Understanding Dante’s Divine Comedy

Podcast-style audio course -
Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
Professor of English/Composition, Dominican University
(3 customer reviews)
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00
Includes Free Study Guide
Audio Download + Subscription
$0.00

Dante Alighieri’s fourteenth-century masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, is widely held to be the supreme work of Italian literature. Moreover, it is a cornerstone of the Western Christian tradition.

Now, one of Catholicism’s most esteemed English professors shares her deep knowledge of Dante’s life and letters with you.

Of the three-part Divine Comedy, the Inferno is the most familiar to readers today. This comprehensive series lets you dive beneath the surface of the Inferno as well as the Purgatorio and Paradiso.

The more you understand Dante’s life, the better you’ll understand his deeply allegorical epic poem—rumored to be a true record of his midlife journey. In this 12-lecture series, Sister Mary Clemente Davlin guides you through Dante’s widely influential narrative—just as Virgil guides Dante through the afterlife in the text.

Having studied the Divine Comedy in Florence and taught literature for many years, Sr. Clemente does an expert job of highlighting the most important parts of the poem. She helps you grasp the ideas behind Dante’s work, making them interesting and accessible to b

Dante Alighieri’s fourteenth-century masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, is widely held to be the supreme work of Italian literature. Moreover, it is a cornerstone of the Western Christian tradition.

Now, one of Catholicism’s most esteemed English professors shares her deep knowledge of Dante’s life and letters with you.

Of the three-part Divine Comedy, the Inferno is the most familiar to readers today. This comprehensive series lets you dive beneath the surface of the Inferno as well as the Purgatorio and Paradiso.

The more you understand Dante’s life, the better you’ll understand his deeply allegorical epic poem—rumored to be a true record of his midlife journey. In this 12-lecture series, Sister Mary Clemente Davlin guides you through Dante’s widely influential narrative—just as Virgil guides Dante through the afterlife in the text.

Having studied the Divine Comedy in Florence and taught literature for many years, Sr. Clemente does an expert job of highlighting the most important parts of the poem. She helps you grasp the ideas behind Dante’s work, making them interesting and accessible to both first-time and returning readers.

Unlike most English teachers, Sr. Clemente offers you a reading of the text steeped in her own Catholic faith. In the end, you will turn to one of the most striking passages in Dante’s Divine Comedy: the description of heaven.

Throughout, Sr. Clemente will be there to help you understand the literal action, the beautiful composition, and the enduring relevance of this exemplary piece of spiritual literature.

Learn about downloadable programs.

Your Free Electronic Study Guide! When you order this course, we will send you a free electronic study guide that you can access in 3 convenient ways:

1) You can check your order confirmation email. It will include a link that enables you to download your guide.
2) The back of your program package also contains a copy of this link. You can access your guide by simply entering this URL into your browser.
3) Your case of CDs or DVDs will contain a copy of your electronic guide on CD. Simply insert this disc into your computer’s CD/DVD drive to access your guide.

$17.99

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Sister Mary Clemente Davlin, O.P., Ph.D., is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa and Professor Emerita of English at Dominican University. She received her B.A. from Rosary College, her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her Ph. D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, Sr. Davlin taught at Edgewood College in Madison, WI and Rosary College/Dominican University in River Forest, IL. She is an expert in medieval studies, especially Piers Plowman, about which she is the author of three books. She studied Dante in Florence and at the University of California, Berkeley, and has taught the Divine Comedy for many years. Sr. Davlin has received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship as well as a Newberry Library-British Academy Fellowship for research and has been honored twice with Dominican’s Excellence in Teaching Award, in 1997 and 1973. She has also been involved in promoting diversity at Dominican University by organizing programs to mentor and support minority students. The university’s annual diversity leadership award is now named in her honor.

  • Two Loves and Two Tragedies: The Life of Dante Alighieri
  • Getting into Hell
  • Hell and the Sins of Desire
  • Hell and the Sins of Violence
  • Hell and the Sins of Fraud
  • The Frozen Heart of Hell
  • Ante-Purgatory: The Gate to Healing
  • Terraces of Healing in Purgatory
  • Terraces of Desire and the Garden of Eden
  • Paradise Begins
  • Paradise, The Middle Heavens
  • The Vision of God

3 reviews for Understanding Dante’s Divine Comedy

  1. Sr. M. Catherine

    Very good!

    This set covered the Divine Comedy that its lessons were explained for growth in one’s spiritual life – very good

  2. Carmen S., South Australia

    Fall Survey: October 2016

    An incredible in-depth treatise of a subject which is difficult to read. The explanation of the work Dante’s Divine Comedy is masterfully executed and easy to understand. Sr Davlin is a great presenter

  3. Barbara S., CA

    Spring Survey: April 2017

    She was clear and had a pleasant Informative voice I liked the subject she covered on virtues and sin

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