The Divine Comedy
By Dante Alighieri
- Release Date: 1555-01-11
- Genre: Poetry
Description
The poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven but at a deeper level, it represents, allegorically, the soul's journey towards God. At this deeper level, Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.
Reviews
Masterpiece.
5By LAlejandroFelizIt is just amazing what Mr. Dante achieved with this book.on the rhythm
5By Goodman837463728this is real form of poetry translation, with all the rhythmes at the end. love it.Read it.
5By seajunoOne of the greatest literary works of all time.Classic
5By icykindnessClassics are called that for a reason. Dark vivid images with turmoil as his constant companion. Simply amazing.A little history...
5By Grant JasonTo people thinking this is a "comedy" would not be wrong. Just not in the sense modern terms equate it with. When Dante wrote the Divine Comedy, there were two types of literature - Comedy and Tragedy. But at the time, neither classified what story it was, but the language used in the story. A tragedy was written in a much more distinguished, higher-class language while a comedy was written in a more common vernacular so the common people could understand it. Dante wrote it as a comedy using the common vernacular so more people could understand the message, which they clearly did considering the sudden rise in church attendance based on the fear of the hell Dante depicted. A classic piece of literature that everyone should certainly read. Hope the history lesson helped.comedy?
5By Chef OliverComedy vs tragedy in Dante's time meant that a comedy was written in the vernacular vs Latin, Greek or a more stilted academic prose. Dante wrote this in the vernacular (comedy) so the general educated public could read it.Good book
5By Walt€To the reviewer below me… If you have to insult someone to help yourself feel better about a shaky self confidence and obviously low intelligence, well, you only hurt and shame yourself.Good Book
5By The Divine ComedyA 'comedy,' in the classic sense, is a book that starts on a bad note but ends on a good one. Hence, The Divine Comedy.Well this book isn't funny at all...
5By Freaks1996Not did I even get one laughTitle
5By amnhallamThis is one of the most important allegorical and expressive pieces of literature ever written. There is a great deal of interesting facts behind the man and time through which it was written. Complaining about the title is absurd. Dante wrote this outside Florence 400 years ago in a time when literature in the Italian arts was either a tragedy or comedy. The upper tiers of the caste structure and noble house, in the areas that are now known collectively as Italy, were more incline to read tragic pieces. The content of this epic poem, although very dark and often graphic, does not designate it a "tragedy." By that categorization alone it was written as a "comedy." Before submitting poor reviews on one of the most beautiful and influential epics of literary history take the time to understand the spectrum and construct of literature. If you have an open mind and are interested in early religious influence, Italian Renaissance, or the origins of modern views of the details of the "afterlife," read Dante and you might not be disappointed. Classics remain relevant for a reason. Don't get caught up on the "Comedy" in the title you most likely won't be laughing, but you may enjoy the read.Difficult translation
2By Ksmith2I found this translation very difficult to get through. I pulled out my old paperback version from years ago and it was much more enjoyable to read. If this is your first dive into classical philosophy, get a different translation. This one is pretty difficult to get into..Seriously.
5By Kevdej95Guys, it's just a poem.Thank you number 6
5By Dangit1839474649I came here to make sure it had all three but until I saw your review all that was on here was people fighting like its Facebook or somethingAmazing
5By Chief KelsoDante's magnum opus belongs to an epoch of literature that, judging by the slights inflicted upon Americans, appears to be a dying sanctuary for the enlightened. And for those that claim America's average ignorance, you cannot compare apples to oranges. For instance, China, a country that is more "educated" than America has that higher ranking because the majority of the populace is not even tested in many of those other countries. If America adopted the strategy that most countries use where only the best of the students are tested and where those who are judged inadequate are essentially condemned to menial labor for their lives, our test scores would vault past those of other countries. Here, we hold that education should be an opportunity to advance yourself, not an evaluation to judge what level you should be working at for your life. Now that I have condemned the more Eastern style of learning, let's examine Europe. Unfortunately, America has followed into Europe's footsteps and become a welfare state hurtling headlong into fiscal doom. For those who have read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, his final tale comes to mind. Industrious America, before our transition into a European style state, was leading the world. Asia was rapidly growing, as was Latin and Central America. Europe had stagnated and was essentially a vacation resort because they had ceased being productive and instead relied on the productiveness of the rest of the world. Now that I have finished my rant, thank you Dante for creating this epic tale and thank you public domain laws for allowing me to have free access to it.Great Read!
4By Chelles2011This book was introduced to us in high school! I'm an American and very proud! Don't assume your the smartest egg in the basket... Because you would be proved wrong by MANY intelligent Americans! It's a shame to judge an entire country from what you have seen and/or heard from the media!!! Good thing God dose not judge us based upon stereotypes!!! God Bless us all!@jovim
4By rah711Your absolutely correct. I've noticed that most of the people that slam U.S. are those that benefit the most from U.S. aid.Awesome
5By LivinLoud7This certainly isn't for everyone, however a great read and truly a masterpiece. One of my favorites. A challenging but rewarding book!...
4By AmyyyNgWhats up with all this foreigner smack down? I mean seriously?! As much as i wish to admit that I kno what it's like to live in another country other than America, I can't. And while I agree with some of the criticism about us, I doubt life in some other 'better' country is all that perfect. Btw I totally agree with comment 8 (Adam) lol :)In answer to volumes
5By Far2geekyIn answer to an actually related question/topic and to those of you wondering, yes this does contain all three volumes of Dante's divine comedy. I just downloaded it to check and it contains all three canticas. Carry on children.
