Dante's Inferno

In light of all the nonsensical OT threads, I thought I'd post this.

Anyone read Dante's Inferno before? What did you think?

I read just the summary on Wikipedia and it was very interesting. To the point of being scared actually because a lot of it makes sense, given my beliefs. References to it are abundant in various forms of media from movies, stories to TV shows... I just didn't know what it was about until now. I plan to get the full copy at Chapters sometimes and read it.

Discuss.

chapters here in Calgary (Macleod) had a great illustrated copy of Divine Comedy (Inferno is the first of 3 parts) in the Bargain area if I recall.

I considered picking it up but didn't, next time I'm there I'll grab the ISBN if they still have it.

Originally Posted by CSAgent

In light of all the nonsensical OT threads, I thought I'd post this ...

LOL! Now, THIS is homework. C'mon, NOBODY would read Dante's Inferno for pleasure. First, it's written in LATIN! And by reading a translation (supposedly English), one could only remotely appreciate the literature (verse, a.k.a. POETRY) at best. Moreover, like almost ALL works before Shakespeare, the modern (or postmodern, or whatever) man can barely feel for the emotion, let alone the context when this work was written. Please, can we have something else?

Originally Posted by teknoluv

LOL! Now, THIS is homework. C'mon, NOBODY would read Dante's Inferno for pleasure. First, it's written in LATIN! And by reading a translation (supposedly English), one could only remotely appreciate the literature (verse, a.k.a. POETRY) at best. Moreover, like almost ALL works before Shakespeare, the modern (or postmodern, or whatever) man can barely feel for the emotion, let alone the context when this work was written. Please, can we have something else?

The Divine Comedy was written in Italian, not Latin. And I disagree that ancient works lose their importance over time. The Iliad is still considered the greatest work ever written. And something like I, Claudius, about 2000 years old, still contains its potent bite even today.

Originally Posted by teknoluv

LOL! Now, THIS is homework. C'mon, NOBODY would read Dante's Inferno for pleasure. First, it's written in LATIN! And by reading a translation (supposedly English), one could only remotely appreciate the literature (verse, a.k.a. POETRY) at best. Moreover, like almost ALL works before Shakespeare, the modern (or postmodern, or whatever) man can barely feel for the emotion, let alone the context when this work was written. Please, can we have something else?

spoken like a true John Grisham reader, lol

It's a tough read.

Sorry, not for homework. I hold a leadership position in a corporate office while doing a secondary business as a photographer.

Dante's Inferno peaked my interest especially when there's references to it everywhere.

So it's really in Italian? No English translation?

Originally Posted by CSAgent

Sorry, not for homework. I hold a leadership position in a corporate office while doing a secondary business as a photographer.

Dante's Inferno peaked my interest especially when there's references to it everywhere.

So it's really in Italian? No English translation?

Of course it's been translated into other languages, including English. That's why we call it The Divine Comedy instead of Commedia. It was originally written in Italian.

There are so many great works of literature I haven't gotten around to, including this one. I hope I make some headway before I need to create my headstone!

Originally Posted by CSAgent

So it's really in Italian?

No, it's NOT Italian, it's LATIN, a.k.a. the long *dead* Roman language.

Originally Posted by teknoluv

No, it's NOT Italian, it's LATIN, a.k.a. the long *dead* Roman language.

No, it's in ITALIAN. Dante Aligheri basically invented the modern Italian language as we know it.

Originally Posted by Talamasca

Of course it's been translated into other languages, including English. That's why we call it The Divine Comedy instead of Commedia. It was originally written in Italian.

There are so many great works of literature I haven't gotten around to, including this one. I hope I make some headway before I need to create my headstone!

There is and the sad fact of the matter is - most people will only read it if they're in school. Once they're done, life takes over and there's not much time to dedicate to it.

Originally Posted by Talamasca

No, it's in ITALIAN. Dante Aligheri basically invented the modern Italian language as we know it.

Well ... you can say that, just as Shakespearean English is considered Modern.

Originally Posted by Talamasca

And I disagree that ancient works lose their importance over time. The Iliad is still considered the greatest work ever written. And something like I, Claudius, about 2000 years old, still contains its potent bite even today.

No, ancient masterpieces do not and should not lose their importance over time. They are masterpieces BECAUSE of their UNIVERSALITY (in terms of both temporal and spatial). HOWEVER, we are talking to an audience which think Superman 3 is a "great" movie! And more importantly, many even of the literary type don't understand how to appreciate these ancient works: the fact that we are still seeing Shakespearean drama being played IN COSTUME tells a lot.

as previously mentioned, difficult read, but if you get one that has a commentary associated with it as you read it it will make the read more enjoyable, rather than reading the same potion over and over again.

life does take over after school but i have tried to put aside about a half an hour a day to read. it's like going to the gym except your making your brain sweat.

took me about six months to get through all three books but really worth it.

currently working on th history of philosophy volume ii.

I swear i saw a hot sauce bottle for sale at Loblaws with the same name.