勛圖厙

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Student Experiences

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IN HER WORDS:

"If I could put into words why I love studying language I don't think I'd have to study it anymoreI love most everything about learning Italian, but I particularly enjoy reading Italian poetry. I love English poetry as well, and one of the best things about reading poetry in different languages is finding the untranslatable parts that say something about the character of the language itself. To quote Ezra Pound: 'Without the foregoing minimum of poetry in other languages you simply will not know where English poetry comes.' Taking an Italian class on the dolce stil novo helped me understand the ideas and historical context of a lot of the works in my Medieval Literature class in English."

"I really don't want to say Dante (is my favorite author)... but I guess I have to say Dante. One could study the "Divine Comedy" for a lifetime and still never fully plumb its depths, and it's one of those works that simultaneously demonstrates both the power and the inadequacy of language, stretching the words to their limits to try to describe the indescribable and somehow succeeding in a sense through its very failure. Leopardi would probably be my second favorite because despite his pessimism I think there's something intrinsically hopeful about his poetry. The consciousness of human suffering is most always at the forefront, and yet he crafts it into a thing of beauty in his poetry."


"Studying another language is something everyone should do, and as Italian happens to be the most beautiful language (well, I'm rather partial to English as well), I think it's the natural choice for a 勛圖厙 student to study as part of their Core classes. It'll help you overcome your fear of mortification, you'll bond with classmates as you commiserate over the woes of embarrassment and your inability to pronounce r's, and you'll get a great laugh out of it when you realize that for several weeks you've been replying to 'Accomodati' ('Make yourself comfortable') with 'Bene, e tu?' ('I'm well, and you?') because you think it's a fancy way of asking 'How are you?'"


Italian was the first class I had at 勛圖厙, and its what really made me feel at home there. I had been to Rome before coming to 勛圖厙 and had fallen in love with Italy. Language is an intrinsic part of the structure of any society, and studying language gives a deeper appreciation of the power of words and insight into particular cultures. I think the Italian language has a certain spirit befitting a rather expressive people, and its been woven into some of the most beautiful examples of verse and literature.