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writerbeverly 's review for:
Dante's Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, Anna Amari-Parker
Probably better in the original Italian.
You know that saying, when you find yourself in Hell, keep going? Seemed like entering the third year of a pandemic, hellish enough to tackle this classic work. This version is presented in a really BIG book (yay, less eyestrain), and with engraved illustrations.
Still a slog. I can get why it was called Divine Comedy, because much of it is probably satirical digs at personalities and politicians and religious figures of Dante's era, but that kind of name-dropping was lost on me. Possibly the Ghibellines & Guelphs were comparable to today's Repubs & Dems, but I didn't care enough to dig into the political history. Probably better in the original Italian AND read by people of that era. There were historical or mythical people dropped in, too; those I mostly knew.
The humor was, perhaps, lost in translation. This one by Henry Longfellow. Although the form of poetry is preserved, the language comes across dry and stuffy, rather than witty. Dante was apparently a big fan of the number three; there are three sections, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Each section has 33 cantos/chapters, and each canto contains 33 three-line stanzas, with a single "closing" line, at the end of each canto. I can admire how making this fit this format is clearly a masterwork of a lifetime.
Dante travels through the first two realms escorted by the poet, Virgil. Many horrible sights & sounds are seen in Hell. I am curious as to what, exactly, happens in a river of "boiling blood?" Does it get thicker, like gravy, or thin, like soup? Dante must have had fun putting his various enemies in dicey spots in Hell and Purgatory, and I can imagine the folks of his time, reading feverishly to find out where he had put THEM, or their grandparents. The third realm, Paradise, his guide is Beatrice. Now an angel, she was apparently someone he had a big crush on, back when she was alive.
One thing I found entertaining is the folks discovered in these realms were naked, clothed, or somewhere in between, and it didn't always make sense according to what torture or pleasure they were experiencing. Lots of fantasy creatures, plus angels and demons. The illustrations, from engravings by Gustave Dore, quite interesting and helped me understand what was happening in the cantos. When nakedness was depictured, genitals (except for boobies & nipples) were obscured by positioning. Virgil wears a cloak and laurel leaf headdress, always. Dante is in a hooded cape, although sometimes he also has a laurel headdress, and his posture is usually of someone afraid or ashamed. Beatrice is in a white robe and halo.
I'm glad I read it, because there are takeaways from this classic work that have seeped into current imaginings of what might come after THIS life. And I can check it off my TBR list. I feel more eddicated, now. But it's wasn't a fun read for ME. YMMV.
You know that saying, when you find yourself in Hell, keep going? Seemed like entering the third year of a pandemic, hellish enough to tackle this classic work. This version is presented in a really BIG book (yay, less eyestrain), and with engraved illustrations.
Still a slog. I can get why it was called Divine Comedy, because much of it is probably satirical digs at personalities and politicians and religious figures of Dante's era, but that kind of name-dropping was lost on me. Possibly the Ghibellines & Guelphs were comparable to today's Repubs & Dems, but I didn't care enough to dig into the political history. Probably better in the original Italian AND read by people of that era. There were historical or mythical people dropped in, too; those I mostly knew.
The humor was, perhaps, lost in translation. This one by Henry Longfellow. Although the form of poetry is preserved, the language comes across dry and stuffy, rather than witty. Dante was apparently a big fan of the number three; there are three sections, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Each section has 33 cantos/chapters, and each canto contains 33 three-line stanzas, with a single "closing" line, at the end of each canto. I can admire how making this fit this format is clearly a masterwork of a lifetime.
Dante travels through the first two realms escorted by the poet, Virgil. Many horrible sights & sounds are seen in Hell. I am curious as to what, exactly, happens in a river of "boiling blood?" Does it get thicker, like gravy, or thin, like soup? Dante must have had fun putting his various enemies in dicey spots in Hell and Purgatory, and I can imagine the folks of his time, reading feverishly to find out where he had put THEM, or their grandparents. The third realm, Paradise, his guide is Beatrice. Now an angel, she was apparently someone he had a big crush on, back when she was alive.
One thing I found entertaining is the folks discovered in these realms were naked, clothed, or somewhere in between, and it didn't always make sense according to what torture or pleasure they were experiencing. Lots of fantasy creatures, plus angels and demons. The illustrations, from engravings by Gustave Dore, quite interesting and helped me understand what was happening in the cantos. When nakedness was depictured, genitals (except for boobies & nipples) were obscured by positioning. Virgil wears a cloak and laurel leaf headdress, always. Dante is in a hooded cape, although sometimes he also has a laurel headdress, and his posture is usually of someone afraid or ashamed. Beatrice is in a white robe and halo.
I'm glad I read it, because there are takeaways from this classic work that have seeped into current imaginings of what might come after THIS life. And I can check it off my TBR list. I feel more eddicated, now. But it's wasn't a fun read for ME. YMMV.