The Dante Course

Lecture Videos

Fall Lecture 1 (Inferno 1)
  • 0:00 – structure of the Commedia
  • 25:05 – Inferno 1
Fall Lecture 2 (Inferno 1,2)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 1
  • 26:43 – Inferno 2
Fall Lecture 3 (Inferno 3, 4)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 3
  • 44:12 – Inferno 4
Fall Lecture 4 (Inferno 5, 6)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 5
  • 1:14:02 – Inferno 6
Fall Lecture 5 (Inferno 6, 7, 8)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 6
  • 12:19 – Inferno 7
  • 1:10:47 – Inferno 8
Fall Lecture 6 (Inferno 9, 10)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 9
  • 52:15 – Inferno 10
Fall Lecture 7 (Inferno 10, 11, 12)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 10
  • 37:40 – Inferno 11
  • 1:17:33 – Inferno 12
Fall Lecture 8 (Inferno 13, 14)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 13
  • 1:03:51 – Inferno 14
Fall Lecture 9 (Inferno 15, 16)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 15
  • 1:09:11 – Inferno 16
Fall Lecture 10 (Inferno 16, 17, 18)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 16; transition to 17
  • 13:49 – Inferno 17
  • 53:25 – Inferno 18
Fall Lecture 11 (Inferno 18, 19, 20)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 18; transition to 19
  • 33:17 – Inferno 19
  • 1:14:09 – Inferno 20
Fall Lecture 12 (Inferno 21, 22)
  • 0:00 – introduction to barratry; early malebolge (Inf. 18-21)
  • 22:36 – Inferno 21
  • 1:13:25 – Inferno 22
Fall Lecture 13 (Inferno 23, 24)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 23
  • 1:09:17 – Inferno 24
Fall Lecture 14 (Inferno 25, 26)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 25
  • 1:00:27 – Inferno 26
Fall Lecture 15 (Inferno 26, 27, 28)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 26
  • 24:40 – Inferno 27
  • 1:26:17 – Inferno 28
Fall Lecture 16 (Inferno 28, 29, 30)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 28
  • 10:00 – Inferno 29
  • 56:58 – Inferno 30
Fall Lecture 17 (Inferno 30, 31, 32)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 30
  • 17:25 – Inferno 31
  • 1:00:32 – Inferno 32
Fall Lecture 18 (Inferno 33, 34)
  • 00:00 – Inferno 33
  • 1:09:30 – Inferno 34
Fall Lecture 19 (Inferno 34, Purgatorio 1-2)
  • 0:00 – Inferno 34; introduction to concept of purgatory
  • 13:03 – Purgatorio 1
  • 1:16:05 – Purgatorio 2
Fall Lecture 20 (Purgatorio 2, 3, 4)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 2
  • 22:27 – Purgatorio 3
  • 1:16:09 – Purgatorio 4
Fall Lecture 21 (Purgatorio 4, 5, 6)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 4
  • 13:09 – Purgatorio 5
  • 1:26:07 – Purgatorio 6
Fall Lecture 22 (Purgatorio 6, 7, 8)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 6
  • 16:09 – Purgatorio 7
  • 1:08:00 – Purgatorio 8
Fall Lecture 23 (Purgatorio 8, 9, 10)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 8
  • 32:44 – Purgatorio 9
  • 1:07:57 – Purgatorio 10
Fall Lecture 24 (Purgatorio 10, 11, 12)
  • 0:00 – overview of purgatory; Purgatorio 10
  • 18:28 – Purgatorio 11
  • 1:13:27 – Purgatorio 12
Fall Lecture 25 (Purgatorio 13, 14)
  • 0:00 –Dante’s classification systems in Inferno and Purgatorio; intra-textuality in the Commedia
  • 13:30 – Purgatorio 13
  • 50:57 – Purgatorio 14
Fall Lecture 26 (Purgatorio 15, 16)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 15
  • 57:10 – Purgatorio 16
Spring Lecture 1 (Purgatorio 16, 17)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 16
  • 48:25 – Purgatorio 17
Spring Lecture 2 (Purgatorio 17, 18, 19)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 17
  • 37:52 – Purgatorio 18
  • 1:13:48 – Purgatorio 19
Spring Lecture 3 (Purgatorio 19, 20, 21)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 19
  • 43:34 – Purgatorio 20
  • 1:11:55 – Purgatorio 21
Spring Lecture 4 (Purgatorio 21, 22, 23)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 21
  • 52:24 – Purgatorio 22
  • 1:32:45 – Purgatorio 23
Spring Lecture 5 (Purgatorio 23, 24, 25)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 23
  • 21:38 – Purgatorio 24
  • 58:17 – Purgatorio 25
Spring Lecture 6 (Purgatorio 25, 26, 27)
  • 0:00 – Purgatorio 25
  • 23:10 – Purgatorio 26
  • 1:01:35 – Purgatorio 27
Spring Lecture 7 (Purgatorio 27, 28, 29)
  • 0:00 – overview of remaining canti of Purgatorio; upcoming transition to Paradiso
  • 11:00 – Purgatorio 27
  • 36:42 – Purgatorio 28
  • 1:11:45 – Purgatorio 29
Spring Lecture 8 (Purgatorio 29, 30, 31)
  • 0:00 – overview anticipating Beatrice’s rebuke
  • 20:07 – Purgatorio 29
  • 29:37 – Purgatorio 30
  • 1:13:57 – Purgatorio 31
Spring Lecture 9 (Purgatorio 31, 32, 33)
  • 0:00 – use of Augustine in Purgatorio; Dante’s use of allegory; Purgatorio 31-32
  • 26:25 – Purgatorio 31
  • 47:36 – Purgatorio 32
  • 1:20:49 – Purgatorio 33
Spring Lecture 10 (Paradiso 1, 2)
  • 0:00 – introduction to Paradiso; sections in Paradiso 1-2
  • 27:00 – Paradiso 1
  • 1:36:25 – Paradiso 2
Spring Lecture 11 (Paradiso 2, 3)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 2
  • 49:08 – Paradiso 3
Spring Lecture 12 (Paradiso 4, 5)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 4
  • 1:04:10 – Paradiso 5
Spring Lecture 13 (Paradiso 6, 7)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 6
  • 56:26 – Paradiso 7
Spring Lecture 14 (Paradiso 7 , 8)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 7
  • 43:48 – overview of upcoming canti
  • 51:40 – Paradiso 8
Spring Lecture 15 (Paradiso 8, 9, 10)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 8
  • 23:52 – Paradiso 9
  • 52:35 – Paradiso 10
Spring Lecture 16 (Paradiso 11, 12)
  • 0:00 – chiasmus and circularity; rhetoric of the Paradiso; overview of Paradiso 11-12
  • 37:20 – Paradiso 11
  • 1:08:17 – Paradiso 12
Spring Lecture 17 (Paradiso 13, 14)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 13
  • 1:11:06 – Paradiso 14
Spring Lecture 18 (Paradiso 14, 15, 16)
  • 0:00 – end of Paradiso 14
  • 30:58 – Paradiso 15
  • 1:24:35 – Paradiso 16
Spring Lecture 19 (Paradiso 16, 17)
  • 0:00 – recap of Heaven of Mars; Paradiso 16
  • 39:30 – Paradiso 17
Spring Lecture 20 (Paradiso 18, 19)
  • 0:00 – recap of Paradiso 15-17; Paradiso 18
  • 52:30 – Paradiso 19
Spring Lecture 21 (Paradiso 20, 21)
  • 0:00 – saved pagans
  • 21:48 – Paradiso 20
  • 57:14 – Paradiso 21
Spring Lecture 22 (Paradiso 20, 21, 22)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 20 (Trajan and Rifeus)
  • 21:05 – Paradiso 21
  • 41:25 – Paradiso 22
Spring Lecture 23 (Paradiso 23, 24)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 23
  • 47:52 – Paradiso 24
Spring Lecture 24 (Paradiso 25, 26)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 25
  • 49:08 – Paradiso 26
Spring Lecture 25 (Paradiso 26, 27, 28)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 26; language
  • 21:55 – Paradiso 27
  • 1:19:20 – Paradiso 28
Spring Lecture 26 (Paradiso 28, 29)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 28
  • 49:17 – Paradiso 29
Spring Lecture 27 (Paradiso 30, 31)
  • 0:00 – Paradiso 30
  • 1:02:32 – Paradiso 31
Spring Lecture 28 (Paradiso 32, 33)
  • 00:00 – language in Paradiso; the ending
  • 15:20 – Paradiso 32
  • 1:04:40 – Paradiso 33

About the course

This course is for anyone who wishes to read Dante’s Commedia from beginning to end. Over the course of 54 lectures, each cantica (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) is read in its entirety. The course is taught in English and can be followed without knowledge of Italian, though familiarity with the language will be helpful. The text is read and referenced in Italian.

Prof. Teodolinda Barolini is Lorenzo da Ponte Professor of Italian at Columbia University. This iteration of her year-long Dante course was taught in 2-hour, twice-weekly sessions during Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 (Dante’s Divina Commedia, Italian W4091 & W4092). The course was recorded and is presented on Digital Dante with the support and resources of Columbia University Libraries Digital Scholarship.

These two-hour lectures are not read from a written text but are presented improvisationally. Professor Barolini has only her copy of the Commedia with her. The result is that the lectures differ from year to year, depending on her current research interests and those of her students. Errors also inevitably occur; they are effectively oral rather than written typos. For instance, it is possible while speaking to attribute a quotation to the wrong character by mistake. Every attempt will be made to flag such errors in an Errata Corrige that will be attached to the individual lecture page.

How to use this course

Since this course spends approximately one hour closely reading each canto, listeners may want to follow along with a copy of the text. The Petrocchi edition of Dante’s Commedia, as well as the English translations of Allen Mandelbaum and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, are available on Digital Dante. Simply click the tab “Text & Translations” on each canto page.

Passages from the Commedia are frequently read aloud by students in the course. Some of these readings are more audible than others. Those seeking a clear, high-quality reading of each canto in its entirety can listen to Prof. Francesco Bausi’s readings of the Commedia.

In past years, students in this course used to receive emails prior to each class, highlighting important themes and passages in the upcoming canti. Those emails, greatly expanded and revised, have now become the Commento Baroliniano. These commentaries can serve as a companion to the lectures for those who wish to delve deeper into Dante scholarship. Those who desire a brief written synopsis of important issues in a canto may consult the bullet points before each commentary. Handouts referenced during the lectures can be viewed on the Commento Baroliniano page for each canto.

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