ENGL 3413: World Literature

John M. Mercer, Professor of English

Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Study Guide 6: The Koran (Qur’an) and Dante’s Divine Comedy

Revised 10-6-08

This assignment includes works from two great religious traditions of the Middle Ages: Islam and Christianity.

Background for the Qur’an

Note how the following words differ in meaning:

• Islam (noun: the name of the religion, based on a word meaning “submission” to God). Example sentence: “Muhammad is a prophet of Islam.”
• Islamic (adjective form of “Islam”). Example sentence: “The Qur’an is the basis of Islamic law.”
• Muslim/Muslims (noun: follower[s] of Islam). Example sentence: “Approximately one billion Muslims live in the world today.”
• Muslim (also used as an adjective). Example sentence: “Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting.”

1. Who was Muhammad? What is his connection with the Qur’an? When did he die?

2. On the map on page 860, find the cities Mecca and Medina. What is their significance to Islam? Why is each Sura (chapter) of the Qur’an labeled either “Mecca” or “Medina”?

3. Allah is an Arabic word. What does it mean in English?

4. In Islam, who are the Sunnis and the Shi’ites?

5. In what language is the Qur’an written?

6. According to Muslim belief, where is the ultimate book of the Qur’an to be found?

7. What kind of material found throughout the Bible is NOT found in the Qur’an?

8. Is the Qur’an written in prose or poetry? In the English translation in your textbook, is it printed as prose or poetry? Is the Qur’an didactic literature? Is the Qur’an a philosophical dialogue?

The Qur’an

The Opening, 871

1. The Exordium (or Opening), 871, is the most frequently repeated part of the Qur’an. According to the footnote in the textbook, why is this the case?

2. The Opening of the Qur’an has been compared to the Lord’s Prayer. What elements are found in both prayers?

Sura 4: Women, 871

1. When the Qur’an was written, it was far ahead of its time in requiring fair treatment for disadvantaged groups in society. What does the Qur’an say about the fair treatment of orphans?
2. Like the Old and New Testaments, the Qur’an accepts slavery. What treatment, however, does the Qur’an require for slave-girls who are taken as wives (873)?
3. Like the Old Testament, the Qur’an accepts polygamy (871). What safeguards in the Qur’an are intended to ensure the fair treatment of wives? When a man marries a wife, to whom does he pay a dowry (871)? If the couple divorces, who gets the dowry (873)?
4. In what way do the Qur’an’s inheritance laws appear to be unfair to women (872)? What justification might be given for this apparent inequity?
5. What standard of proof is required to punish women who commit fornication (872b)?
6. What punishment is prescribed for women who commit adultery after marriage (873b)? Why do you think slave women are not punished as harshly as free women?
7. A refrain is a line or group of lines repeated at intervals. The Qur’an uses various refrains. What refrain is repeated on page 873? What other refrains do you find in your assigned reading?
8. What is your interpretation of “Do not destroy yourselves” (873b)?
9. To whom does “We” refer on page 874? What is the “royal ‘we’”?
10. According to the Qur’an, on what basis will God judge both men and women (874t)?
11. As in the New Testament, the Qur’an gives men authority over women (874t). Why? As our Muslim guest will explain, the word “superior” is not a good translation here.
12. Although the reading appears to allow men to beat their wives (874), this “beating” can be interpreted as a ceremonial tap. Can you find this verse in another English translation of the Qur’an? What does it say?
13. Overall, this Sura emphasizes the importance of showing kindness to all people, especially those of lesser station. What does the word “niggardly” mean, and how is it used here (874m)?

Sura 55: The Merciful, 884

1. How are the references to creation (884b) similar to those in Genesis?
2. What refrain is used in this Sura? What does it mean?
3. This Sura refers to the jinn (plural of jinnee or jinni), a separate order of beings in Islamic tradition. Jinn are similar to angels in that they can be invisible, but they are free to choose good or evil, and they frequently choose evil. Sometimes “jinni” is translated “demon,” “spirit,” or “genie.” What does your reading say about jinn (884, 885m)? Is it consistent with the above definition?
4. What does your reading say about Hell (885m)?
5. The Qur’an describes Heaven in sensuous terms (885m-86t). What appeals to the senses are used to describe Heaven?
6. The Muslim conception of Heaven is unusual in including sexual gratification. What part of your reading refers to this aspect of Heaven (885b-86t)? The “bashful virgins” are beings of both genders especially created for men’s and women’s gratification in Heaven.

Sura 62: Friday, or the Day of Congregation, 886

1. Just as Saturday is the holy day in Judaism and Sunday in Christianity, so Friday is the holy day in Islam. According to your reading, what happens on Fridays?
2. What do you suppose is the intended definition of “gentiles” (886m) in this context?
3. What is said about the Jews? Do you take these statements to be anti-Semitic? Why or why not?

Sura 71: Noah, 887t

In the Old Testament, Noah is not considered a prophet, but in the Qur’an, Noah is the first prophet warning the people to repent.

Sura 76: Man, 887b

1. How is Hell described (888)?
2. How is Heaven described (888)? What appeals to the senses are included here?

How does this description of Heaven compare with the previous one we read (885m-86t)?

* * *

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages (also called the Medieval Period) in European history lasted from about 500 to 1500 CE.

Medieval Aspects of The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy has been called an “encyclopedia” of the Middle Ages because every aspect of medieval culture is found in it, including literature, religion, politics, history, sociology, and psychology.

1. From your reading of The Divine Comedy, what observations can you make about the status in medieval Europe of the classical literature of ancient Greece and Rome? What references do you find to ancient Greek and Roman authors and works? How frequent are these references?
2. From your reading of The Divine Comedy, what observations can you make about the place of the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church in medieval Europe? What references do you find to the Bible and the Church? How frequent are these references? How important are the Bible and the Church in the Middle Ages?
3. For class discussion: How does The Divine Comedy reflect a medieval world view? In other words, in what ways is it typical of the Middle Ages and not of other periods? Why could it not be written today?

Title of The Divine Comedy

Dante called his work simply the Commedia (Italian for “comedy”). He was using the medieval definition of “comedy”: a work whose plot begins with a problem and ends with a happy solution.

1. Does the plot of The Divine Comedy fit this definition of comedy? How?

The word “Divine” was added to the title of this poem in the 16^th century, 200 years after it was written. Two different theories have been given to explain the addition of “Divine”:

• It’s a sacred poem.
• The poem merits high admiration: it’s “divine.”

Textbook’s Introduction to Dante

Dante is the first of three great writers in this unit who are from the city-state of Florence, Italy. Dante is considered to be

• the greatest Italian poet of any period
• the greatest medieval poet in any language.

1. According to the textbook’s introduction, what is the significance of Dante’s choosing to write The Divine Comedy in Italian? In what language would he have been expected to write such a significant poem? Why?
2. Find The Divine Comedy on the Chart of Epics. What information does the chart reveal about this poem?
3. Dante deliberately departs from some of the conventions of epic. Of the first seven (7) traits of epic listed under “Definition of Epic” in Study Guide 1, which traits are present in The Divine Comedy? Which are NOT present? According to the textbook introduction, why does Dante choose NOT to include these elements?
4. How does Dante depict Heaven?
5. How does Dante depict Purgatory?
6. Why does Dante place Odysseus (Ulysses) in the 8^th circle of Hell as a “wicked counselor”?
7. What 3 traitors does Satan hold in his 3 mouths? Why does Dante choose these 3?

Beatrice and Platonic Love

Beatrice is mentioned by name in Canto II, line 70. Beatrice (or Bice) Portinari was a woman in Florence whom Dante evidently barely knew and who eventually married someone else. In 1292, although he too was married to someone else, Dante wrote New Life, a series of sonnets and other love poems to and about Beatrice. In these poems, Dante idealizes Beatrice as a symbol of romantic love. Beatrice died in 1300, the year in which The Divine Comedy is set. In The Divine Comedy, Beatrice, in Heaven, intervenes to help Dante when he is lost in the woods.

Dante’s love for Beatrice is a good example of Platonic (or neo-Platonic) love. Platonic love is based on the belief that contemplation of a woman’s physical beauty will eventually lead a man to spiritual inspiration and enlightenment.

Design of The Divine Comedy

From the class Web page, print and bring to class the “Chart of The Divine Comedy.” The vast, intricate design of this poem is based on the number 3 and the related numbers 7, 9, and 10.

1. Number symbolism was very important in the Middle Ages. What is the significance of the number 3?

• The poem has 3 canticles or sections, each devoted to one of the 3 realms of the dead: Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso).
• 34 cantos in the Inferno + 33 in Purgatorio + 33 in Paradiso = 100 cantos
• The verse form (terza rima) is also based on the number 3. Each stanza is a tercet, composed of 3 lines.

2. What is the rhyme scheme of the opening stanzas of The Divine Comedy in the original Italian (1016)? (All poems written in terza rima follow this rhyme scheme.) To identify a rhyme scheme, begin with the letter a and assign the same letter to all lines that rhyme with each other.
3. What is the rhyme scheme of the opening stanzas of The Divine Comedy in the English translation in your textbook (1018)? How does it differ from the rhyme scheme of the original Italian? Why does the English translator not completely follow the original rhyme scheme?
4. How many different guides lead the character Dante through the realms of the dead? What are their names, and on what part of the journey does each serve as guide?
5. The number 3 and groups of 3 also appear frequently in the plot of the opening cantos. How many 3’s can you identify?

Prose Summaries

At the beginning of each canto in your textbook, you will find a prose summary of the plot of the canto. If you have trouble understanding the poetry, refer back to the prose summary. It is my understanding that the prose summaries are not by Dante but by the modern translator.

Four Levels of Interpretation

The Divine Comedy is an allegory, a narrative in which every character and event demands a symbolic interpretation. In a letter, Dante writes that his poem has “many senses” or levels of meaning. In the Middle Ages, religious works, including the Bible and The Divine Comedy, were often interpreted on four different levels of interpretation:

• Literal level: Dante takes a guided tour of the three realms of the dead (Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) from Good Friday to Easter Sunday of the year 1300.

1. Why is this story not believable on the literal level?

• Allegorical level: Dante takes a spiritual journey in which he becomes aware of his sins (in Hell), the need for penance (in Purgatory), and ultimate salvation and bliss (in Paradise).
• Moral level: People sin, suffer God’s wrath (Hell), receive grace and redemption, offer penance (Purgatory), and are ultimately rewarded with salvation and bliss (Paradise).
• Anagogical level (the ultimate spiritual meaning, not revealed in this world): Mankind experiences a mystical vision of the divine plan for the world, not yet fulfilled because of sin.

2. The anagogical level (also called “anagoge”) is very difficult to understand. If you’re interested, for extra credit do research on this level of meaning as a general concept and as it applies to The Divine Comedy.

In Canto I, for example, Dante’s incident in the woods can be interpreted on at least the first three levels of interpretation:

• Literal level: Dante loses his path in the woods, wants to climb a mountain, and is prevented from doing so by three wild beasts.
• Allegorical level: Dante loses his way spiritually, wants to return to the state of perfection before God that humanity had in the Garden of Eden, and is prevented from doing so by his sins.
• Moral level: People experience spiritual confusion, desire perfection, and are hindered by their sinfulness from achieving it.

Sins and Punishments

These questions will be prominent on the quiz and the unit exam. The answers are found both in the prose summaries at the beginning of the cantos and in the poem itself.

In Cantos III-IV you will read about 3 levels of punishment:

1. The Vestibule of Hell, also known as the Gate of Hall or Ante-Hell (“before Hell”)
2. The 1^st circle of Hell, also known as Limbo
3. The 2^nd circle of Hell

For each of these 3 levels, answer the following questions:

1. What sin have all the souls at this level committed?
2. What punishment do they all suffer for this sin?
3. How is this punishment appropriate to their sin?

4. Extra credit: Various surveys are available on the Internet to determine where you would belong in Dante’s realms of the dead. One is Dante’s Inferno Test at www.4degreez.com. If you take a survey like this, print your results and write a response to the experience.

Famous Lines

1. What is written above the gate of Hell?