Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. This is a dead zone. (Effing AT&T…)
– Dante Alighier-ish
“Dante’s Divine Comedy was written in the 14th century with his uber-Catholic, Italian counterparts in mind. While the allegory of the afterlife lives on in modern culture, the Inferno would probably look slightly different were it typed out on an iPad. Behold: The nine circles of hell for the basic millennial” –Laura Stampler, “The Nine Circles of Hell for Millenials”, Time Magazine, July 30, 2014.
Contributed by Natalie L. Berkman
In Season 1, Episode 5 of House, M.D., two of the show’s main characters refer to the Inferno while complaining about working a shift in a clinic:
House: We are condemned to useless labor.
Wilson: Fourth circle of Hell. Charting goes a lot faster when you eliminate all classic poetry.
House: Writing down what we already know to be read by nobody. I’m pretty sure Dante would agree that qualifies as useless.
Contributed by Stephanie Hotz, University of Texas at Austin
As part of a short film, “Chauncy Cobra and the Writing on the Wall,” students wrote and performed a parody of “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen. In the song, Dante laments his time spent in Hell, begging Beatrice, “Let me go!”
Watch the music video here.
Contributed by Mary Margaret Blum (Gettysburg College, ’18)
In a 1997 episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, titled “Dante’s Inferno,” Sabrina goes on a date with Dante, a mischievous witch.
View the full episode here.
Contributed by Stephanie Hotz, University of Texas at Austin
All submissions will be considered for posting. Bibliographic references and scholarly essays are also welcome for consideration.
Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.
