DANTE ALIGHIERI QUESTIONS FOR E256 LITERARY THEORY AND CRITICISM
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY, FALL 2012

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Assigned: From Il Convivio (186-88); “Letter to Can Grande” (188-90 in Leitch, Vincent B. and William E. Cain, eds. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2010. ISBN 978-0-393-93292-8).

From Il Convivio, Book 2, Chapter 1

1. How do Dante’s comments about the complexities or levels of interpretation (186-88) compare to those of Thomas Aquinas (182-84)?

From “Letter to Can Grande”

2. Choose a passage from the Bible and offer your own brief “fourfold exegesis.” Alternately, offer a brief multi-level interpretation of any passage from any text. (general question)

3. If you have read all or part of The Divine Comedy, briefly illustrate how Dante follows his understanding of interpretation in his own work. In other words, find a passage that you believe signifies on more than one level and explore it in that regard (general question).