InDante and theSense of Transgression, William Franke combines literary-critical analysiswith philosophical and theological reflection to cast new light on Dante'spoetic vision. Conversely, Dante's medieval masterpiece becomes our guideto rethinking some of the most pressing issues of contemporary theory.Beyond suggestivearchetypes like Adam and Ulysses that hint at an obsession with transgressionbeneath Dante's overt suppression of it, there is another and a prior sense inwhich transgression emerges as Dante's essential and ultimate gesture.His work as a poet culminates in theParadisoin atranscendence of language towards a purely ineffable, mystical experiencebeyond verbal expression. Yet Dante conveys this experience, nevertheless,in and through language and specifically through the transgression of language,violating its normally representational and referential functions.Paradiso'sdramatic sky-scapes and unparalleled textual performances stage adeconstruction of the sign that is analyzed philosophically in the light ofBlanchot, Levinas, Derrida, Barthes, and Bataille, as transgressing andtransfiguring the very sense of sense.