Vertical Readings in Dante's Comedy: Volume 1

by George Corbett (Editor), Heather Webb (Editor)

"Vertical Readings in Dante� s Comedy is a reappraisal of the poem by an international team of thirty-four scholars. Each vertical reading analyses three same-numbered cantos from the three canticles: Inferno i, Purgatorio i and Paradiso i; Inferno ii, Purgatorio ii and Paradiso ii; etc. Although scholars have suggested before that there are correspondences between same-numbered cantos that beg to be explored, this is the first time that the approach has been pursued in a systematic fashion across the poem. This collection � to be issued in three volumes � offers an unprecedented repertoire of vertical readings for the whole poem. As the first volume exemplifies, vertical reading not only articulates unexamined connections between the three canticles but also unlocks engaging new ways to enter into core concerns of the poem. The three volumes thereby provide an indispensable resource for scholars, students and enthusiasts of Dante."

This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

286 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Michael Greer]

This is the first volume of a series of lectures about Dante's most important work, The Comedy. The lectures were delivered at Cambridge, the University in the United Kingdom over a period of four years, from 2012-2016. What's unique here is the way in which the themes are developed as if a harmonic structure reveals more than a linear one. For example, the first three cantos of each of the separate works, Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise. To give you some idea, dear reader, I will outline how George Corbett explains the procedure in his lecture, "Pagan Dawn of a Christian Vision."

"Each of the opening cantos reveals a failed journey"

1. In Inferno, Dante who is both main character and author faces three beasts which hinder his purpose to climb up to the stars. This hindrance can only be remedied by assistance which must originate from Paradise. Discovering his misery ("the dark woods") he is looking for something better, but can't realize his desire, as I say, without the object of his love guiding him.

2. In Purgatory, Dante views Venus rising in the early morning, but Cato sends him back to the seashore he has just left behind. There Virgil comes to his assistance by bathing him.

3. In Paradiso, Dante wants to gaze directly into the sun, but he "has to give up" because it is too intense. The Sun has often been used in literature to represent the supreme reality, in Plato, Akhenaten, and in Plotinus.

What is the point of comparing these three attempts "to move toward God"? The answer is immediately obvious, as if you didn't see it yourself. No one moves toward God without assistance. Yet in this lifetime, most "others" hinder our progress by using us in various ways. Nietzsche is famous for his remark, "Our best friends will be our worst enemies." Yes, very true, and Beatrice is not nor can she be Dante's "friend." Much too lukewarm a description. The journey to God, which all of us must make, requires the assistance of others. Start looking now. Dante certainly helped this reader and I am eternally grateful to him for that. Where do we find such help? Consider asking an angel for help; consider asking a noted saint for help; consider pondering passages from the Scriptures.