more interesting than the video game. But hey, if you like games you should check out my game of the Inferno! It's not so visually appealing as the professionally produced one, but it's inspired by all my favorite old 8-bit games and I had fun making it. It's a study tool for the test I give over Inferno. You can find it here if you got a PC (doesn't work on a Mac, sorry!): www.ohs.rcschools.net/teachers/nancet/dante_013.exe Also, if you want to get in depth with the book, I've got plenty more notes; watch the rest of the series! Good luck!

[@INTJ92]

Tim Nance Thanks for your nice reply. Yeah I agree the poem is more interesting for sure; after all the game is taken from it and it wasn't a great success either. What a shame :( I have Macbook Air unfortunately. I just finished Canto I so far, going too slow i know, since I spend most of my time at work. I gotta admit that the poem is hard to go through and it needs time to understand and enjoy more fully. I like the way you make it sound easy and fun. I will difinetly go through the series and would love to discuss the issues I might find through my reading with you, if you don't mind.

[@Nancenotes]

Ask questions any time! I like answering comment questions! And if you ever come across an old PC, you can check out my game. :)

[@Nancenotes]

Wael Hussain Also, if you skim through my KZbin videos, you'll find a song about canto 1 that's a parody of a Taylor Swift song, and a play through of the first level of my game.

[@Nancenotes]

My sources, Per request of theicechinchilla: Biographical information of Dante's life can be found pretty much anywhere, but the most recent place I've used is from the introductory material in the Norton Critical Edition of Dante's Inferno, translated by Michael Palma. As you'll see, it's also the version I'm reading from. My copy of Vita Nuova is translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and is a Dover Thrift edition. I also have been influenced by Guiseppe Mazzotta's lectures at Yale, whom I reference specifically from time to time throughout my videos. The rest of the interpretive elements are my own.

[@Nancenotes]

Also, I've picked up many insights from my students over the years, too many to list. They always ask questions or point out details that I've haven't noticed and redirect my thoughts on Dante.

[@pequena0312]

These videos are life saving!! Thank you !!!

[@Nancenotes]

Glad they could help! I put a lot of work into them!

[@jacksherfield812]

im very excited...cant wait to get into this...i love your passion...

[@palmereldritch4166]

Well done Tim Nance !! Thoroughly helpful (and entertaining). Thank you !!

[@elizabethvasquez71]

It was very helpful for my World Humanities class. Thank you!

[@Nancenotes]

+Elizabeth Solis Glad I could help!

[@johnb6264]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@Nancenotes]

You're welcome! I've been wanting to convert all my notes to video for some time!

[@Trymster1]

This helped me out tremendously, thank you so much!

[@Nancenotes]

+Trym Høyland Glad to help! Make sure you note the correction I had to make via annotations, and feel free to ask me any questions!

[@ElVicho]

OMG!!! you have Dante's Inferno also???? I sure will reread it with your videos after Faust!! :D!

[@Nancenotes]

+Vicho Libros Yay! It's definitely one of my favorites, and I had a lot of fun with these videos.

[@evaxu1325]

Hi Mr. Nance! Hello from a student from China desperately looking for introductions to classical literature... Thank you for your engaging and passionate video! Your videos are the best ones I've ever found! Also, if you have any book recommendations, please tell me! :)

[@djdegoed]

Well done :) It is indeed a wonderful book!

[@Nancenotes]

+Dick de Goede I love it more each time I read it. Have you seen Marco Frisina's Opera version? It's unbelievably phenomenal. Check it out if you get a chance. Here's the first part on KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3LcZGt_oZakjJY

[@djdegoed]

Thanks for the tip, I will check it out :)

[@lauracamp6593]

Hi Mr. Nance! This lecture was very helpful in my research for my thesis. Do you mind if I cite you in it? Specifically the cyclical, spiritual journey symbolism and the comparison of Dante the traveler vs. Dante the poet. Thank you again!

[@Nancenotes]

+Laura Camp No, I don't mind at all! Also, you should check out Giuseppe Mazzotta's Yale course on Dante; he's brilliant and I cite him sometimes in this series.

[@DineshMoudgil]

@Tim nance Can you please kindly share the book's name and author ? I wish to read it but there are so many interpretations that I am not sure which one to pick. Also this seems to be written in format of poem. Do we have any interpretations which is more summarized and in the non poetic form. Thanks.

[@Nancenotes]

Dinesh Moudgil The version of Dante's Inferno I'm reading from is the Norton Critical Edition translated by Michael Palma and edited by Guiseppe Mazzotta. Of course, you can find it published by itself as the Inferno or as the whole poem as The Divine Comedy. There are so many translations, including prose translations, though I have only read the poetic ones. Some of my favorites, besides Palma, are Ciardi and Sayers, in part because I'm most familiar with them. However, it's been translated so many times into English that you could spend your whole life reading versions. Try Palma, or just look around. You'll find a good one out there.

[@DineshMoudgil]

Tim Nance Thank you Tim

[@tomjohnston3352]

Thank you sir when is our term paper due this semester it wont conflict with Senior prom this year will it?

[@theicechinchilla]

Can you site your sources please?

[@dianeallen5803]

Have you seen the movie What Dreams May Come? It's very surrealistic and heavily influenced by Dante.

[@Nancenotes]

Only a clip from a student presentation.

[@dianeallen5803]

@@Nancenotes You might want to watch it. It's strange but has splendid colors. The acting was good.

[@Benjijart]

Thx for the great vid but there’s a slight error. The Guelphs supported the pope not the guibellines

[@Nancenotes]

+Benjijart Thanks. I corrected it with Annotations when I realized, but I haven't figured out a better way to correct it yet. Sorry about that. I've been kicking myself over it for a while.

[@Benjijart]

Don’t beat yourself up about it you could always add a disclaimer in the description or add a video annotation.

[@Tolstoy111]

Dante just called it “Comedy”. The adjective Divine was added later.

[@Nancenotes]

True. I say that somewhere in here. (Though I do have a worse misspeak in here that I corrected in annotations and then KZbin erases all annotations. Sigh. See if you can spot it.)

[@dianeallen5803]

Hey Tim, I have a joke about Dante's Divine Comedy, but it gets lost in the beginning.

[@Nancenotes]

Ha! Ha! Nice!

[@dianeallen5803]

@@Nancenotes I'm almost finished with Boethius. Did you finish it? It's very slow. Sometimes I forget that Boethius is doing the arguing and reasoning. I get so caught up in it that I forget that Philosophy didn't really go visit him.

[@Nancenotes]

I did finish, but there were so many interesting sections that I feel like I should go back through and mark it up. I didn’t get to give it as much time as I wanted because I had several other books I was trying to get to and had to keep moving. I’ll definitely double back to it though.

[@dianeallen5803]

@@Nancenotes I will too. I've been reading it on my Kindle, but it's too complicated. I've ordered a print edition so I can mark it up. I can't read a book unless I've scribbled all over it. Well, and the print edition has a pretty picture on the cover... I love all the references to the Wheel of Fortune.

[@Nancenotes]

So, I’m finally getting to Dante’s Convivio, which is his philosophy text that he frequently recants in The Divine Comedy. In Treatise II he is talking about reading Boethius and finding consolation for the loss of Beatrice in Lady Philosophy, which is specifically why Beatrice chastises him at the end of Purgatorio.

[@Thelivingwordthesword]

Those who have gathered for the battle of armaggedon shall be dispersed permanently they shall have some time in dante's inferno, every place that i am going to is Dante's inferno the ground you walk on the air above underground is dante's inferno to all who take on deeds against me my family and my people. every base your stationed every command is dante's inferno all your eavesdropping centers is dante's inferno this inferno will stay open for 5 days and nights where ever I go the land beneath my feet and the Air above for 12 miles circled is dante's inferno for any against me my family my love ones

[@annamaedevlin1713]

Doubt, if Donald, would be, "WELCOMED, TO HEAVEN"!

[@misscarrolltg1]

This is interesting, but the Guelphs were the party of the Pope- not the Ghibellines.

[@Nancenotes]

You're completely right! Wow, I feel stupid for not catching that blunder! That's what I get for rushing and not scripting! I'll see what I can do to fix this. I guess I was thinking of White and Black Guelphs, and how the White Guelphs (with Dante) pulled away from the Pope and his corruption after the defeat of the Ghibellines. Anyway, thank you so much for catching my error!

[@Nancenotes]

Speaking of going astray from not paying enough attention!

[@ClaireDoinel]

that's bullshit. The divine Comedy was know simply as "The Comedy". Boccaccio later on added "Divine", so Dante didn't know it was "divine" at his time

[@Nancenotes]

Dante knew he wrote a story about a journey to God through the Christian afterlife before Boccaccio added the word in the title. The fact that we universally call it that now deserves comment. I elsewhere talk about the original title. Also, are you okay? This seems like too small a quibble to get angry about.