Dante Alighieri

DanteWorlds, an integrated multimedia journey--combining artistic images, textual commentary, and audio recordings--through the three realms of the afterlife (Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise) presented in Dante's Divine Comedy. --Guy P. Raffa, et al. (via Gregory McNamee at Britannica)

Too many people recall the Divine Comedy, if they recall it at all, as that weird, dark, violent medieval poem that they had to wade through in college, written by that dour Italian guy who put all his enemies in hell. This image is hardly helped by the fact that while many people are assigned to read at least parts of Inferno, few read Purgatorio and fewer still read Paradiso. And yet this really is too bad, because it is only through reading all the way through Dante's great work that his purpose comes fully into view. --Darwin, Lenten Meditations on the Divine Comedy, Darwin Catholic (via Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor)

What Dante Means to Us: The Treasonous Clerk column by James Matthew Wilson, First Principles, June 17, 2009

The Poetry of Paradise by David Yezzi, review of Paradiso by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robert and Jean Hollander, First Things, January 2008

Cloud Nine by Joan Acocella, review of Paradiso by Dante, translated by Robert and Jean Hollander, The New Yorker, September 3, 2007

At last, a readable rendering of Dante: Nicholas Lezard salutes Ciaran Carson's new translation of The Inferno, Guardian, November 13, 2004

The Christian Socrates, by Harvey C. Mansfield, review of Dissent and Philosophy in the Middle Ages: Dante and His Precursors, by Ernest L. Fortin, Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2003

Jamming up the Flax Machine, review by Matthew Reynolds of The Inferno of Dante Alighieri: A New Translation by Ciaran Carson, London Review of Books, May 8, 2003

Through Hell and Back, Again; Seeing Things column, by Robert Royal, Crisis, March 2003

A 21st-Century Man: Why is Dante hot all of a sudden? by Adam Kirsch, Slate, March 26, 2003

Purgatory, In All its Nuance: Our obsession with Dante is ongoing. The latest addition is Anthony Esolen’s reader-friendly translation of Purgatory for the Modern Library. How does it measure up? by Minna Proctor, Newsweek Web, 2003

Dante: A Party of One, by Robert Hollander, First Things, April 1999

The Current Debate Concerning the Authenticity of the Epistle to Cangrande by Robert Hollander, The Barlow Lectures, University College London, 17-18 March 1993


Humor:

Dante's Inferno Test