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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Dante is commonly ranked among the most eminent authors of literature alongside Shakespeare and Homer, so I was eager to read the Divine Comedy for myself.
I opted for an audiobook, which has its pros and cons. This translation by Clive James was very enjoyable. Among Dante enthusiasts, there is a continuing debate over the importance of the 'terza rima' structure (ABA BCB CDC etc). James' translation instead uses quatrains (ABAB CDCD etc), which might irk some Dante purists, but as someone who wanted to read this just for leisure the rhythm worked beautifully. At times when the verbiage dragged a little, the cadence of the poem rescued the day by allowing waves of lyrical silk wash over you. Credit must be given to the narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, here also.
The audiobook was a great way to get one of the great classics checked off, but it has definite drawbacks. The geopolitical context of Florence in the 13th century forms a backdrop to many of the scenes and characters encountered throughout all three books. These references require extra work to understand for a typical reader today. The audiobook provides no footnotes so it is lacking in this regard. I might recommend studying the text first before enjoying the poem performed in order to get the most out of it.
I was intrigued by Dante's grasp of theology, often mixed with his contemporaneous understanding of the cosmos. Nowadays it strikes us as anachronistic to consider the spheres of the planets as spheres of heaven, especially after humans have set foot on the Moon. Nevertheless, the theology expounded throughout is rich.
I'm glad I finished the book, but I would not claim to have exhausted it after one reading. I can see myself returning to parts of it in future.
I opted for an audiobook, which has its pros and cons. This translation by Clive James was very enjoyable. Among Dante enthusiasts, there is a continuing debate over the importance of the 'terza rima' structure (ABA BCB CDC etc). James' translation instead uses quatrains (ABAB CDCD etc), which might irk some Dante purists, but as someone who wanted to read this just for leisure the rhythm worked beautifully. At times when the verbiage dragged a little, the cadence of the poem rescued the day by allowing waves of lyrical silk wash over you. Credit must be given to the narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, here also.
The audiobook was a great way to get one of the great classics checked off, but it has definite drawbacks. The geopolitical context of Florence in the 13th century forms a backdrop to many of the scenes and characters encountered throughout all three books. These references require extra work to understand for a typical reader today. The audiobook provides no footnotes so it is lacking in this regard. I might recommend studying the text first before enjoying the poem performed in order to get the most out of it.
I was intrigued by Dante's grasp of theology, often mixed with his contemporaneous understanding of the cosmos. Nowadays it strikes us as anachronistic to consider the spheres of the planets as spheres of heaven, especially after humans have set foot on the Moon. Nevertheless, the theology expounded throughout is rich.
I'm glad I finished the book, but I would not claim to have exhausted it after one reading. I can see myself returning to parts of it in future.
slow-paced
Discúlpame Dante sos demasiado complejo para mí en este momento busco algo más light
wow. dante truly does have a way with words--some of the stanzas about forgiveness, love, goodness, selflessness and temptation are cutting and poignant even today. dante makes truly deep revelations about what it means to sin and to forgive, to be lucky and unlucky. however it is sandwiched between so much italian politics from the 1300s that sometimes this was hard to read. i truly appreciated the classic that it is, but the number of sinners who still cared about italian politics while being actively tortured.....
Inferno: juicy but problematic
Purgatorio: what even is happening
Paradiso: what even is happening
(maybe I was just too tired for this)
literarisch bedeutsam, inhaltlich problematisch
Purgatorio: what even is happening
Paradiso: what even is happening
(maybe I was just too tired for this)
literarisch bedeutsam, inhaltlich problematisch
Reading in verse is really hard for me and all three parts were just too intimidating
Reading this book felt like trying to diffuse a bomb with a hungover Italian who drank 3 bottles of Prosecco the night before. That said 5 stars.
The Divine Comedy is made up of three poems that chart Dante's travels from Hell to purgatory, and finally to paradise. I Read 'Inferno' and 'Purgatorio' as part of a read-along at the end of last year. I was supposed to read 'Paradiso', but never quite got going with it. I might return to read 'Paradiso' in the future, but for now, I am content with what I have read, and am sick of seeing it on my 'currently reading shelf'.
**Starting WEDNESDAY!! It’s never too late to join! You are formally invited to join me and (hundreds of? thousands of??) readers around the world for the reiteration of 100 Days of Dante! Beginning Aug 31, we will read 3 cantos a week and finish at Easter. Baylor has considered every video in the series and reworked any that needed clarification or quality improvement, so that this year will be even more enriching than last! If you’re on the fence, just give it a chance; you’ve got nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. Visit 100DaysofDante.com to sign up!**
———
I finished this book a month ago and have been pondering all the while how to succinctly summarize my thoughts regarding this book—as if such a thing were possible.
I first joined Dante on his pilgrimage as an undergrad student at Baylor. When my alma mater announced it would host a worldwide "100 Days of Dante" reading club in honor of Dante's 700th anniversary, nerdy I immediately jumped at the chance to revive my days in academia. After all, it has been said that you don't really read a thing until the second time you read it. And wow, what a journey it was.
The Divine Comedy is truly a masterpiece, one which I hope to revisit many times over. I am not qualified to offer my humble thoughts on such a grand piece of art, so instead I will only offer them on Paradiso, Canto 33.
In this final canto, the third of Dante's guides, St. Bernard, passes Dante off to Mary. When Dante turns to her, he finds her eyes "now fixed upon the supplicant," then "turned to the Eternal Light." And Dante, in evidence that he finally gets it, says nothing, asks no questions, but "nearing Him who is the end of all desires, as I ought, lifted my longing to its ardent limit." He follows her gaze to God. He understands at last that we aren't to focus on our intermediaries and teachers, but lift our own gaze onward toward where they're pointing us: ultimately, God.
And that's exactly what his poem does. Everything, every theme discussed, every question asked, every guide along the way, leads us at last to the Truth, the Eternal Light and Life and Love. As Dr. Sanders states in his final commentary (you can find Baylor's video commentaries for all cantos on YouTube), "[Dante's] restless heart is finally at rest in its Maker." And it is a beautiful thing to behold.
Thank you Baylor for making available such invaluable resources to all, that we might journey alongside Dante and direct our gaze, with him, toward "the Love that moves the sun and the other stars."
———
I finished this book a month ago and have been pondering all the while how to succinctly summarize my thoughts regarding this book—as if such a thing were possible.
I first joined Dante on his pilgrimage as an undergrad student at Baylor. When my alma mater announced it would host a worldwide "100 Days of Dante" reading club in honor of Dante's 700th anniversary, nerdy I immediately jumped at the chance to revive my days in academia. After all, it has been said that you don't really read a thing until the second time you read it. And wow, what a journey it was.
The Divine Comedy is truly a masterpiece, one which I hope to revisit many times over. I am not qualified to offer my humble thoughts on such a grand piece of art, so instead I will only offer them on Paradiso, Canto 33.
In this final canto, the third of Dante's guides, St. Bernard, passes Dante off to Mary. When Dante turns to her, he finds her eyes "now fixed upon the supplicant," then "turned to the Eternal Light." And Dante, in evidence that he finally gets it, says nothing, asks no questions, but "nearing Him who is the end of all desires, as I ought, lifted my longing to its ardent limit." He follows her gaze to God. He understands at last that we aren't to focus on our intermediaries and teachers, but lift our own gaze onward toward where they're pointing us: ultimately, God.
And that's exactly what his poem does. Everything, every theme discussed, every question asked, every guide along the way, leads us at last to the Truth, the Eternal Light and Life and Love. As Dr. Sanders states in his final commentary (you can find Baylor's video commentaries for all cantos on YouTube), "[Dante's] restless heart is finally at rest in its Maker." And it is a beautiful thing to behold.
Thank you Baylor for making available such invaluable resources to all, that we might journey alongside Dante and direct our gaze, with him, toward "the Love that moves the sun and the other stars."
I actually only read the first part of the Divine Comedy, that being The Inferno.
The Inferno was a very interesting look at what Hell looks like through the mind of Dante at the time period from which he wrote the book. I think his description of Hell and who would be sent there, was fascinating.
I would love to read the rest of The Divine Comedy.
The Inferno was a very interesting look at what Hell looks like through the mind of Dante at the time period from which he wrote the book. I think his description of Hell and who would be sent there, was fascinating.
I would love to read the rest of The Divine Comedy.