Gen Z appears to have a conflicted relationship to Dante Alighieri.
For some, the great poet is a mere obstacle to overcome in view of a grade.
Others can’t justify devoting much attention to someone they would consider a ‘simp’: a colloquialism describing a 'doormat' lover who desperately chases their sweetheart.
Devotees of the renaissance master might squint their eyes at the sentiment, perhaps even groan. However Patrick Cherif, Ph.D. in Philological and Literary Studies recently explained the younger generation’s baffling aversion to the author of ‘Divine Comedy’ fame, and how through teaching, it might be overcome, to Italian daily ANSA.
Cherif is the author of essays and books on contemporary poetry, a Professor of Italian Literature and Research Methodologies at the University of Sfax, Tunisia, and Associate Researcher at the ReSo Laboratory at the University of Montpellier, France.
For kids, he’s the ‘prof’ who brought Italian literature to social media, offering line by line explanations of seminal works, notably, Dante’s famed canti. He has almost 60 thousand subscribers on his Youtube channel and over 4 thousand followers on Instagram.
“I don't think it's the medium that’s important, but what you say," said Cherif, smiling.
In spite of his last name, he is very much Italian, hailing from Cagliari. In collaboration with rappers Murubutu and Claver Gold, he wrote ‘Dante a tempo di rap’ (Dante rap style).
“For centuries, poets, writers, and artists have referred to the figure of Dante and his work to better communicate with their contemporaries. From this perspective, even a film like Pupi Avati's Dante, for example (in theaters September 29) could help young people approach the figure.”
But what is the obstacle that stands between Gen Z and the Supreme Poet, who, as Avati's film also shows, was like them, once a daring young boy of great passion?
“Reading is an exhausting act when it comes to a novel of the twentieth century, let alone a poet of the fourteenth century," Cherif said.
"The Divine Comedy is a text rich in multilingualism, in high rhetoric. It requires commitment and willingness to attempt to understand it.
“Add to this the fact that children today are immersed in a distraction-filled, fast-paced, attention economy, and there is a real risk that his work will remain confined to school classrooms. Without compulsory schooling, they might not even know him."
The professor is adamant that we must understand that young people are different from those of 20 years ago, as are their values and concepts of love, strength and courage.
“For some kids, Dante is a simp, because he chases after a woman who has barely granted him a greeting.
“When explaining Dante, I rather try to focus on the internal conflict the protagonist experiences: to love his beloved or his divine creator? This is a conflict that any boy could experience today, for example, between what he wants to be, and what his family wants.
“Understanding that Dante experienced torment similar to ours, at least from a poetic point of view, brings him closer to us."
So, what is it that makes Dante’s words so timeless?
“With beautiful, impactful images and allegories, Dante touches on a universal theme which we will all, sooner or later, have to come to terms with: death and the urge to search for one's own meaning in life. Here, Dante also reminds a young person that pleasure is not eternal and could disappear between one day and the next.”
