Inferno | Litsy

Tamra

Inferno of Dante: Reader's Guide | Robert Pinsky

Next IRL book club pick 🔥😈

We have three translations in the house, but I‘m going with Pinsky since he‘s a poet. 🤞🏾

quietlycuriouskate Dante! ❤️ 12h

Tamra @quietlycuriouskate I‘m looking forward to it! 11h

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paxton.tucker

Dantes Inferno in Modern English | Dante Alighieri, Douglas Neff

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Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy in the early fourteenth century after being on the wrong side of a political argument and being exiled from Florence by Pope Boniface VIII. It is an epic poem which is divided into three parts that are: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. In the first section, Inferno, the reader follows the protagonist, Dante, as Alighieri imagines what it would be like if he were forced to travel the circles of hell.

paxton.tucker Writing in the first person and using graphic imagery, Dante describes each circle of hell and interacts with the people he observes there. As they travel, Dante and Virgil discuss man‘s innate sinfulness, and Dante stresses that living a Christian life and seeking forgiveness is the only way to avoid God‘s retribution. 3mo

paxton.tucker While warning people of the fate they may endure, Alighieri exposes his enemies and judges their actions. The poem references people and political and religious events of the time. It alludes to mythology, literature, art, the Bible, and the religious structures of the time making it very complex with many connections and levels of meaning.
3mo

paxton.tucker Inferno is divided into 34 cantos and describes the nine circles of hell. Dante, the traveller, finds himself lost in the dark woods unable to find the straight path. This symbolizes that Dante has lost his way and isn‘t following God as he should. He follows his guide, Virgil, through the circles to the depths of hell to where Satan lives. 3mo

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paxton.tucker On the way, Dante learns the sinners put in each circle and sees the punishments given. Dante faces the consequences of unrepented sin, standing beside sinners yet seeing the humanity in them. Alighieri asks what makes the sinners damned to hell any different from us. 3mo

paxton.tucker The sixth circle of hell is in the City of Dis. Dante and Virgil are anxious about finding a way to enter the city. They meet three beasts who want Dante turned to stone but are rescued by an angel who opens the gates to the city. Sinners in this circle are the heretics, people guilty of denouncing and contradicting Christianity or the church. 3mo

paxton.tucker Virgil explains many are followers of Epicurus, who believed that the soul dies with the body. Heretics are put in tombs that are on fire and will be covered over on judgement day. Dante is recognized by the father of another poet and learns people on this level can know the future but not the past or present. A horrible odor is making them sick so Dante and Virgil leave.

3mo

paxton.tucker The seventh circle of hell is for the violent who are split into three groups: violent against neighbors, violent against self, and violent against God, nature, and art. Those who are violent towards their neighbors are put in boiling blood because their heated anger causes bloodshed. 3mo

paxton.tucker Next, Dante and Virgil enter a forest of trees with black leaves and poisonous thorns. Dante hears sinners crying but can‘t see them. Virgil tells him to break a branch off a tree to prove that the trees are actually the sinners who were violent to themselves and committed suicide. 3mo

paxton.tucker Since they destroyed their bodies in life they are not given human bodies in death and are picked at and tortured by harpies, creatures that are half woman and half bird. Dante listens to the story of Pier delle Vigne who committed suicide and feels sorry for him. 3mo

paxton.tucker After leaving the forest, the travellers enter an area of burning sand and burning rain. Those who commit violence against God are stretched out naked on hot sand, those who are violent to nature run naked in circles, and those who are violent to art are crouched naked and weeping on the sand. 3mo

paxton.tucker The travellers walk on the edge of the woods to avoid burning their feet. A group of sinners who were prominent people in Florence recognize Dante. Dante knew and admired all of them in Florence and feels badly for the way they are suffering.
3mo

paxton.tucker
Dantes and Virgil ride a beast to descend into the eighth circle separated into 10 different trenches that are narrow but deep. Each trench is for different types of simple fraud. Panderers, people who flatter others for self gain, those who sell positions in the church, fortune tellers, corrupt politicians, hypocrites thieves, fraudulent advisors, those who cause chaos, and falsifiers.
3mo

paxton.tucker The 9th and final circle treachery is again split. There are 4 rings around the center. for the traitors of family, traitors of their country, traitors of guests and the traitors of their lords, and finally the worst act, traitors of God, where the devil lies. 3mo

paxton.tucker There are many themes in Dante‘s Inferno. The most prevalent theme is that the consequences of man's actions, although not always seen in life, will be seen in death. Many people he meets on his journey, political leaders, famous philosophers and popular socialites, had prosperous and rewarding lives, yet are tortured in hell. 3mo

paxton.tucker Dante is writing this not for the reader's amusement but to force the reader to confront his own mortality and consider his judgment in front of God. Dante is a believer who wants to warn all people about the tortures of hell so they can save themselves.
3mo

paxton.tucker Dante wrote in the common vernacular instead of Latin so that all people would be able to read the poem and understand his message.Dante's Inferno, in the end, is about a man evolving through life and getting a second chance.
3mo

paxton.tucker Another underlying theme of Dante's Inferno is the hypocrisy and corruption of the upper class who have the power in society. He names politicians, elites, and the popes and learned in the Catholic church who he believes use their power to benefit themselves instead of doing what is right and moral. 3mo

paxton.tucker Although Dante was a faithful Christian who followed the Catholic Church, he did not believe in the pope's infallibility which caused him to often oppose people in power. Dante found the corruption in the church an affront to God and called it as such.
3mo

paxton.tucker In many ways Dante's Inferno is unlike any book I've ever read. Although he does not choose, Dante takes a hero‘s journey to find the answers he seeks similar plot devices, thematic statements, and writing style to other books it's unique in the way it looks to confront the issues of the time through a fictitious journey. 3mo

paxton.tucker If you enjoy researching words, context and deeper meanings this book would be a challenge for you. Often Dante references current events and people that can only be understood with a deep knowledge of 1300s italy. Poems such as Homer's the Odyssey, Milton's paradise lost, and many of Shakespeare's works share elements of storytelling, themes and writing styles with inferno.
3mo

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paxton.tucker

The Inferno | Dante

pick

Alighieri‘s Inferno is an intricate commentary on the innate tendency to sin, the consequences and human emotions that follow, and man's search for redemption through God. Written in the first person perspective, characterized by the use of I, we, and our, this epic provides insight into how a man would act if thrust into hell and includes Dante‘s thoughts and observations.

paxton.tucker Written in 1321, the poem makes many references and allusions to the city state of Florence, Catholicism, respected writers and philosophers, influential politicians, myths, and religious texts. Readers of other classical literature such as Homer's The Odyssey will be intrigued by how many important connections exist between this poem and other pieces of writing; it is a stepping stone for many other books and modern literature.
4mo

paxton.tucker Canto 1
Halfway through his life, Dante awakens in a dark forest where misery surrounds him; he is in the area outside of hell. He is unable to say how he arrived at this place but knows he strayed from the straight road. In his pursuit of light, representing Christ, he climbs a hill. However, blocked by beasts symbolizing the three types of sin separating mankind from God (deception, violence, and greed), he decides to turn back to the forest. 4mo

paxton.tucker Canto 2
Approaching hell's gates on Good Friday, Dante laments that he is not worthy to enter the afterlife and return. Virgil tells him that the virgin Mary knows he has strayed off course and has sent her messenger to tell Virgil to guide him. Heaven is with them so Dante agrees to enter hell.

4mo

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paxton.tucker Canto 3
Outside of hell is a place for the uncommitted in life. These people never chose a side, good or bad and only did what was best for themselves. This group includes the angels who chose no side in the rebellion of angels. The uncommitted scurry restlessly through fog in search of a blank banner they can never catch while being pursued by wasps and hornets. Their bodies drop with pus and blood that attracts maggots.

4mo

paxton.tucker There are 9 circles of hell and the evilness of sin increases as you go down with Satan at the final level. The punishment given for each sin in some way fits the evil done. The first circle of hell is for those who died before Jesus was born. The souls in this level are sinless but can‘t enter heaven because they died without knowing Jesus. Virgil, along with many famous thinkers including Homer, Julius Cesar, Brutas, Socrates, and Euclid, are 4mo

paxton.tucker Sinners are condemned to their fate by Minos, a serpent who indicates the circle of hell they will reside in. The second circle of hell is for those who fell to lust. In this circle the punishment is being pushed around by constant winds and having no say in where they go. This punishment symbolizes the power of lust to blow aimlessly. Dante feels sympathy for those in this circle and faints after talking with them.

4mo

paxton.tucker
The third circle of hell is for those guilty of gluttony. These sinners wasted their lives eating and drinking too much so they are forced to bathe in a foul slush that rains on them. Cerberus, the three headed dog of myth, drools over the people. Dante meets up with a man from Florence who tells him about the future.

4mo

paxton.tucker
The fourth circle of hell is for the hoarders and the wasters. The hoarders only wanted to gain wealth and things on earth and the wasters spent money recklessly. These sinners were blind in life and in hell their souls can‘t be seen. For punishment, they joust with heavy boulders and mock one another. This is a fit punishment because one side is hoarding and the other side is throwing away just like they did on earth but now with rocks.
4mo

paxton.tucker People who are wrathful and sullen are condemned to the 5th circle which is the river Styx. The wrathful are those who are aggressive and angry toward others while the sullen are people who hold deep hatred inside. These sinners live in the river which is full of dirty boiling water.
4mo

paxton.tucker Virgil and Dante cross the river in a boat and one person in the water talks to Dante, Dante knows him as an enemy and makes fun of him. Virgil and Dante can‘t get through to the capital city of Hell because it is guarded by fallen angels. Virgil tells Dante to be patient because help is coming to get them into the city.

4mo

paxton.tucker A reader who enjoys A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens would enjoy Alighieri‘s Inferno. Scrooge and Dante are characters who have strayed off the straight path and need to find their way back. Reluctantly they leave behind their everyday lives and travel into other realities. Dante, unsure of how he arrives in the dark woods consents to travel through hell with Virgil as his guide. 4mo

paxton.tucker Similarly, Scrooge is warned by his deceased partner, Jacob Marley, that he must change his ways so he agrees to go with the ghosts of the past, present, and future. At the end of their journeys, both men are given a chance to correct their behavior and change their fates. As the characters transform themselves to avoid a miserable end, the reader can reflect on the changes and consider how what the characters learned applies to them. 4mo

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Chittavrtti

The Inferno of Dante Alighieri: A New Translation | Dante Alighieri, Ciaran Carson

2 likes

dabbe

Inferno | Dante

Since 1896. 🔥

Texreader Dang!! 😓 7mo

Seabreeze_Reader 🙁 7mo

Catsandbooks Omg!! 🥵 7mo

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AnnCrystal Yikes 🥺💝. 7mo

IndoorDame 🥵😱🫠 major prizes just for surviving. 20 days until autumn! 7mo

JenReadsAlot Gross. 7mo

Cuilin Ugh 😩 🫠 hopefully a reprieve comes soon. 7mo

dabbe @Texreader @Seabreeze_Reader @Catsandbooks #AnnCrystal @IndoorDame @JenReadsAlot @Cuilin
😅🔥😅 ... Note. I chose the smiley-face-sweaty emoji. Thanks, y'all. 🤗 7mo

Lesliereadsalot Just saw 100 consecutive days above 100! Yikes!! 7mo

dabbe @Lesliereadsalot Yikes indeed! 😱🤗😀 7mo

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RowReads1

The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation, Bilingual Edition | Dante Alighieri, Robert Pinsky, Nicole Pinsky

“Ruined on the ground, the dust spontaneously resumed its former shape. Just so expires the *phoenix* in its flames, great sages agree”. Canto XXIV, Pg 203.

#Summersouls
Mythical #Birds
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Beautiful 🧡🦜❤️‍🔥 10mo

35 likes1 comment

RowReads1

The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation, Bilingual Edition | Dante Alighieri, Robert Pinsky, Nicole Pinsky

Darn it Hozier, this is your fault! No I‘ve read large parts and summaries before. He just inspired the purchase with his music. 🔥

quietlycuriouskate Dante! ❤️ 1y

32 likes1 comment

Leftcoastzen

Inferno | Dante Alighieri

Those Bantam Classics cover designs stand the test of time . (1980s)What say you Littens?

Graywacke It looks wonderful 🙂 2y

dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 2y

batsy Love it! Kind of Gothic and spooky. 2y

42 likes3 comments

RowReads1

Dante's Inferno: The Vision of Hell from The Divine Comedy | Dante Alighieri

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-08-16/hozier-pandemi...

zezeki Oh, I love his music a lot, I've enjoyed all the songs from the upcoming album so far released! 2y

Caroline2 Ohhh thanks for the heads up. Excited to hear the new album. ❤️ 2y

38 likes2 comments

Blueberry

The Divine Comedy - Hell | Dante Alighieri

OMG, I had to read this in college. 😖

#Underworld #Movie2BookRecs
@Klou

Gissy I still remember the nightmares I had when I read the inferno part😳 2y

Blueberry @Gissy for real! 2y

Klou 👍 2y

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Super_Jane

Inferno | Dante

pan

2.25/5 🌕🌕🌘🌑🌑

11 likes

vivastory

The Inferno | Dante

With this weather, I am reminded of the fact that in Dante's universe Satan was frozen in a lake of ice in the final circle & was creating arctic weather throughout the other circles with his wings that weren't trapped in ice. This feels true to me. ❄️ Stay safe, stay warm.

Leftcoastzen -6 there? Holy crap -11 in Des Moines, I have a cousin there .bundle up & stay safe 2y

vivastory @Leftcoastzen I haven't been outside since yesterday morning 😬 I am leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to the store for holiday meal shopping. Dreading it a bit. 2y

Leftcoastzen It‘s an intense one ! Just checked Mount Horeb, WI -11 as well , friend lives there .hoping you don‘t need to travel far for holiday fare. 2y

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vivastory @Leftcoastzen No, thankfully. I did the family thing last weekend. This weekend will be my brother & I. Am traveling right down the street tomorrow to pick up food & libations for the weekend & then plan on staying inside until Monday. Do you have plans for the holidays? How is your mom? 2y

Leftcoastzen Mom is doing pretty well , her attitude is not good . I will be bringing Christmas meal to her .It‘s a balmy 51 here. 2y

vivastory @Leftcoastzen I hope you have a good weekend & manage some peaceful time for yourself 2y

Reggie I love this. Hope you make it around safe this weekend. 2y

vivastory @Reggie Thanks, friend! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! 2y

batsy Stay safe and have a good holiday weekend! Staying in sounds perfect. 2y

Branwen Hope you're hanging in there okay with this cold weather! 💙🤍💙 2y

vivastory @Branwen I am! How is the weather in Michigan this weekend? 2y

AmiPlanincic Skere 2y

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vivastory

Inferno | Dante

#SinisterArt Day 25
I believe I have commented in a previous post about The Inferno that it has provided inspiration to more artists than nearly any other work of literature. I could have easily also selected a Gustave Dore illustration from Canto XXX, the same Canto that served as inspiration for William-Adolphe Bouguereau's painting. As Alexander Aciman explains in his guide through Inferno on The Paris Review, “Capocchio, one of Dante‘s

vivastory former classmates who was introduced in Canto 29, is the guy being bitten; Griffolino, another sinner who was introduced in 29, explains that the aggressor—the biter—is Gianni Schicchi, who, when he was on earth, pretended to be the late Buoso Donati in order to help his own family inherit a sum of money.“
If you decide to read The Inferno (it's wonderful) I think that the following recaps will prove helpful:
https://www.theparisreview.org/dante (edited) 2y

Magpiegem Thank you I really enjoyed reading that recap 😊 2y

Bookwomble What an incredible painting. My back hurts just looking at it! You're sharing some amazing artworks, Scott, which I'm really enjoying 😊 2y

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vivastory @Magpiegem I thought it was helpful 👍 (edited) 2y

vivastory @Bookwomble My back, my neck. Lol. Thanks for the compliment, I've enjoyed sharing these works with everyone 👏 2y

Megabooks It almost looks like rape. Very provocative. 2y

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vivastory

Inferno | Dante Alighieri

#AlphabetGame
Title that begins with the letter I
After picking up Mary Jo Bang's rendition of Purgatorio this afternoon, I decided to focus solely on the multiple translations of Inferno that I have read over the years. My first encounter was the summer prior to my HS senior year & it is the Ciardi version. With explanatory notes at the end of each Canto & capturing hints of Dante's lyricism, Ciardi's mass market paperback version seems to have👇

vivastory been the go-to translation for a generation of readers. Intriguing & serviceable. Fast forward years later when I decide to revisit Inferno after seeing an astonishing exhibit of Michael Mazur's illustrations for Robert Pinsky's translation.To say I was floored by Pinsky's version might be an understatement. To this day I continue to rec. this translation, above all others to those who have never read Inferno. Shortly thereafter I read MJ Bang's 3y

vivastory contemporary version, which was intriguingly described from a trusted publication as containing, “references to Pink Floyd, South Park, Donald Rumsfeld, and Star Trek“ with the caveat of it not being gimmicky. While reading a poetry anthology I discovered that there is a version where different poets tackled different sections of the Cantos. It's an incomplete version, with the highlights, but it was worthwhile nonetheless. I noticed that Allen 3y

vivastory Mandelbaum's version is highly regarded. Might be time to revisit! 3y

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Graywacke Wow. You‘re devoted. I‘ve only read the Hollander translation, which i was quite happy with and which comes with wonderful notes. It was accidentally my plague year book (although I was passed Inferno my that March when we all shutdown) 3y

batsy Great Post. I want to get to this someday but I've wasted far too much time googling "best translation of Dante's Inferno" ? 3y

vivastory @batsy You can't go wrong with Robert Pinsky! Although I'm sure Mandlebaum's version is also good. I loved his version of Ovid's Metamorphosis. (edited) 3y

vivastory @Graywacke As far as epic poems go I am hard pressed to think of another work featuring sustained imaginative reach, while also being intricately constructed (via terza rima). The contrapasso in Inferno seems to tempt translators & illustrators alike in reconstructing the geography. I will say that I think the entire Divine Comedy is worthwhile, esp. Purgatory. I wasn't thrilled with the translation I read of Paradise. 3y

batsy @vivastory Yes, I finally narrowed it down to Mandelbaum and am planning to get the Everyman's Library edition of The Divine Comedy. But I'm also intrigued about the Pinsky and Hollander translations! Have you read Alessandro Barbero's Dante bio that came out a couple years ago? I've put that on my wishlist, too. 3y

vivastory @batsy I was completely unaware of Barbero's bio, but it def just jumped to the top of my TBR! Thanks for the recommendation. I think that I will read Mandelbaum for my next go through of the Divine Comedy (with the exception of Purgatory where I will use the Bang translation). I am curious to not only see his translation of Inferno, but Paradiso as well. 3y

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suvata

Inferno | Dante

pick

#StoryGraph: fiction classics poetry challenging reflective slow-paced | published 1320

The Divine Comedy is one of the greatest works of Western literature. An epic poem in three parts, it tells the story of Dante‘s journey through the afterlife: Inferno describes the suffering of souls warped by vice. Purgatorio explores the theme of repentance and the elements of good character. Paradiso reveals the true glory and freedom attainable with God.

HiMyNames_Alyssa Did you read it in the original old English? I find it very hard to follow that way but would love if you have any recommendations on how to make that easier! 3y

suvata @HiMyNamesRysha I started reading Longfellow‘s translation and found it tedious. So, I switched to Esolen‘s translation and found it more “user-friendly”. https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Divine-Comedy-Dante/dp/0812970063/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?... 3y

HiMyNames_Alyssa @suvata thanks! 3y

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CogsOfEncouragement

Inferno | Dante

pan

I wanted to read this to understand the references I keep hearing. Well, now I‘ve read it.

21 likes

breng_pbs

Inferno | Dante

pan

Wow... Dante is so cool and can do no wrong 🥰🥰🥰

TH3F4LC0N

Inferno | Dante Alighieri

pick

Well, I finally read the Inferno, part 1 of Dante‘s epic Divine Comedy. Not gonna lie and say I really understood a lot of it, (I would need to take a whole course in Italian history for that), but overall it was actually surprisingly readable. So much so in fact that I‘m actually tempted to go ahead and read Purgatorio and Paradiso, even though I‘ve heard they‘re a lil more difficult. But either way, I enjoyed this more than I expected to. 🙂

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BookishRedhead

Inferno | Dante Alighieri

so-so

Good thing my friend gave me a cliff notes.
It's was an OK story with a different look at hell.

10 likes

CornerLibrarian

The Divine Comedy - Hell | Dante Alighieri

Meanwhile, in my cozy corner, I am slogging through Dante (in English) and am finally in Purgatorio! I think this should be mandatory reading for all Congresspeople in 2020-2021.

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

#20best2020 well, capriciously for the moment.

The year of the plague gets Inferno. (I think all of these covers are legible enough except Nabokov‘s Invitation to a Beheading, Sarah Brooms The Yellow House and maybe Nabokov‘s Laughter in the Dark)

Please join in. Specifically encouraging @batsy @stretchkev and @LitStephanie (but only if you want to. 🙂)

Graywacke @merelybookish thanks for the tag. 🙂 4y

vivastory Excellent list! I think Inferno is the epic I've read the most. There's so many interesting takes on it. I read Blazing World several years ago & it's really stuck with me. I recently picked up a signed edition in a slipcase. 4y

Graywacke @vivastory Thanks. Nice find! This was my first visit to Inferno. Also the year I finally got to Siri Hustvedt, something of a delayed discovery as I‘ve wanted to read a book by her, any, for a while. She is a terrific voice. 4y

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vivastory She really is. I think Blazing World is on par with Margaret Atwood at her finest tbh. I really need to read more by her soon. I've heard great things about

Memories of the Future

BarbaraBB Great list! I need to read

Memories of the Future

Lcsmcat Lots of great reads here! I think I need to investigate Hustvedt since I love Atwood. 4y

Graywacke @vivastory @Lcsmcat I‘ve been comparing Hustvedt to Ali Smith in my head, but Hustvedt is way more into philosophy. They both have a wry and clever sense of humor. (edited) 4y

Graywacke @BarbaraBB I really enjoyed Memories of the Future. I just liked Hustvedt‘s voice, how‘s she‘s having fun and yet serious at the same time. 4y

vivastory @Graywacke Excellent point. I know some dislike Smith for her philosophizing & perceived solipsism, but I think that she can have a playful touch. This esp came through in this one

Artful

Graywacke @vivastory noting! I need more Ali Smith. She‘s brilliant. ❤️ 4y

vivastory It seems to be underrated imo. I think it's absolutely brilliant 4y

LitStephanie I have only read a few of these: the Shakespeare, Inferno, and Educated. Inferno had some beautiful parts, but what I mostly remember about it was how the families Dante slandered had to give large sums to the church to try and clear their names. Educated made me furious. 4y

LitStephanie Thanks for the tag. I will have to see if I managed to read 20 books this year to make a post! What did you use to make your book cover collage? 4y

Graywacke @LitStephanie i didn‘t know about the families! How...well...entertaining. As far as pictures, I captured book covers individually from LibraryThing. ☺️ Then I used PicCollage to make the combined image. That second part was easy. 4y

erzascarletbookgasm I liked Blazing World. Haven‘t read Memories. And I‘m delighted to see a few Shakespeare reads. Titus Andronicus has a lasting impression on me. In a good way. 4y

batsy This Cather-heavy selection is 👌🏽 And I love seeing Titus included! 4y

stretchkev Having read your posts on Dante, I think I'd like to make a project of inferno after I finish up rereading Poe for the umpthteen time. 4y

Graywacke @erzascarletbookgasm Memories is fun. A “rage against the patriarchy” as one published review put it. And ( @batsy ) I hesitated to add Titus...but it was so much fun. (I almost added Merchant of Venice too - but couldn‘t bear to have it near Primo Levi ☺️ ) 4y

Graywacke @batsy Cather has been terrific as has our buddy read, making it way more special. Every book becomes an experience. 4y

Graywacke @stretchkev wow. I feel flattered you‘re thinking about it, and will definitely follow! 4y

merelybookish What a great list! Thanks for making it! 🙂I love that you included some Shakespeare! And I also read Memories by SH and thought it was brilliant! I have been meaning to read more by her. And if one were to read an undersung Cather novel, what would it be? 4y

Graywacke @merelybookish ooh, Cather. Which to recommend? My Mortal Enemy and A Lost Lady come to mind. Both are short (but all Cather novels are quick reads except arguably Death Come to the Archbishop) Wouldn‘t mind a second opinion here - @batsy or @Lcsmcat or @CarolynM ... 4y

Lcsmcat @merelybookish I think The Song of the Lark and The Professor‘s House are also “under sung” but well worth reading. 4y

batsy @Graywacke @Lcsmcat @merelybookish My Mortal Enemy, A Lost Lady, and The Professor's House are good shouts for undersung Cather books; the first two are the ones I especially loved. (If Song of the Lark is considered one, I'd say go for that too, it's one of my favourites. But it'll be great to read it as part of the trilogy.) 4y

merelybookish @Graywacke @Lcsmcat @batsy Thanks for the recommendations! Ive read My Antonia and Song of the Lark and liked both. And I see how much you all enjoy her work and it's made me want to read more. 4y

CarolynM Great list! 4y

Graywacke @merelybookish The Professor‘s House touches on the desert community themes of The Song of the Lark. But, if you really like those two Cathers then you should finish the Trilogy with O Pioneers! 🙂 Wondering if I should recommend One of Ours and Death Comes for the Archbishop - but at that point we have practically suggested all her books. 😂 ( @Lcsmcat @batsy ) 4y

Graywacke @CarolynM thanks 😊 4y

batsy @Graywacke We have! And that would honestly be my sincere answer 😁 @merelybookish 4y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke @batsy @carolynm Well, they are all worth reading. 😀 4y

64 likes30 comments

TiminCalifornia

Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Volume 1: Inferno | Dante Alighieri

pick

You know the therapy technique where you journal or write a letter but don‘t send it? Well Dante is like this angsty dude pissed off at being exiled so he writes an epic poem placing his political enemies under various forms of torture in hell. Instead of tearing it up, he publishes it and it is still around 700 years later. A fun and awesome read. Seriously though, to get the most out of it make this a classroom or group read. #classics

4 likes

GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

pick

I didn‘t believe in hell before I started this book, and I certainly don‘t believe in it now. This is actually a great piece for the Halloween season. Some of it comes off as cartoonish and more like a fun house. None of it is scary. I don‘t see how this made anyone fear hell or made anyone more devout, but to each their own, I guess. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

GingerAntics I put off reading this book for about a decade because I was expecting to be confused and overwhelmed. That is not at all what I found within these pages. The translators do a marvellous job making this approachable, clear, and very understandable. I‘m sorry I didn‘t read this sooner, but I‘m glad I chose this translation over others. #Dante #Inferno #poetry 4y

GingerAntics @Graywacke thanks for pointing me in the right direction on translations. 4y

Graywacke @GingerAntics so happy you enjoyed this. It‘s really good fun, and special in so many ways. Is there anything like this before he wrote it? 4y

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GingerAntics @Graywacke I don‘t know. I know apocalyptic literature was popular in the first century CE, and we know of at least one of those that depicted suffering. It would be interesting to see the progression of this type of thing if this was a trend at the time. Maybe he‘s the beginning of the trend though, or he could be the only one that survived. That is an intriguing question. This one was so much fun, I‘d try another. 4y

Graywacke @GingerAntics apocalypse is covered. Underworld comes from Homer and Virgil. But the literary texture - the 3d space and time feel of it all - that I don‘t know has a good precedent. 4y

GingerAntics @Graywacke that‘s a really fair point. It makes Virgil leading the way in this one really nice. I really can‘t think of anyone else who has created something quite like this, though. I haven‘t had a chance to look it up. 4y

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BookHermit

Dante's Inferno: The Vision of Hell from The Divine Comedy | Dante Alighieri

Ok, Scribd. Not sure what game your algorithm is playing, but, seeing as it‘s 2020, I guess that‘s fair.

TrishB 😂😂 it‘s a mutant algorithm 4y

BookishTrish It has the WORST algorithm 4y

16 likes2 comments

jouleian

The Inferno | Dante

Next up! I‘ve never gotten my hands on this one so I‘m pretty stoked. Let‘s do this! #classics #dantesinferno #audiobook #litsy

6 likes

GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

Love the language here.
#Dante #Inferno #poetry

10 likes

GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

Interesting way to get around “really clever conversation, with really clever people, that I can‘t even begin to make up.”
#Dante #Inferno #poetry

10 likes

GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

I was always told these people were in hell. #GrowingUpCatholic #Dante #Inferno #poetry

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GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

Sage advice, no matter the situation or your religious/spiritual practices.
#Dante #Inferno #poetry

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GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

The language here is so lovely.
#Dante #Inferno #poetry

17 likes

GingerAntics

The Inferno | Dante

Here goes nothing!!!
#Dante #Inferno #poetry

Graywacke

Graywacke ❤️ 🙂 😈 5y

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GingerAntics

Dante's Inferno [translated]: Modern English Translation | Dante Alighieri

What on Earth have I gotten myself into? 🤣😂🤣 How does one choose? Just reading the first 6 lines, it seems Hollander is clearer.
#Dante #Inferno #translation #helpme #mayday @Graywacke

Graywacke Cool. I like the Ciardi. Do not like the Mandelbaum. 😂 Good luck. 5y

GingerAntics @Graywacke the Mandelbaum is definitely the worst. It got too flowery with the language, which seems to muddy the water, in my opinion. I think it‘s between the Hollander and Ciardi for me, but based on just this passage, the Hollander seems clearer. I‘ll continue to compare the rest of the sample for each of those two, but I‘m definitely leaning toward the Hollander. I‘m glad I asked which translation you used. 5y

Graywacke If it helps, Hollander is a husband wife team. Dante is their life and was for decades before they started a systematic translation. I don‘t know anything about Ciardi, but i like that opening - poetic, flows. I think you‘re ok either way. Dante helps his translators because the source material is good 🙂 5y

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GingerAntics @Graywacke I saw that it was a husband and wife team. I didn‘t know they were so immersed in all things Dante. All I know about Ciardi is that he‘s a poet. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I really think I‘m going with Hollander. I really only chose the Ciardi initially because that‘s the translation the kids had to use, it was cheap, and I rather like the cover art. That‘s not really a reason to go with that translation, though. 5y

Texreader What a great way to pick this book, by the best translation. I (stupidly) read it in middle school—picking whatever was available at the library. I was always so confused. But I muddled through convincing myself to never read it again! Fortunately I‘ve never had to. 5y

GingerAntics @Texreader I almost blindly chose a translation. I‘m so glad now that I didn‘t. As it turns out, now my choice seems to be ebook or audiobook. They‘re both the same price. I may just end up getting both. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y

Texreader @GingerAntics I think I would so you can choose at any one time which makes more sense to you. Btw, it taught me some books shouldn‘t be read by preteens, no matter how smart you think you are—you aren‘t smart enough for Inferno! 5y

GingerAntics @Texreader 🤣😂🤣 absolutely! As a kid that could read well beyond my age group, I encountered a few books like that. Luckily I had some good librarians that helped guide me, but never restricted me. They would tell me they didn‘t think I was quite ready for a book, but if I really wanted to read it, I could. 5y

GingerAntics @Texreader I think it happened twice. Both times they said something along the lines of “see what I meant before? You can read it, but it might not make sense anyway.” Then I figured out it was easier to trust them. 🤣😂🤣 I think the day they found a 7 year old in the medical text section trying to understand death, they knew they were in trouble. 🤣😂🤣 5y

Texreader @GingerAntics Yea!! No kidding!! 😬🤣 5y

GingerAntics @Texreader I almost feel bad for my librarians, now that I think about it. 🤣😂🤣 5y

Texreader @GingerAntics Me too!! 5y

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Philonist

The Inferno | Dante

"The path to paradise begins in hell."

The intricacies of hell managed to engage my thoughts for hours.

Time taken: 3 hrs

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

#top6reads of the first half of 2020

Inferno is my book of the year (appropriately?). Rereading this Cather was really special. I finally read Primo Levy (two books on there, so I cheated a little). The other three were just especially fun audiobooks, all recent.

Thanks @Liz_M and @batsy for the tags. No clue who wants to share and hasn‘t, but tagging @RaimeyGallant because I‘m curious of your list.

BarbaraBB Such great reads. Is that a new Hustvedt? 5y

batsy What a list! So happy to see Archbishop; it was tough narrowing down my favourite Cather. 5y

Graywacke @BarbaraBB These were fun. Memories of the Future came out in 2019. 5y

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Graywacke @batsy yeah. Fortunately we haven‘t read too many from Cather this year. ☺️ I hovered over My Mortal Enemy a long time - such a great book. 5y

batsy @Graywacke I wavered between those two books, too 🙂 5y

Liz_M Inferno - appropriate book of the year 🤣🤣 5y

Eyelit I loved Frankissstein! 5y

SamAnne I loved Frankissstein! It might make my top 6 reads so far this year as well! 5y

Graywacke @batsy i was tempted to put in both. 5y

Graywacke @Liz_M are we purged yet? Phew. 🙄 5y

Graywacke @Eyelit @SamAnne I completely agree. I thought Frankissstein was simply brilliant. Self aware, funny, thoughtful, thought-provoking. 5y

RaimeyGallant My list is mostly on hold sadly. Just mentioned it in a long overdue post. I missed you guys. 4y

59 likes12 comments

melissajayne

Dante's Inferno (the Divine Comedy: Volume I, Hell) | Dante Alighieri

so-so

3⭐️ Think I should have read it a little slower and more methodically than I did. Nonetheless it was an interesting dive into the Inferno. Would recommend that you do read a copy that has notes. #classics #bookstagram #2020 #bookreview #fiction

17 likes

wanderinglynn

Inferno | Dante

#quotsyApr20 April 11: vocabulary

TK-421

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

pick

Ecco Dite

I‘ve finished, and have left the underworld and will miss it dearly. I wondered how such a silly conception of hell could define its social conception. But now I don‘t think I‘ll ever see it in any other way. Dante‘s careful construction doesn‘t make any logical sense, but yet it‘s entirely there in all its vivid detail.

BarbaraBB What a great review. It makes me want to get the book right now! 5y

EllisBell It‘s high on my list having recently finished Paradise Lost, and I know what you mean! I miss Satan and Hell and Paradise! 5y

Graywacke @BarbaraBB awe, thanks. It was really nice with this translation team and with how I read it (one canto a day. There are 34. ) 5y

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Graywacke @EllisBell Someday, PL! I read the first 4 books once and loved it. The Odyssey-Aeneid-Comedy-PL is a theme I‘m sort of tracing. 5y

EllisBell I‘m sort of tracing the same theme backwards. 5y

Graywacke @EllisBell 🙂 I‘m a ways from PL yet. Petrarch, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Quixote etc 1st, at least... 5y

57 likes6 comments

Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

The Colosseum ruins as Malebolge?

(Difficult to make text legible. I‘ll add it in the comments.)

Graywacke There is a place in Hell called Malebolge, fashioned entirely of iron—colored rock, as is the escarpment that encircles it.

At the very center of this malignant space there yawns a pit, extremely wide and deep. I will describe its plan all in due time.

A path that circles like a belt around the base of that high rock runs round the pit, its sides descending in ten ditches. 5y

Graywacke As where concentric moats surround a castle to guard its walls, their patterns clear and governed by a meaningful design,

in such a pattern were these ditches shaped. And, just as narrow bridges issue from the gates of fortresses to reach the farthest bank,

so ridges stretched from the escarpment down across the banks and ditches into the pit at which they end and join. 5y

Lcsmcat OMG, it sounds like open pit mining to me! 5y

38 likes3 comments

Scochrane26

Dante's Inferno: The Vision of Hell from The Divine Comedy | Dante Alighieri

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dantes-nine-circles-of-hell-reimagined-for-l...

Two of my pastor friends are bugged a lot by poor grammar, so one of our other friends found this article & posted it on fb. We all just had a convo last week about pronunciation. This article is hilarious!

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

From the Hollander notes: “The self-conscious interruption of the narrative may be enough to account for the self-conscious opening verse: “To continue, let me say . . .” However, Boccaccio, in his commentary to this canto, was the first to sponsor the idea that in fact Dante only now, in Lunigiana in 1306, took up again the composition of his poem, begun in Florence before his exile and left behind when he could not return to the city... 👇👇

Graywacke According to Boccaccio, a friend brought him the text of the first seven cantos, which had lain fallow for some six or seven years. “ 5y

Lcsmcat Interesting. Are you able to read the Italian? I took a few semesters in college, but didn‘t get far enough to read Dante. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat no... 😔 But it‘s nice to have it there and try to puzzle it out occasionally. I tried hard with Vita Nuova, but I have zero background. Here, it‘s just so much to take it all in and think about it, that any games trying the original Italian (Tuscan?) will have to wait for another time. But... 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat but, the original Italian is important to gain a feel, to sense his light playful and gentle touch. Apparently he would make up words to make the poetry work. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Yes, poetry is so hard to translate! I might try reading the side-by-side version. I‘d be able to pick out bits of Italian from my musical training and those 3 semesters, and it might inspire me. 5y

40 likes5 comments

Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.

(But my question for myself is will I have my 🦥 mug handy when I get to the proper level of sloth in purgatory)

readordierachel Love the mug, and the photo 🙂 5y

Suet624 Jeesh. Good luck! 5y

Graywacke @readordierachel Thanks! They're playful, and yet also look like the Medieval paintings of those tortured in hell. 🙂 5y

Graywacke @Suet624 No need, I'm all in and loving it. Every morning I read one canto and the notes (so I have to read the canto at least twice). It's become a really nice routine. 5y

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

Palimpsest The Inferno was by far my favorite section of The Divine Comedy. Enjoy! 5y

Graywacke @Palimpsest thanks! 🙂 5y

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Graywacke

The Inferno | Dante

How I‘m starting off my reading this year.

Leftcoastzen You little overachiever,hitting the hard stuff.👏😁 5y

Graywacke @Leftcoastzen new year optimism 🙂 (and 🐈 to try to keep me honest...and itself warm) 5y

Liz_M Looking forward to your thoughts on this! 5y

Graywacke @Liz_M thanks 5y

58 likes4 comments

lilistar

Dante's Inferno: The Vision of Hell from The Divine Comedy | Dante Alighieri

Does this count as a spooky read? 🤔 #Halloween #spooky #currentlyreading

1 like

night_shift

The Inferno | Dante

What could be beyond the graveyard. Took this book off my husband's shelf. I've read bits and pieces, but old timey language is just hard for me sometimes.

#graveyard #ChillingPhotoChallenge #TeamStoker #Scarathlon @TheReadingMermaid

BeansPage Oh sweetie if you need any help with this one please do let me know. This is one of my absolute favorites 🔥❤️🔥 🧟‍♀️ 5y

night_shift @TheReadingMermaid appreciate it lol .. I've got such a huge TBR stack and this is down there somewhere! 5y

46 likes2 comments