The Comedy is the journey not just of Dante the pilgrim, but of every man, woman, and child it is the journey of every soul that has ever lived, as one moves either toward or away from God. Each new translation, therefore, is a fresh opportunity to draw attention to how Dante makes that strong, though often subtle, exhortation throughout the poetically rendered realms of the afterlife. Each read-through is a fresh opportunity to be reminded that the whole world exists, in the first instance, to draw our eyes to God in worship and adoration. This scene lies at the heart of the Divine Comedy. Every moment in this life, therefore, is a moment that requires swift devotion with grateful assent, to the point where all that would distract us from loving Jesus is eclipsed by His glory, and forgot. The lesson he is learning here is that everything, from the smallest pebble to the sun in the sky, exists as a window through which to perceive the glory of God. It is entirely by His grace the pilgrim will continue on, finally to stand before the Triune majesty. Beatrice turns and exhorts the pilgrim to give thanks to Jesus, the “Sun of angels” by whose grace Dante has been raised so high. Of perceiving, has raised you by His grace.”ĭante, once lost in a darkened wood, has finally made it to the sphere of the Sun. 9780872207905 or Tr.And Beatrice began, “Give thanks, give thanks

These secondary readings consider the poem from a variety of perspectives: as an historical document produced at a specific space and time an aesthetic object which uses particular narrative strategies to produce meaning and an ethical and political treatise that both problematizes and prioritizes a certain set of values. Each class will require a close reading of several canti of Dante’s poem, along with a supplementary reading.

Empire, Florentine factionalism), and literary (Virgil, Arthurian romance) contexts, as well as an exploration of its influence on later thinkers, artists, poets, and popular culture (Machiavelli, Botticelli, Borges, Eliot, Rodin, Dali, ‘Se7en’). A close reading of Dante’s whole poem (Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise) in its philosophical (Plato, Aristotle), theological (Augustine, Aquinas), historical (Papacy vs.

The divine comedy