The Art of Memoir

by | Sep 25, 2021 | Arts

1: We will start practicing identifying some ways of categorizing variables of communication. Think back or refer back to the Havelock reading: what are some variables that surfaced? For instance, we considered and discussed “tradition”, “mimesis”, “hypnosis”, “audience”, “cultural memory” (etc.) as being important for understanding Plato’s strong opposition to poetic performance as a form of communication. Try to identify a few more such variables or categories and list them here.

2: Use a few of the categories you come up with to assess and comment on Yate’s “Art of Memory” reading. For instance, if “tradition” is one of your categories, how does “tradition” pertain to Yate’s commentary on the historic art of memory in communication? Try for 3-5 categories. (300 words)

As the weeks go on, we’ll collect these variables from each reading (and era), and see which ones seem to persist, and which ones drop away. As we move forward through time in the history of communication, you will slowly recognize some categories as always being present, and others as being new and corresponding only to specific innovations in human communication. As we get to the mid-point of the semester, you’ll have your own matrix through which to critically consider communication history in the present, and have some leverage for how you might go about doing your final history project for the course. So, consider this a practice week for identifying categories, and applying them to a new reading. This is probably a new kind of exercise for most of you, so if you find it challenging, great! And don’t worry, we will work on these together.

3: Based on your understanding of Plato’s critique of epic oral poetry, what do you think he would say about communication technology of 2021?

4: We’ve all had the weird experience of being completely immersed in a communication environment– a gripping speech, an engrossing film, an unbelievably good song, a hypnotizing book, etc. In that moment of total immersion, where does a person go? Take a few moments and think about that state of mind, and comment on it. What is that state of total unselfconsciousness?

Readings and passwords:

  1. Havelock, Preface to Plato; password: f.a.moretti
  2. Yates, Frances. The Art of Memory. 1966; password: f.a.moretti

Sample Solution

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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