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A review by ed_moore
The Divine Comedy: Volume 3: Paradise by Dante Alighieri
adventurous
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The final instalment of the Divine Comedy, Dante’s ‘Paradiso’ is set over the days following Easter Sunday so I have unintentionally read this at the perfect time. That being said, it was a huge drop in quality from ‘Inferno’ and ‘Purgatorio’. ‘Paradiso’ follows Dante’s pilgrimage through Heaven, which is depicted as just a flight through space past various planets rather than an independent realm such as Hell and Purgatory. In this instalment the guide of Dante changes from Virgil, to the woman he was infatuated by, Beatrice, and she is just constantly gawked over by him and frequently described to have beauty beyond description. Having read ‘La Vita Nuova’ and knowing the real relationship, or lack of which, between Dante and Beatrice, his fantastical love was a painful read. She was also a much less interesting companion than Virgil was in the prior two segments of the Comedy.
Additionally, ‘Paradisio’ was far less interesting as its primary focus was on religious conversations and the passing of moral messages, rather than an insight into the inhabitants of Paradise and any political or mythological commentary. Paradise frankly appeared to be a pretty boring place to end up, for all the souls just float around as little balls of light in emptiness, singing hymns. It might be blasphemous but Hell seemed like a far more interesting place to reside and Heaven seemed to have no real merit.
That being said, the translator of the edition I read, Mark Musa, was by far the best translator of the Comedia that I have read, he previous editions being those of Durling and Kirkpatrick, and his explanatory notes were also brilliant. Whilst better in format, assessing Dante’s poetics ‘Paradiso’ was such a disappointing fall off from how brilliant ‘Inferno’ and ‘Purgatorio’ were.
Additionally, ‘Paradisio’ was far less interesting as its primary focus was on religious conversations and the passing of moral messages, rather than an insight into the inhabitants of Paradise and any political or mythological commentary. Paradise frankly appeared to be a pretty boring place to end up, for all the souls just float around as little balls of light in emptiness, singing hymns. It might be blasphemous but Hell seemed like a far more interesting place to reside and Heaven seemed to have no real merit.
That being said, the translator of the edition I read, Mark Musa, was by far the best translator of the Comedia that I have read, he previous editions being those of Durling and Kirkpatrick, and his explanatory notes were also brilliant. Whilst better in format, assessing Dante’s poetics ‘Paradiso’ was such a disappointing fall off from how brilliant ‘Inferno’ and ‘Purgatorio’ were.