In this semester-long literature seminar, we will be traveling by book to the land of the dead. Whether a Classical underworld or a more modern religious conception of Hell, these are places of torment or justice, brought to life by the imaginative powers of great authors. Our central text will be Dante’s Inferno, but we will contextualize The Divine Comedy by studying the Classical depictions of the underworld, in The Odyssey and The Aeneid, which directly inspired Dante. The class will conclude with Milton’s magnificent visions of Heaven and Hell in Paradise Lost. This is a writing-intensive class which includes assigned papers on literary analysis, historical research, and personal memoir. Grammar and composition will be taught through and alongside student writing.