Inspired by the presidential theme, this panel explores vision and (in)visibility in Dante's works. While issues relating to visionary literature have been explored, this panel places new and special emphasis on how vision and the visibility of language (what Dante calls ‘visibile parlare’ Purg.10.95) come to bear on Dante’s poetics of salvation. In their paper, “Dante’s Tenzone with da Maiano: Visions of Love and Language,” Savannah Cooper-Ramsey contextualizes Dante’s treatment of visions in his earliest lyric poems, with recourse to the tenzone tradition (in works by Guido Cavalcanti, Guido Orlandi). Dante’s first lyric poems are part of an exchange with Dante da Maiano incited by a call for interpretation of a vision. Their tenzone ends with a poem about Dante’s vision, which provoked da Maiano’s invective, garnered the support of Guido Cavalcanti, and became the first poem in Dante’s Vita Nuova. Dante’s tenzone with da Maiano shows discourses of valor or worth of vision occurring at the level of end-rhyme throughout the exchange, as supported by interactive literary analysis visuals (built using forked D3 code). Closing with a discussion of Dante’s “visibile parlare” (Purg.10.95), Cooper-Ramsey considers the transmission history of the tenzoni as performed in the piazze, revealing the crucial status of visions and the practice of tenzone in the codification of the Italian language, and leading to a visible and speaking Beatrice.

While Cooper-Ramsey situates Dante’s treatment of visions in the lyric tradition, Chiarantini’s paper, “ ‘To be blind no longer’: Guinizzelli’s dolce stil and Dante’s stil novo,” examines how Dante uses blindness to distinguish himself from other lyric poets. Just before encountering his forerunner Guinizzelli, Dante declares his wish to continue the journey upwards so as to be no longer blind (Purg.26.58). Although Dante is alluding to the refinement of intellectual sight that is purgation itself, his claim reminds the reader of the blindness that Dante-pilgrim has just overcome thanks to Virgil’s lecture in which certain ‘leaders’ were called ‘blind’ (Purg.18). Just before meeting Guinizzelli, Dante describes Beatrice as she who acquires grace, from something other than herself, on his behalf (Purg.26.59). That the lady is not the ultimate object of enjoyment, but rather a guide to a higher end is what the ‘blind leaders’ did not understand. Dante suggests that Guinizzelli was blind when, in his most acclaimed canzone, he portrayed the ‘beautiful lady’ as the ultimate end of the noble lover’s desire.

Blindness is explored as well in Chida’s talk, “The Invisibility of the Present in Inferno 6 and 10.” In Inferno 6, Ciacco delivers a prophecy about an incident that was almost synchronous with the fictional voyage, and misrepresents events that Dante and many of his readers had experienced. In Inferno 10, the issue of blindness to the present is thematized when Cavalcante de’ Cavalcanti is shown to be ignorant of the current fate of his son Guido, and when Farinata explains that the damned souls are blind to current events. The partial blindness of damned souls has traditionally been understood as a narrative device, but Chida goes further, arguing that it ultimately reflects Dante’s philosophy of history, and captures an essential dimension of damnation and salvation.

The issue of salvation is also central to Myram’s talk, “Painting the Human Effigy: Dante’s Artistic Transhumanization.” The word “effige” is used only twice in the Comedy: to tell how Beatrice’s image is perfectly visible despite her distance from Dante’s eyes (Par.31.77-8), and to describe the image of humanity in the second circle of the Trinity (Par.33.131). Considering that “effigïata” has previously been used to describe God’s artistic engravings of the circle of pride (Purg.10.67), Myram argues that Dante uses an artistic lexicon to construct the concept of “sacred poetry” (Par.23.62, 25.1) that replicates God’s artistic creation. Through the incarnation, Christ made God visible, and by his resurrection, he enhanced the image (“effige”) of man. The visibility of Christ acts as the ontological premise and the visual archetype that makes possible the poetry of Dante’s Paradiso. By imitating Christ’s visibility, Dante’s poetry “transhumanizes” into God’s own art.

The panelists were selected on the strength and originality of their papers, as well as the notable resonances between them. Outstanding scholars at the beginning of their careers, they also reflect the expanding diversity of our field in terms of race, background and gender identity, and we seek to amplify their voices. After the Presider’s introduction (2 minutes), each presenter will speak for 12 minutes. Including transitions between papers (5-10 minutes total), we will have 15-20 minutes for unstructured discussion.