ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE

[monk222]

Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood. How shall I say

what wood that was! I never saw so drear,
so rank, so arduous a wilderness!
It's very memory gives a shape to fear.

Death could scarce be more bitter than that place!
But since it came to good, I will recount
all that I found revealed there by God's grace.

-- Inferno by Dante Alighieri as translated by John Ciardi

Part of the happy fallout from reading "Gargoyle" is that I've picked Dante back up. Although I originally found "Inferno" to be fascinating enough in my younger days, it didn't really capture my fancies enough for me to think of it as a personal favorite and a rereadable of mine. But I'm enjoying it much more now. I think it helps if you don't let yourself get bogged down too much by all the footnotes and obscure references that are so personal to Dante, and to just let yourself enjoy the atmospherics.

I never followed Dante beyond Hell before, but I think I will let him take me for the whole trip through Purgatory and Paradise this time as well. Shakespeare could use some time off.

Comments

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm happy to find myself getting utterly absorbed in it. It seems rare for a reader to get to Purgatory and Paradise, as I guess it's hard to imagine those books living up to Inferno in terms of gore and such other colorful theatrics - like they may be more for the true believers. But I'm intent on giving it the old college try, and I'll try to remember to let you in how I fare. I'd kinda like to see Heaven. ;)

[neowiccan.livejournal.com]

i just had a girlfriend extract a promise from me to reserve 'gargoyle' at the library, and said it inspired her to go to dante.
i only know dante insofar as he was influenced by virgil.
i'm in. i'll reserve it next week.
khairete
suz

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

*chuckling* Yeah, although Dante pays great tribute to his favorite and most revered poet, Virgil, by having Virgil be his guide through hell, Virgil can go no farther than that since he came too early to receive Christ's salvation. It's the same with Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and all the greats. At least they have a kind of nice place in hell, heh. Actually, I guess it's not quite in hell proper, but in limbo.

I think you'll find Gargoyle a great read. A bit mushy arguably, but I'm in such a mood, and it made for my best reading experience in some years, I think. Enjoy! :)

[tommyswifey.livejournal.com]

:)

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I suppose you probably read Dante in the original Italian, or at least a more choice French. :p