For your final examination, you may respond thoughtfully, thoroughly, and with an abundance of evidence from the texts to one of the following prompts:
1. It can be argued that liberty is at the heart of both The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. Compare and contrast Dante’s and Milton’s accounts of liberty in their epic poems. To accomplish this task, you may want to consider the following: For each poet, what does it mean to be free? From what and for what is the free person liberated? Consider how one can achieve liberty and what can provide a barrier to liberty. It may be useful to discuss the relationship between liberty and any of the following: love, desires/passions, grace, (original) sin, reason, government (political and/or ecclesiastical), and education.
2. In their greatest works, both Dante and Milton intentionally utilize the epic form—an originally pagan genre. What is more, both epic poems contain numerous references to pagan history, literature, philosophy, and mythology. How and why do Dante and Milton use these pre-Christian elements in their Christian poems? In answering this question, consider whether Dante and Milton differ in either how or why they use pagan learning. Necessarily, you will address how each poet conceives of the relationship between pagan learning and Christian revelation and/or the relationship between nature and grace.
3. In their epic poems, both Dante and Milton reflect on the role of poetry and poets. As portrayed in The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost, what is the purpose(s) of poetry? How can/should it achieve this purpose(s)? Can poetry be misused? Compare and contrast the answers to these questions provided by the two epics.
As stated above, your evidence should come from the epic poems. Any additional primary or any secondary sources should be used sparingly and judiciously and cited correctly.
The final examination is due on Friday, May 5.