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rachelrozendaal's review against another edition
5.0
To be completely honest, characterizing the Divine Comedy as a slog is being charitable. The endnotes are the same length as the books themselves, and trying to comprehend the invective Dante serves against the politicians and nobility of his day can be tiresome. I now know far more about 13th century Italy than I ever planned on or wanted to.
However, I personally found the struggle worthwhile in the end. (Though the first question I often received from others when I told them I was reading it was, "WHY??") The poetry is beautiful and intricate. The scenes Dante sets up are variously dark and intense, and light and airy. Growing up in the Protestant tradition, I learned an enormous amount about traditional Catholic beliefs from these books and found them fascinating. I (embarrassingly) had thought that Limbo and Purgatory were interchangeable names for the same place - not so, it turns out. I had never heard of the Harrowing of Hell before. The heaven and hell of Catholicism are much more fleshed out than the Protestant versions I learned about in my church.
Paradiso in particular is replete with tirades against the papacy, angels, disciples, and all of the familiar faces one learns about in Sunday School. Truthfully, I was looking forward to this book in the trilogy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) the least. Inferno and Purgatorio are gritty and feature lots of brutal punishments that keep the curious reading, but Paradiso just sounded...boring to me. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The lofty images of God and the heavenly hosts were not as stale as I feared they would be, and I end the Divine Comedy equal parts thankful I decided to finally pick it up and thankful my days of reading about Italian politicians are over.
However, I personally found the struggle worthwhile in the end. (Though the first question I often received from others when I told them I was reading it was, "WHY??") The poetry is beautiful and intricate. The scenes Dante sets up are variously dark and intense, and light and airy. Growing up in the Protestant tradition, I learned an enormous amount about traditional Catholic beliefs from these books and found them fascinating. I (embarrassingly) had thought that Limbo and Purgatory were interchangeable names for the same place - not so, it turns out. I had never heard of the Harrowing of Hell before. The heaven and hell of Catholicism are much more fleshed out than the Protestant versions I learned about in my church.
Paradiso in particular is replete with tirades against the papacy, angels, disciples, and all of the familiar faces one learns about in Sunday School. Truthfully, I was looking forward to this book in the trilogy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) the least. Inferno and Purgatorio are gritty and feature lots of brutal punishments that keep the curious reading, but Paradiso just sounded...boring to me. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The lofty images of God and the heavenly hosts were not as stale as I feared they would be, and I end the Divine Comedy equal parts thankful I decided to finally pick it up and thankful my days of reading about Italian politicians are over.
trask0730's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite canticle of the Divine Comedy! The poetry is so lovely.
flybyreader's review against another edition
3.0
İlahi Komedya’nın son macerasında Cennet’in kapıları bir ölümlüye açılıyor. Dante öbür dünyadaki turistik gezisinin son ayağına sevgilisi Beatrice’in rehberliğinde devam ediyor. Beatrice’in Dante için ne kadar önemli olduğunu, onu ne kadar sevdiğini ve varlığına yüklediği anlamı epik şiirin her aşamasında görmek mümkün. Onu cennetin en üst katına yerleştiren, Tanrı’dan Dante’yi bu yolculuğa çıkarmasını isteyebilecek kadar kudret sahibi yapan yazar, Beatrice’i başında zeytin dalı ve ışıklar içerisinde resmediyor.
Dante’nin cennet tasviri göz alabildiğine geniş gökyüzü, ışıklar, alev topu melekler, bulutların üzerinde gezinen Tanrı’nın sevgisine kavuşmuş ruhlardan oluşuyor. Dante cennetin katmanları arasında gezinirken insanların bu mertebeye ulaşmalarını sağlayacak dersleri vermeyi ihmal etmiyor. İnsanlar doğru yoldan saptığı, yozlaşma tüm hızıyla devam ettiği için cennet daralmakta, cennette ayrılan yer sayısı azalmaktadır. Dante’nin cennetinde, hristiyanlığı yaymak uğruna can veren liderler, İncil önderliğinde insanlığı doğru yola sokmaya çalışan din adamları, Haçlı seferlerinde can veren öncü askerler, kendini manastıra kapatan kadınlar, kiliseyi yüceltecek eylemlerde bulunan siyasetçiler görüyoruz. Bu noktada sık sık cennetten uzaklaşmanın nedeninin Tanrı yolundan sapmak ve dünyanın “maddesel” cazibelerine kapılmak olduğu tekrarlanıyor. İnsanların yanlış istekler peşinde koşması, doğasına karşı gelmesi sıklıkla vurgulanıyor:
“Doğanın önerdiği ilkelere
uyum gösterseydi eğer aşağıdaki dünya,
çok daha iyi bir toplum olurdu yeryüzünde.
Ama siz, kılıç kullanması gerekeni
dine yöneltiyor, vaaz vermesi gerekeni
kral yapıyorsunuz;
işte bu nedenle doğru yoldan sapıyorsunuz.”
Cennet serinin belki de en çok ders niteliği taşıyan kitabı. Üçlemenin tamamını düşündüğümde Dante’nin yaratıcılığını ve hayal gücünü en çok konuşturduğu yerin Cehennem olduğunu fark ettim. Bir geçiş niteliği taşıyan Araf ve nihai bir hedef olarak Cennet, dini klişeler ve didaktik şiir etrafında dönüyor.
Dante’nin dönemi için devrim sayılabilecek nitelikteki şiirselliği, tarih ve siyaset bilgisi, alegori becerisi ve İtalyacaya katkıları sebebiyle dilin atası olarak görünmesi açısından kesinlikle okunması gereken bir klasik.
Dante’nin cennet tasviri göz alabildiğine geniş gökyüzü, ışıklar, alev topu melekler, bulutların üzerinde gezinen Tanrı’nın sevgisine kavuşmuş ruhlardan oluşuyor. Dante cennetin katmanları arasında gezinirken insanların bu mertebeye ulaşmalarını sağlayacak dersleri vermeyi ihmal etmiyor. İnsanlar doğru yoldan saptığı, yozlaşma tüm hızıyla devam ettiği için cennet daralmakta, cennette ayrılan yer sayısı azalmaktadır. Dante’nin cennetinde, hristiyanlığı yaymak uğruna can veren liderler, İncil önderliğinde insanlığı doğru yola sokmaya çalışan din adamları, Haçlı seferlerinde can veren öncü askerler, kendini manastıra kapatan kadınlar, kiliseyi yüceltecek eylemlerde bulunan siyasetçiler görüyoruz. Bu noktada sık sık cennetten uzaklaşmanın nedeninin Tanrı yolundan sapmak ve dünyanın “maddesel” cazibelerine kapılmak olduğu tekrarlanıyor. İnsanların yanlış istekler peşinde koşması, doğasına karşı gelmesi sıklıkla vurgulanıyor:
“Doğanın önerdiği ilkelere
uyum gösterseydi eğer aşağıdaki dünya,
çok daha iyi bir toplum olurdu yeryüzünde.
Ama siz, kılıç kullanması gerekeni
dine yöneltiyor, vaaz vermesi gerekeni
kral yapıyorsunuz;
işte bu nedenle doğru yoldan sapıyorsunuz.”
Cennet serinin belki de en çok ders niteliği taşıyan kitabı. Üçlemenin tamamını düşündüğümde Dante’nin yaratıcılığını ve hayal gücünü en çok konuşturduğu yerin Cehennem olduğunu fark ettim. Bir geçiş niteliği taşıyan Araf ve nihai bir hedef olarak Cennet, dini klişeler ve didaktik şiir etrafında dönüyor.
Dante’nin dönemi için devrim sayılabilecek nitelikteki şiirselliği, tarih ve siyaset bilgisi, alegori becerisi ve İtalyacaya katkıları sebebiyle dilin atası olarak görünmesi açısından kesinlikle okunması gereken bir klasik.
cwatson17's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
nearit's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dante's Paradise is an elaborate mechanism that aims to replicate that which claims to be beyond replication.
Gray's replication of Dante's work is always fresh, often amusing, sometimes profound and reliably curious. If we find ourselves squinting when he subs in references to "Whigs" and "the Kirk" while preserving the social and theological content, perhaps this is helpful, lest we get too dazzled along the way.
Gray's replication of Dante's work is always fresh, often amusing, sometimes profound and reliably curious. If we find ourselves squinting when he subs in references to "Whigs" and "the Kirk" while preserving the social and theological content, perhaps this is helpful, lest we get too dazzled along the way.
eheslosz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Can't believe I've read Dante's 'Divine Comedy'! Oof, this last one was not a light read. Dante's didactic theological reasoning used up most of the narrative of this last canticle, and it was often hard to follow and a bit dull. However there were some really poetic moments that almost made me emotional after the long journey that is the entire 'Comedy'. Also I cannot deny that structurally this was a masterpiece and tied everything together satisfyingly. The physical arrangement of heaven with the spheres was very confusing but I actually found that quite interesting, and I was mindblown by Dante's notion of space and time ending/beginning (all very cyclical and unclear) with a single beam of light, which sounds a lot like the big bang theory! If you want to read just one of the three canticles I would recommend 'Purgatorio' because it has a good balance of everything and is structured very clearly. I have a lot of appreciation for 'Paradiso' but in terms of my personal experience reading it, I honestly cannot give it a higher rating than what I have given.
Can't believe I've read Dante's 'Divine Comedy'! Oof, this last one was not a light read. Dante's didactic theological reasoning used up most of the narrative of this last canticle, and it was often hard to follow and a bit dull. However there were some really poetic moments that almost made me emotional after the long journey that is the entire 'Comedy'. Also I cannot deny that structurally this was a masterpiece and tied everything together satisfyingly. The physical arrangement of heaven with the spheres was very confusing but I actually found that quite interesting, and I was mindblown by Dante's notion of space and time ending/beginning (all very cyclical and unclear) with a single beam of light, which sounds a lot like the big bang theory! If you want to read just one of the three canticles I would recommend 'Purgatorio' because it has a good balance of everything and is structured very clearly. I have a lot of appreciation for 'Paradiso' but in terms of my personal experience reading it, I honestly cannot give it a higher rating than what I have given.
cayden_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
graywacke's review against another edition
5.0
54. Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
translation and notes: Jean Hollander & Robert Hollander
published: 1320, translation 2007
format: 956-page Paperback, with original Italian, translation and notes
acquired: September 2019
read: Sep 1 – Nov 9
time reading: 53 hr 53 min, 3.4 min/page
rating: 5
locations:
translation and notes: Jean Hollander & Robert Hollander
published: 1320, translation 2007
format: 956-page Paperback, with original Italian, translation and notes
acquired: September 2019
read: Sep 1 – Nov 9
time reading: 53 hr 53 min, 3.4 min/page
rating: 5
locations: