The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso in Reading the Classics

Sep 17, 2012 Jeremy C. Brown rated it really liked it

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” -Dante Alighieri

This epic poem, written by Dante after being exiled from his home in Florence c. 1308, is a story of redemption, one mans journey from Earth to Hell to Heaven, and an allegory for mankind's spiritual journey towards God. It's also a catalog of God's justice being taken out on those who kept or broke God's laws.

This book can be a little bit of a struggle to relate to depend “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” -Dante Alighieri

This epic poem, written by Dante after being exiled from his home in Florence c. 1308, is a story of redemption, one mans journey from Earth to Hell to Heaven, and an allegory for mankind's spiritual journey towards God. It's also a catalog of God's justice being taken out on those who kept or broke God's laws.

This book can be a little bit of a struggle to relate to depending on your religious views. It's like peeking through a looking glass in to the mindset of medieval Catholicism. The whole "God's justice" being different or unknowable in comparison to "our justice," was a difficult one to care to indulge, mainly through the 520 or so pages of his Hell. However, I still feel there is a lot to gain from reading one of the most influential books ever written! This book has been the source for inspiration for countless works of music, art, and literature. It contains Reformation-like criticism towards the catholic church that precluded the Reformation. It's text was in large part responsible for establishing the Italian language. It's considered by many to be a masterpiece, and I believe if you approach it the right way you'll see why.

Recommendations:

-I'd recommend to read it slowly and read commentary related to the text.
-I'd recommend you don't stop after reading only the inferno, but continue to Purgatory and on to Paradise.
-I'd also recommend checking out artwork that has been created that relates to the scenes described.
-There are a couple of books I'd recommend reading before this, namely The Odyssey and The Aeneid.
-I'd recommend really deciding for yourself what value can come from reading such a book and focus on that, rather than spending your time criticizing his point of view and his science and religious perspective.
-Last but not least; Find and awesome goodreads group to read and discuss it with! Thanks Laurele and "Classics of the Western Cannon!"

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