Four Literary Journeys to the Underworld
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This class is organized around four journeys to the underworld. From the ancient Greeks, we will follow Odysseus’ descent to the underworld to consult with the ghost of Tiresias in Book Eleven of The Odyssey. After that, we will study the classical Roman account of Aeneas’ journey to the underworld to consult with the ghost of his father Anchises in Book Six of The Aeneid. Next is the medieval story of Dante’s descent into the underworld in Inferno, the first book of The Divine Comedy. Our final descent will come in Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi’s 20th Century account of his experience as a prisoner at Auschwitz, where he artfully uses reference to these older texts to try to make sense of an experience largely lacking in historical precedent. In taking these four literary journeys, we will have the opportunity to see how the idea of the underworld evolved from the pagan, classical imaginings of Homer and Virgil, through the medieval Christian conception of Dante, and on to the modern, literary understanding of Primo Levi. Along the way we will be introduced to some of the great stories of literature: Paris and Helen, Achilles and Hector, Odysseus and Penelope, Dido and Aeneas, Satan frozen in ice in the ninth circle of the Inferno, and more. We will see the outline of Primo Levi’s great argument in Survival in Auschwitz, which asserts that the legacy of the classical world might serve as an antidote against the nihilism at the center of modernity exposed by the Holocaust. Levi’s account holds forth hope that the literary tradition of the classical Greeks and Romans, which lay at the heart of western culture up until recent times, has the potential to preserve meaning and human dignity in a time of spiritual and cultural crisis.
General Information
This class will attempt to provide an overview of this tradition. We will read summaries of The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, and then look closely at key excerpts from Robert Fagles’ modern translations. We will read a selection of Cantos from John Ciardi’s translation of Inferno, and look at the overall design and intention of The Divine Comedy. We will read Survival in Auschwitz in its entirety, seeking to understand Primo Levi’s references to the classical tradition as an attempt to make meaning of his experience in Auschwitz. Reading materials will be provided to class participants, and we will take advantage of excellent audiobook performances of The Iliad and The Odyssey to get a closer look at those texts. There will be informal presentations of related visual arts and readings that reference the classical stories. There will be no test or final paper—the goal is to learn about these key literary works and to enjoy discussing them with like-minded peers.
Class will be held on Wednesday July 3rd in place of the holiday
Instructors Experience
- Dan McBride has a BA in Literature from Brad College, and a MA in education from Stanford University. He has taught English at Guilderland High School for 21 years.