“Amor, ch’al cor gentil ratto s’apprende,
prese costui de la bella persona
che mi fu tolta; e ‘l modo ancor m’offende.
Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona,
mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,
che, come vedi, ancor non m’abbandona.”
“Love, that can quickly seize the gentle heart,
took hold of him because of the fair body
taken from me-how that was done: still wounds me.
Love, that releases no beloved from loving
took hold of me so strongly through his beauty
that, as you see, it has not left me yet.”
-Dante, Inferno, Canto 5.100-103
With those words, I begin my seminar on Dante.
Students enrol in my seminar for various reasons – some choose it because it fits their schedule, some choose it because they can spell the title. Many students expect the class to be uninteresting because it’s about a dead poet.
Then I start talking about sex.
Talking about sex isn’t as exciting as, say, having sex. When you talk about sex, your heart doesn’t pound, your breathing doesn’t speed, your skin doesn’t heat.
But talking about sex can leave you wanting more. That’s why I direct my students’ attention to Canto 5 of Dante’s Inferno, where he encounters the Lustful.
Most university students are familiar with lust. I simply expose them to aspects of lust that they’ve never encountered before.
During his journey through the Second Circle of Hell, Dante meets Paolo and Francesca. Their story has the makings of a dramatic film – two lovers separated by deceit and a political marriage. Their adulterous affair was precipitated by mutual attraction and story of Lancelot and Guinevere, another pair of adulterous lovers. But Paolo and Francesca’s romance came to a tragic end when they were discovered by Francesca’s husband, who killed them both. (Parenthetically, it should be noted that Dante places Gianciotto, the husband, amongst the murderers in Hell.)
Paolo and Francesca are captured by Rodin in his famous sculpture, The Kiss, which depicts them engaging in a provocative embrace. Notice how Francesca’s body is bent back with passion, while Paolo’s hand rests tantalizingly on the flare of her hip. You’re meant to feel their desire. You’re meant to feel as if you’ve surprised the naked lovers just as they are about to recline on the bed and make love.
My favourite painting of the couple is The Ghosts of Paolo and Francesca Appear to Dante and Virgil by Ary Scheffer. But if you look at the painting, you’ll notice that the artist has taken license with the text. Part of the lovers’ punishment, according to Dante, is being prohibited from touching one another for eternity. Scheffer has ended their physical separation.
Notice the desperation with which the beautiful Francesca clings to the naked body of her lover. Both Scheffer and Rodin emphasize the beauty of her back. Scheffer makes the image more provocative by wrapping the lovers in a bed sheet, but he reveals less of Francesca’s body than Rodin.
You’ll have to attend the next class if you want to hear more about the connection between the hidden and the erotic.
By the end of the first seminar, I’ve persuaded most of the students that Dante is worth studying. And it’s only the beginning of the semester …
-Professor Gabriel O. Emerson,
Department of Italian Studies, University of Toronto.
(This post appeared on http://lushbookreviewss.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest-post-professor-gabriel-o-emerson.html August 26, 2011)
Thanks for reading, everyone. All the best,
SR
I am honoured to have had all three of my novels appear on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was a Semifinalist for Best Author in the 2011 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. {
I’m so ready for seminar #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As am I!
I’m eagerly awaiting the next seminar. And hearing the Professor talk about sex IS quite exciting.
Thank you SR for this post. And of course, thanks to the Professor for his seminar. He definitely knows how to stir his students’ interest 😉
The V Canto of the Inferno is one of my favourite ones, mostly because of the very story of Paolo and Francesca. Two people who found death and were taken to Hell because of their passion for each other. I’ve always found it interesting how Francesca is the one who speaks to Dante and not Paolo. Her words that you provided here are poignant.
Rodin’s sculpture and the painting by Ary Sheffer are beautiful and very evocative. I also like the painting “Dante and Virgilio meet Paolo and Francesca” by Giuseppe Frascheri.
http://www.atlantedellarteitaliana.it/immagine/00011/6532OP1621AU11018.jpg
I love how Francesca leans on Paolo who is showing all his desperation, but without letting her go.
When is the next seminar? I don’t want to miss it!!
Grazie Professore, 😉
Elena
PS: Here is Benigni reciting the V Canto, if you want to check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRBoP-t4h9A
Ah Professor, can I take this class in place of the one I dropped? THUD
This is waaay more interesting than post-colonial criticism on The Tempest. 😉
thank you, sir & prof.
anna
Delightful, but kind professor, I would like to argue one point that you made.
Quote:
“When you talk about sex, your heart doesn’t pound, your breathing doesn’t speed, your skin doesn’t heat.”
Perhaps you are not speaking with the right person, under the right conditions. If done properly, talking about sex can cause those sensations.
At least in my own humble experience.
Oh yes, I definitely would be that one who takes the class…
Because I can spell the title.
And drops my jaw when the professor comes walking into the room,
Shrieks inside my head how can this ancient Dante’s Inferno be sexy?
And at the end of the class, be ready and wanting —
for next week’s seminar.
Thank you SR (and Professor).
Oh dear! Where was this professor when I was in university! I gave UP literature studies while I was there, a dismal move on my part and the pain lingered for twenty years.
Strange that a movie about a sparkly family with a strange diet would drag me back to literature,
Dante would have been amused!
Reb
Where, oh where can I sign up for Professor Emerson’s seminar?
Thank you, SR, this is very interesting indeed!
xoMiss Sus
Well..none of the lectures I attended were as interesting as this…you got me hook, line and sinker..
*raises hand quietly but determinedly* Professor, could you use a teaching assistant? I’d like to volunteer.
Loved this so much! Thank you for opening a new world of wonderment.
Excellent, as always. Interesting seminar 🙂
I just know that I lovee sooo much this book and off course SR for be so good with all his fans.. Really He is AWWWESOMEEE <3 -All my love from venezuela-
I close my eyes and see David Gandy as, the professor Emerson I wish this become a mini series. It will be perfect.