Seminar

Catalog description

This course explores the evolving relationship between literature and music in 14th century Italy. It begins analyzing the works of Dante Alighieri, whose recognition of the extraordinary power of music to influence the human soul even led him to warn against the corruptive force of secular songs. Then it will focus on Petrarch who, instead, allowed this danger to fascinate him while contemplating music’s uncanny and diverse psychological effects on the listener. Finally, students will see how Boccaccio’s Decameron acknowledges the inherent dignity of this art form within contemporary society’s daily activities. Special emphasis will be given to literary and cultural backgrounds of the authors and their works; hence, lectures and in-class discussions analyze the works from a cultural, social, and historical perspective.