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Dante's Divine Comedy: A Biography
The life and times of Dante’s soaring poetic allegory of the soul’s redemptive journey toward God
Written during his exile from Florence in the early 1300s, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy describes the poet’s travels through hell, purgatory, and paradise, exploring the state of the human soul after death. His poema sacro, sacred poem, profoundly influenced Renaissance writers and artists such as Giovanni Boccaccio and Sandro Botticelli and was venerated by modern critics including Erich Auerbach and Harold Bloom. Dante’s “Divine Comedy” narrates the remarkable reception of Dante’s masterpiece, one of the most consequential religious books ever written.
Tracing the many afterlives of Dante’s epic poem, Joseph Luzzi shows how it left its mark on the work of such legendary authors as John Milton, Mary Shelley, and James Joyce while serving as a source of inspiration for writers like Primo Levi and Antonio Gramsci as they faced the most extreme forms of political oppression. He charts how the dialogue between religious and secular ideas in The Divine Comedy has shaped issues ranging from changing conceptions of women’s identity and debates about censorship to the role of canonical literature in popular culture.
An intimate portrait of a work that has challenged and inspired generations of readers, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” reveals how Dante’s strikingly original and controversial vision of the afterlife can help us define our spiritual beliefs, better understand ourselves, and navigate the complexities of modern life.
Written during his exile from Florence in the early 1300s, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy describes the poet’s travels through hell, purgatory, and paradise, exploring the state of the human soul after death. His poema sacro, sacred poem, profoundly influenced Renaissance writers and artists such as Giovanni Boccaccio and Sandro Botticelli and was venerated by modern critics including Erich Auerbach and Harold Bloom. Dante’s “Divine Comedy” narrates the remarkable reception of Dante’s masterpiece, one of the most consequential religious books ever written.
Tracing the many afterlives of Dante’s epic poem, Joseph Luzzi shows how it left its mark on the work of such legendary authors as John Milton, Mary Shelley, and James Joyce while serving as a source of inspiration for writers like Primo Levi and Antonio Gramsci as they faced the most extreme forms of political oppression. He charts how the dialogue between religious and secular ideas in The Divine Comedy has shaped issues ranging from changing conceptions of women’s identity and debates about censorship to the role of canonical literature in popular culture.
An intimate portrait of a work that has challenged and inspired generations of readers, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” reveals how Dante’s strikingly original and controversial vision of the afterlife can help us define our spiritual beliefs, better understand ourselves, and navigate the complexities of modern life.
232 pages, Hardcover
Published November 5, 2024
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About the author
Joseph Luzzi
19 books118 followersBio: Joseph Luzzi
Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) teaches Comparative Literature and Italian Studies at Bard College. His most recent book is Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance (2022). He is also the author of Romantic Europe and the Ghost of Italy (2008), winner of the MLA’s Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies; A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film (2014); My Two Italies (2014), a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection; In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love (2015), a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection that has been translated into multiple languages. Two forthcoming books include his new translation of Dante’s Vita Nuova; and his study Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: A Biography will appear in 2024. Luzzi’s public-facing writing has appeared in the New York Times, TLS, London Times, Los Angeles Times, American Scholar, Bookforum, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere, and his awards include a Dante Society of America Essay Prize, National Humanities Center Fellowship, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti. In 2022 Joseph received a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award in support of his book project Brunelleschi’s Children: How a Renaissance Orphanage Saved 400,000 Lives and Reinvented Childhood.
Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) teaches Comparative Literature and Italian Studies at Bard College. His most recent book is Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance (2022). He is also the author of Romantic Europe and the Ghost of Italy (2008), winner of the MLA’s Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies; A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film (2014); My Two Italies (2014), a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection; In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love (2015), a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection that has been translated into multiple languages. Two forthcoming books include his new translation of Dante’s Vita Nuova; and his study Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: A Biography will appear in 2024. Luzzi’s public-facing writing has appeared in the New York Times, TLS, London Times, Los Angeles Times, American Scholar, Bookforum, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere, and his awards include a Dante Society of America Essay Prize, National Humanities Center Fellowship, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti. In 2022 Joseph received a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award in support of his book project Brunelleschi’s Children: How a Renaissance Orphanage Saved 400,000 Lives and Reinvented Childhood.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 7, 2025
I love Professor Luzzi. However, I have no reason to suck up. This read was dry as bones/sand/draught. I struggled and I mean struggled through it. Only because I love Luzzi. This is one that I gained some good knowledge. But, did this enhance my life? Absolutely no.
November 30, 2025
This is a lovely little book that provided new insights on not only how the Divina Commedia was received but also perspectives on other poets and writers. For example, I know little about Longfellow, an important translator of the poem, but Luzzi's snippets of some of Longfellow's poetry made an impression.
"Half of my life is gone, and I have let
The years slip from me and have not fulfilled
The aspiration of my youth, to build
Some tower of song with lofty parapet.
Not indolence, nor pleasure, nor the fret
Of restless passions that would not be stilled,
But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,
Kept me from what I may accomplish yet;
Though, half-way up the hill, I see the Past
Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,—
A city in the twilight dim and vast,
With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,—
And hear above me on the autumnal blast
The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights."
Obviously inspired by the prologue of the Commedia it is itself beautiful. I am intrigued by how great artists influence other great artists. Caravaggio to Artemisia Gentileschi, Marlowe to Shakespeare and clearly Dante to a host of them - Mary Shelly, Byron, and Longfellow as examples.
This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the history of religion and the power of inspiration.
"Half of my life is gone, and I have let
The years slip from me and have not fulfilled
The aspiration of my youth, to build
Some tower of song with lofty parapet.
Not indolence, nor pleasure, nor the fret
Of restless passions that would not be stilled,
But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,
Kept me from what I may accomplish yet;
Though, half-way up the hill, I see the Past
Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,—
A city in the twilight dim and vast,
With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,—
And hear above me on the autumnal blast
The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights."
Obviously inspired by the prologue of the Commedia it is itself beautiful. I am intrigued by how great artists influence other great artists. Caravaggio to Artemisia Gentileschi, Marlowe to Shakespeare and clearly Dante to a host of them - Mary Shelly, Byron, and Longfellow as examples.
This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the history of religion and the power of inspiration.
May 2, 2025
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway!
I do have to say that I’m not really sure how I felt about this book. I have to agree that it’s a dry read, and it took me a lot longer to get through it than I would have liked.
I wasn’t a fan of how long the introduction was. I prefer introductions to be short and sweet, and to give a general oversight of what we might be in store for.
The paragraphs can be very long and it’s very easy to get lost in them, which lead me to have some difficulties with focusing. That being said, at times it was difficult to recall just what I had taken in while I was reading. That could also have been a result of the dry reading part, with my mind deciding to wander as I read.
Unfortunately, I just don’t think that this book resonated well with me.
I do have to say that I’m not really sure how I felt about this book. I have to agree that it’s a dry read, and it took me a lot longer to get through it than I would have liked.
I wasn’t a fan of how long the introduction was. I prefer introductions to be short and sweet, and to give a general oversight of what we might be in store for.
The paragraphs can be very long and it’s very easy to get lost in them, which lead me to have some difficulties with focusing. That being said, at times it was difficult to recall just what I had taken in while I was reading. That could also have been a result of the dry reading part, with my mind deciding to wander as I read.
Unfortunately, I just don’t think that this book resonated well with me.
December 4, 2025
Translation for Contemporary Readers !! Beautifully presents the youthful Dante who tells us HOW he is thinking about is wordss and then GIVES US a POEM he develops!! What a gift to anyone learning to write, studying process, or just purely loves to read.
A young man struggles to become a poet by experiencing the sorrows and joys of love.
A young man struggles to become a poet by experiencing the sorrows and joys of love.
February 7, 2025
Prof. Luzzi has written a fascinating account of the Divine Comedy's life. I've taught the Divine Comedy many times, but it never occurred to me to write a biography of the book itself.
Well done, Prof. Luzzi!
Well done, Prof. Luzzi!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews