No, the title of this post does not refer to the new brand of nerf weaponry (although I am going to patent the name). Today we're going to talk about the ramifications of Dante's personal exploration fo the underworld, just as a fun little excercise.
I always keep in mind that this work is fiction first and foremost. Dante did not take any journey, beyond the psychological exploration of himself. However, let's pretend this is an actual account. Dante did venture through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Every person, angel, demon, and creature was there and very real. What would be the impact of such a journey, then? Certainly, it would be the talk of the underworld for years, if not centuries. Almost every soul he meets is stunned by his appearance. His very presence upsets the balance, causing disruption and doubt throughout. Imagine yourself stuck in Inferno. Everything that has occurred in the world of suffering has followed some pretty firm rules, foremost of them is that this is the realm of the dead. When a living soul saunters through your misery, it messes with the order of things. If Dante can just walk through here like it is a ride at Disneyland, who's to say I can't, eventually, escape this place. Maybe eternity has exceptions. Maybe it's all a big farce. Maybe I'm not suffering, just dreaming. And maybe, Lucifer, or even God, isn't as all powerful as previously thought. Can you imagine what was going through the guardian of the terrace of Avarice, PLuto's, mind, when we meet him? He is noticeably distraught, exclaiming "Pape Satan, Pape Satan alleppe!". He clearly fears the reaction Dante and Virgil will receive from the underlord, as well as what punishment might be in store for himself for allowing them to traverse his territory. Virgil casually dismisses him, stating that whatever power he may have, Lucifer's got no jurisdiction here. That's crazy. You're on his turf. Presumably, security has spotted Dante and Virgil. And yet, his hands are tied. They've got diplomatic immunity. So what does Pluto tell his minions when they sit down for lunch. They've all got the same question. And what if Pluto relays the same message he received? Lucifer can't stop this human and oh yeah, he's being led by one who was supposed to be trapped in Limbo for eternity. Think of the dissent among the staff. In one fell swoop, the entire system will be questioned. Lucifer's absolute authority will never recover it's complete autonomy. And I know, many folks will say, God is the ultimate authority, but it is a unisvers built upon very precise rules, ones stating that once you are in one place in Inferno, you aren't going anywhere. Christ did save Moses and Abraham and those folks, but they were given and express ticket to Heaven. There was no tour of the rest of Inferno and Purgatory. And how is Virigl going to feel after this? He gets to have a little vacation, acting as tour guide for Dante. When he returns, he will have knowledge of a variety of terraces and will actually get a glimpse of Heaven. Inferno will be much, much worse for him. And the jealousy will be profound. Homer and Ovid won't let you sit at their table anymore.
Joking aside, it does create chaos where order presided. It creates hope where dispair was pervasive. It might be the most interesting thing to happen in the underworld since Orpheus went to find Eurydice. I can't imagine the staff meeting afterwards.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Day 6: Dante gets personal
When we think of the luminary figures in history, it is difficult to separate the work from the man. We like to pretend that the work, so enlightening, so inspiring, so perfect, reflects the individual responsible for it. But it is never that simple. I can't tell you how many times i've had to reconcile my own need to elevate those who create the things that inspire me so, only to realize just how despicable, how flawed, how perfectly human are those authors. I would have hated to be around Miles Davis, a prickly bitter human being whose music aches with beauty. Michaelangleo's sculptures and paintings move me to tears, and yet I don't imagine I would enjoy being around him for more than an hour. And here we have Dante, a notorious jerk even among irrascable artists, showing his all too human side in Canto 6.
Canto 6 demonstrates why Dante is going on this journey. He has been exiled from his hometown of Florence, and is quite bitter about it. He is wandering in the dark forest because he put his allegiance behind the losing side of a power struggle for the control of Florence, and he is not happy about the results. So he attempts to castigate those who wronged him, even damning the city itself to hell, as some form of cathartis for his own misfortune. It is a very human impulse, but wow does Dante come across as bitter and damaged.
First a bit of backstory. Florence in the 13th century was really coming into its own as a powerful city-state. It was an economic center, much like New York is today. The currency for commerce was the Florin. The textile industry was about to take off. The pope, Boniface VIII, was in bed with the bankers of Florence, pushing his own agenda with some pretty spectacular power grabs to consolidate all political, economic, and spiritual decsions to be held under the papal jurisdaiction. The pope, like many of the industry leaders in Florence, recognized the prosperity of the city as an opportunity for power grabs. And Dante judges them all for it, castigating all involved to the circle of Inferno where simony and greed are punished. Now none of this would have made it into the Commedia were it not for the fact that Dante, in the power struggle between the White Guelphs, which Dante alligned himself, and the Black Guelphs, who were supported by the Pope (mostly because they wanted more direction from Rome than the white side who yearned for greater autonomy). When the Black side eventually triumphed, Dante was exiled, never to step on Florentine soil again.
Obviously, this traumatic experience scarred Dante, and he really had no course of action beyond protest and revenge through art. But one has to approach this canto with a certain sense of irony. Here's a poet, a very human man, writing a treatise on the fallible nature of man. This man devotes an entire section of Inferno to those who wronged him. The characters here are mostly ancillary and personal, with the exception of Pope Boniface VIII. The first soul he interacts with is a man named Ciacco, lost to history as merely an acqaintance of Dante's who wronged him. Gone are Homer, Aristotle and Aenas. Here comes Arrigo, Rusticucci, and Lamberti.
The imagery here is again quite striking. It is a bog, unceasing rain, hail and snow. It stinks. Cerebus, the three headed dog who guards the entrance to hell in greek mythology wanders around snarling, indiscriminitely clawing at greedy souls. But if I may allow a small chuckle, the great beast is pretty easily tamed. When he notices Dante and Virgil, he approaches them and roars. Virgil proceeds to almost casually throw a clod of dirt into his mouth. Immediately, Cerebus is satiated. Like a Doberman with a juicy raw steak, he pays no more mind to Dante and Virgil. This echoes Dante's own personal distaste for those who inhabit this greedy place. They are so easily swayed by the almighty florin. It didn't take much to placate those souls who removed the foundation from under Dante's feet. He is disgusted and shows his disgust through the pitiful place he has castigated those who wronged him to.
Beware the power of the poet. Long after you've been relegated to the footnotes of history, he will, again and again through each generation of readers, subject you to the filth and squallor of his vengeance.
Canto 6 demonstrates why Dante is going on this journey. He has been exiled from his hometown of Florence, and is quite bitter about it. He is wandering in the dark forest because he put his allegiance behind the losing side of a power struggle for the control of Florence, and he is not happy about the results. So he attempts to castigate those who wronged him, even damning the city itself to hell, as some form of cathartis for his own misfortune. It is a very human impulse, but wow does Dante come across as bitter and damaged.
First a bit of backstory. Florence in the 13th century was really coming into its own as a powerful city-state. It was an economic center, much like New York is today. The currency for commerce was the Florin. The textile industry was about to take off. The pope, Boniface VIII, was in bed with the bankers of Florence, pushing his own agenda with some pretty spectacular power grabs to consolidate all political, economic, and spiritual decsions to be held under the papal jurisdaiction. The pope, like many of the industry leaders in Florence, recognized the prosperity of the city as an opportunity for power grabs. And Dante judges them all for it, castigating all involved to the circle of Inferno where simony and greed are punished. Now none of this would have made it into the Commedia were it not for the fact that Dante, in the power struggle between the White Guelphs, which Dante alligned himself, and the Black Guelphs, who were supported by the Pope (mostly because they wanted more direction from Rome than the white side who yearned for greater autonomy). When the Black side eventually triumphed, Dante was exiled, never to step on Florentine soil again.
Obviously, this traumatic experience scarred Dante, and he really had no course of action beyond protest and revenge through art. But one has to approach this canto with a certain sense of irony. Here's a poet, a very human man, writing a treatise on the fallible nature of man. This man devotes an entire section of Inferno to those who wronged him. The characters here are mostly ancillary and personal, with the exception of Pope Boniface VIII. The first soul he interacts with is a man named Ciacco, lost to history as merely an acqaintance of Dante's who wronged him. Gone are Homer, Aristotle and Aenas. Here comes Arrigo, Rusticucci, and Lamberti.
The imagery here is again quite striking. It is a bog, unceasing rain, hail and snow. It stinks. Cerebus, the three headed dog who guards the entrance to hell in greek mythology wanders around snarling, indiscriminitely clawing at greedy souls. But if I may allow a small chuckle, the great beast is pretty easily tamed. When he notices Dante and Virgil, he approaches them and roars. Virgil proceeds to almost casually throw a clod of dirt into his mouth. Immediately, Cerebus is satiated. Like a Doberman with a juicy raw steak, he pays no more mind to Dante and Virgil. This echoes Dante's own personal distaste for those who inhabit this greedy place. They are so easily swayed by the almighty florin. It didn't take much to placate those souls who removed the foundation from under Dante's feet. He is disgusted and shows his disgust through the pitiful place he has castigated those who wronged him to.
Beware the power of the poet. Long after you've been relegated to the footnotes of history, he will, again and again through each generation of readers, subject you to the filth and squallor of his vengeance.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Day 5: MInos and the lover's swoon
Well now we are getting somewhere! Canto 5 is where the action begins. It is the beginning of what most people think of when you say Inferno, and the Divine Comedy. It is technically the second tier, but as we discussed last time, the 1st tier is a state of Limbo, neither here nor there. Now Dante and Virgil come face to face Minos who presides over the gates of of Hell, assigning souls to their respective stations of eternal damnation. For those unaware, in Greek mythology Minos is King Minos of Crete. He was quite a nasty fellow, responsible for the Cretan tradition of every nine years selecting seven young boys and girls to be eaten by the Minotaur in Daedalus' labyrinth. Because of this, when he died he became judge of the underworld. In Dante's Inferno when a soul is judged, Minos' tail (he is in, presumably demon form) wraps around himself. The number of times it wraps indicates the tier of Inferno. The souls in this tier, having seen Minos' tail wrap twice, are those who committed the sin of lust.
This canto, save the famous Canto 32 and Ugolino, has more commentary than any other. Most of this is concerned with the star cross lovers Paolo and Francesca. I won't say much about this couple, but I do love the imagery of two youngsters succumbing to passions after reading the stories of Lancelot. It is a very human moment, one most of us can relate to. One can easily imagine being swept away by a romantic story, only to come face to face with the tragic consequences later. Francesca comes to Dante with gentle sighs, tugging the heart strings, knowing that she is interlocked forever in a forced embraced. Pure shakespeare. What impresses me most about this tier is that great imagery that Dante creates. The souls of the lustful swirl like tempests, creating a hurricane of emotion. There goes Tristan, Paris, Aeneas' Dido, all lost in the lover's twirl. I have to leave this one with Dante's own magnificent words.
"Even as doves when summoned by desire, borne forward by their will, move through the air with wings uplifted, still, to their sweet nest, those spirits left the ranks where Dido suffers, approaching us through the malignant air, so powerful had been my loving cry."
This canto, save the famous Canto 32 and Ugolino, has more commentary than any other. Most of this is concerned with the star cross lovers Paolo and Francesca. I won't say much about this couple, but I do love the imagery of two youngsters succumbing to passions after reading the stories of Lancelot. It is a very human moment, one most of us can relate to. One can easily imagine being swept away by a romantic story, only to come face to face with the tragic consequences later. Francesca comes to Dante with gentle sighs, tugging the heart strings, knowing that she is interlocked forever in a forced embraced. Pure shakespeare. What impresses me most about this tier is that great imagery that Dante creates. The souls of the lustful swirl like tempests, creating a hurricane of emotion. There goes Tristan, Paris, Aeneas' Dido, all lost in the lover's twirl. I have to leave this one with Dante's own magnificent words.
"Even as doves when summoned by desire, borne forward by their will, move through the air with wings uplifted, still, to their sweet nest, those spirits left the ranks where Dido suffers, approaching us through the malignant air, so powerful had been my loving cry."
Friday, August 23, 2013
Day 4: Limbo; How low can you go?
I have often thought about placing myself within Dante's conception of the underworld. Specifically, what would be the most interesting section to reside for eternity. I would make a strong case that no other part of the Divine Comedy contains such an impressive collection of fascinating souls as does Limbo. Limbo, for those not aware of the Catholic or Dantean view of the afterlife, is the placed reserved for those souls that have not been baptised. The souls inhabiting this space are an amalgamation of folks. Unlike the rest of the afterlife, there is no commonality between these souls in Limbo other than their lack of baptism. There are great men and women, as well as despicable ones. It is everlasting and inescapable (save several notable exceptions), but not altogher unpleasant. Dante makes a note that "there was no outcry louder than the sighs that caused the everlasting air to tremble. The sighs arose from sorrows without torment." All the souls have a very pale pallor, and Dante noticed that upon entering Limbo, Virgil's complexion morphed to a similar shade. Virgil explained that this he shares the fate of those unfortunates who were born before Christ, thus unable to receive the soul cleansing of a baptism. The only souls that escaped are the notable, virtuous characters occupying the New Testament. Moses, Adam, Abel, Abraham, David, Rachel and "many others" (who these others are is something not explained, but let's assume there's a Solomon or a Saul in the mix). These lucky folks were only rescued by Christ literally descending and ushering them out. But everyone else is stuck.
What interests me, though, is the all-star collection of brilliant minds left behind. The foundations of western philosophy are all present. Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Democritus, and Heraclitus, to name a few. Euclid, Ptolemy, and Galen are there, as are some really interesting historical figures, such as Electra, Hector, Ceasar and Aenas. Saladin is there, but is "standing apart." Dante's literary predecessors are all gathered as well. Homer, Ovid, Lucan, Horace and Virgil (obviously) are present. In a very interesting meta-textual moment, the poets invite Dante to join their ranks, being "sixth among such intellectuals." As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dante is really showing some hubris and arrogance here, placing his work and himself among the great epic composers of antiquity.
What a collection of souls! Can you imagine the conversations? To be a fly on the wall while Ceasar and Socrates chat. Or Saladin and Aristotle? Ovid and Homer engaging in poetry slams! I have to say, other than one or two spheres in paradise, no other area comes close to this. And Limbo bests them all for sheer variety. It reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Homer goes to heaven and watches a game of ping pong between Benjamin Franklin and Jimi Hendrix. A part of me wonders if Dante the poet, by inviting himself to be part of the gang of five, somehow thought that this was the place to be as well. Food for thought, as I imagine the epic ping pong game between Hector and Aenas, or the all-night limbo party. How low can you go, Ptolemy?
What interests me, though, is the all-star collection of brilliant minds left behind. The foundations of western philosophy are all present. Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Democritus, and Heraclitus, to name a few. Euclid, Ptolemy, and Galen are there, as are some really interesting historical figures, such as Electra, Hector, Ceasar and Aenas. Saladin is there, but is "standing apart." Dante's literary predecessors are all gathered as well. Homer, Ovid, Lucan, Horace and Virgil (obviously) are present. In a very interesting meta-textual moment, the poets invite Dante to join their ranks, being "sixth among such intellectuals." As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dante is really showing some hubris and arrogance here, placing his work and himself among the great epic composers of antiquity.
What a collection of souls! Can you imagine the conversations? To be a fly on the wall while Ceasar and Socrates chat. Or Saladin and Aristotle? Ovid and Homer engaging in poetry slams! I have to say, other than one or two spheres in paradise, no other area comes close to this. And Limbo bests them all for sheer variety. It reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Homer goes to heaven and watches a game of ping pong between Benjamin Franklin and Jimi Hendrix. A part of me wonders if Dante the poet, by inviting himself to be part of the gang of five, somehow thought that this was the place to be as well. Food for thought, as I imagine the epic ping pong game between Hector and Aenas, or the all-night limbo party. How low can you go, Ptolemy?
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Day 3: The Undecided
This summer I was traveling and wanted to good "summer travel" novel. You know what I mean. One of those books easily available in airports and one's you would be scoffed at for reading by snobbish bookies. I choose one by the current lord and master of the critically scorned, mass media beloved Dan Brown. His newest is called "Inferno" and is centered around the Divine Comedy. Well, not really centered, but Dante and the Divine Comedy play an important role in the narrative, guiding the decisions by both the protagonist (Robert Langdon, aka Tom Hanks) and the Antagonist, who is yet another Brown villain ensconced in a global conspiracy hell bent on the destruction of modern life. This is not a book review. While there were many things is dislike about Mr. Brown's stylistic choices, he certainly knows his way around a blockbuster novel, and the backdrops he chooses are pretty interesting.
He opens the novel stating "the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crises." It's a compelling statement, one that plays instrumental in the action of the novel. Unfortunately it is categorically incorrect, if he is referring to the architecture of Dante's Inferno.
In the beginning of Canto 3, Dante and Virgil are confronted with an inscription on the gateway to hell. It is a pretty harrowing statement, saying abandon your hope all who enter. You aren't getting out of here ever. Yet before they take this first step into the true underworld, Dante is dsitracted by the sounds of countless wails and sighs. He asks Virgil about this, and he explains that what he is hearing are the sounds of the souls rejected by hell. They "lived without disgrace and without praise." They have become shadows, ghosts, not good enough for purgatory or heaven, but also not bad enough for hell. This may seem curious to the modern mind. Why would any soul cry out, yearning for the torments beyond the gateway to inferno? But for Dante and the medieval mind, to just exist is a failed life. Dante has no need for those who cannot make a stand for anything in life. Those that just live he dsregards as worthless. The souls in Hell, while despicable, are still more worthy of mention than those who didn't choose between a virtous of malicious life. They share this space with the angels who, during the era when Lucifer Morningstar rejected God, neglected to side with either God or Lucifer. I am reminded of the famous quote in Paradise Lost where Lucifer claims it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Infamy is apparently more desirable than anonymity. One wonders what Dante would think of the Buddhist Zen mindset of detachment from the worldly virtues and vices.
So those indecisive souls don't even get into the afterlife. They aren't invited to the dance, even if the dance includes eternal torture and damnation. According to the ferry man, Charon, who guides Dante and Virgil across the river Acheronte, the souls who have incurred the wrath of God desire punishment. "Celestial justice spurs them on, so that their fear is turned to desire." But these lost souls, when hearing Charon's speech gnash their teeth and wince, knowing that as they abandoned God in their waking life, they in turn are denied by God the afterlife.
He opens the novel stating "the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crises." It's a compelling statement, one that plays instrumental in the action of the novel. Unfortunately it is categorically incorrect, if he is referring to the architecture of Dante's Inferno.
In the beginning of Canto 3, Dante and Virgil are confronted with an inscription on the gateway to hell. It is a pretty harrowing statement, saying abandon your hope all who enter. You aren't getting out of here ever. Yet before they take this first step into the true underworld, Dante is dsitracted by the sounds of countless wails and sighs. He asks Virgil about this, and he explains that what he is hearing are the sounds of the souls rejected by hell. They "lived without disgrace and without praise." They have become shadows, ghosts, not good enough for purgatory or heaven, but also not bad enough for hell. This may seem curious to the modern mind. Why would any soul cry out, yearning for the torments beyond the gateway to inferno? But for Dante and the medieval mind, to just exist is a failed life. Dante has no need for those who cannot make a stand for anything in life. Those that just live he dsregards as worthless. The souls in Hell, while despicable, are still more worthy of mention than those who didn't choose between a virtous of malicious life. They share this space with the angels who, during the era when Lucifer Morningstar rejected God, neglected to side with either God or Lucifer. I am reminded of the famous quote in Paradise Lost where Lucifer claims it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Infamy is apparently more desirable than anonymity. One wonders what Dante would think of the Buddhist Zen mindset of detachment from the worldly virtues and vices.
So those indecisive souls don't even get into the afterlife. They aren't invited to the dance, even if the dance includes eternal torture and damnation. According to the ferry man, Charon, who guides Dante and Virgil across the river Acheronte, the souls who have incurred the wrath of God desire punishment. "Celestial justice spurs them on, so that their fear is turned to desire." But these lost souls, when hearing Charon's speech gnash their teeth and wince, knowing that as they abandoned God in their waking life, they in turn are denied by God the afterlife.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Day 2 - Virgil and the The Hero's companion
Every soul needs some help along the way. Once you break out of the mundane and decide to enter the dark forest of transformation, a mentor or guide is essential to aide the wanderer. Joseph Cambpell speaks of the guide as essential to the Hero's journey.
"For those who have note refused the call, the first encounter of the hero's journey is with a protective figure...What such a figure represents is the benign, protecting power of destiny."
While only you can take that first step, the second and third, maybe even the 103rd, require some external hand. Ulysses (or Odysseus) had Athena and Hermes, Luke had Obi-wan, and Aeneas had Sybill to guide him through the underwold in the Aeneid. The Aeneid is the work that Dante was mot influenced by when composing his own epic through the underworld, so naturally he would choose its author, a like minded poet who strived to create a work of art that would serve as a formative document of the then burgeoning community we have since named Rome and Romans. Dante had similarly lofty ambitions, wanting his comedy to be an addition to the Holy Scriptures. So when Dante says in lines 7 though 10 "o muses, oh high genius, help me now. o memory that set down what i saw, here shal your excellence reveal itself'", i really think he is working on a textual and meta-textual level. On one hand, Dante the pilgrim recognizes that the path through the underworld is unknown to mortals and the way is fraught with pitfalls. Without a guide, it is a fools journey. This echoes the many Hero's journeys that came before La Divina comedia, as well as the countless adventure tales and blockbuster movies that have made use of this narrative device.
But the other level, the one in which Dante the poet reveals himself, is one in which he reaches out of the text into the realm of creative inspiration. He is, after all, trying to add his work to the pantheon of eternal epic poetry. Just like Homer and Virgil before him, he offers a prayer to the muses, the ancient unknowable forces fo the universe that have inspires the artist of this world to create their masterworks. They are his guide, and Virgil is the physical manifestation of the muses. He is Dante's most obvious source of inspiration and influence. By recruiting the muses, and therefore the guide Virgil as chosen by the muses (i.e. God the prime mover), this essential validates the journey and informs the reader that the protagonist, as either Dante the poet or Dante the pilgrim, is destined to succeed. After all how many myths, action movies, or adventure novels end with the Hero failing? It simply doesn't happen outside of current postmodern sensibilities, and even then it is rare.
It is a feat of chutzpah and some might say hubris that Dante begins this work, already placing it amongst the epics that had been written centuries (or even millenia) before him. It is a purposeful act. Dante the poet and Dante the pilgrim were fated to succeed. What so amazing is that Dante did succeed, and many folks (myself included) believe that he surpassed his poetic guide. Dante surpassed Virgil. The poet becomes the muse, ready to inspire the next soul venturing into the dark forest.
"For those who have note refused the call, the first encounter of the hero's journey is with a protective figure...What such a figure represents is the benign, protecting power of destiny."
While only you can take that first step, the second and third, maybe even the 103rd, require some external hand. Ulysses (or Odysseus) had Athena and Hermes, Luke had Obi-wan, and Aeneas had Sybill to guide him through the underwold in the Aeneid. The Aeneid is the work that Dante was mot influenced by when composing his own epic through the underworld, so naturally he would choose its author, a like minded poet who strived to create a work of art that would serve as a formative document of the then burgeoning community we have since named Rome and Romans. Dante had similarly lofty ambitions, wanting his comedy to be an addition to the Holy Scriptures. So when Dante says in lines 7 though 10 "o muses, oh high genius, help me now. o memory that set down what i saw, here shal your excellence reveal itself'", i really think he is working on a textual and meta-textual level. On one hand, Dante the pilgrim recognizes that the path through the underworld is unknown to mortals and the way is fraught with pitfalls. Without a guide, it is a fools journey. This echoes the many Hero's journeys that came before La Divina comedia, as well as the countless adventure tales and blockbuster movies that have made use of this narrative device.
But the other level, the one in which Dante the poet reveals himself, is one in which he reaches out of the text into the realm of creative inspiration. He is, after all, trying to add his work to the pantheon of eternal epic poetry. Just like Homer and Virgil before him, he offers a prayer to the muses, the ancient unknowable forces fo the universe that have inspires the artist of this world to create their masterworks. They are his guide, and Virgil is the physical manifestation of the muses. He is Dante's most obvious source of inspiration and influence. By recruiting the muses, and therefore the guide Virgil as chosen by the muses (i.e. God the prime mover), this essential validates the journey and informs the reader that the protagonist, as either Dante the poet or Dante the pilgrim, is destined to succeed. After all how many myths, action movies, or adventure novels end with the Hero failing? It simply doesn't happen outside of current postmodern sensibilities, and even then it is rare.
It is a feat of chutzpah and some might say hubris that Dante begins this work, already placing it amongst the epics that had been written centuries (or even millenia) before him. It is a purposeful act. Dante the poet and Dante the pilgrim were fated to succeed. What so amazing is that Dante did succeed, and many folks (myself included) believe that he surpassed his poetic guide. Dante surpassed Virgil. The poet becomes the muse, ready to inspire the next soul venturing into the dark forest.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
1st Day, 1st Canto, 1st step forward
( A brief note: i will try when possible to stick to Allen Mandelbaum's English translation, as it is my favorite of those that I have read. Unless of course the topic is translation.)
Day 1
It begins with "Midway upon the journey of life, i find myself within a dark forest, for the straightforward path was lost". Dante informs the reader that he is lost in life, unsure as to what to do next. This sounds suspiciously like a mid-life crises. Unfortunately for Dante, the world was about 750 years away from the sports car, so he wrote an epic poem. It begins with a lacking in one's own life. We all look for exterior remedies, quick-fixes, or solutions to crises that can only be answered by looking within. That is for most of us a terrifying prospect, because you expose yourself to a lifetime of regrets, fears, anger and pain. But there is also joy, bliss, and hope, if you search hard enough. And that is what this whole epic is about. It's a work of fiction. Dante did not actually go to the afterlife. He journeyed to his inner self, through his own darkness out through his own divinity. It is Dante trasnforming his own desires, showing us his own artistic representation of finding a path to the interior heaven. All of us have this capacity, if we are brave enough to face the darkness.
But before Dante can even start down the path, he is confronted with three beast. I wrote about this in my last blog, so I'm going to do a little copy and paste, because I rather liked what i wrote before. I am quite certain in Dante's Inferno, this sort of self-congratulatory business would get me a nice place amongst the prideful.
Before Dante is united with Virgil, he encounters three beasts; a Leopard, a Lion and a Wolf. There have been a variety of interpretations of what these beasts symbolize, but the common line is they represent lust pride and avarice respectively. This is relatviely easy to recognize. In Canto I, Dante meets the leopard, who is "very quick and lithe and covered in spotted hide." The leopard, in all of its lusty litheness, obstructs Dante from his path several times. It's fascinating that even before Dante is allowed to begin true physical, psychological and spiritual transformation, he is obstructed from initiating the process.
After becoming frustrated at trying to find the path, the sun arises and Dante seemed to be looking forwarded to seeing the leopard again, which strengthens the case that the leopard does indeed represent lust. However, Dante doesn't see the leopard. He comes face to face with a lion. Dante says that "his head held high and ravenous with hunger-even the air around him seem to shudder." It's the head held high line that clues most folks into the pride sin. Well, that and the fact that we are trained to associate the lion with pride (it is, afterall, what we call a whole bunch of them). Dante cowers before this menacing symbol, but is quickly confronted by the third beast, the wolf. He says that "she seemd to carry every craving in her leanness; she had aleady brought dispair to many." So this is avarice, the unquenchable greed that has afflicted many before Dante. Dante was so afraid of the wolf that she actually scared him out of the light back into the darkness. Very fascinating symbolic imagery. Dante is clearly struggling with the very idea of examing these very human tendencies. He is at the place so many of us are when we see the need to change. We recognize our lives are filled with happiness, which is a great first step. But that second step, actually doing something about it, is filled with fears. We have to acknowledge the things that make us unhappy, even if it means staring down leopards, lions and wolves. Oh my.
I have a couple of new thoughts (and I promise not all posts will be as lengthy as this one. There's a bit of set-up that needs to happen. I had originally wanted to limit myself to 100 words per day/post, but immediately realized that that was never going to happen. But i promise more brevity)
Is it any wonder that if you walk into any bookstore, the self-help section is one of the largest in the entire store. And is it a coincidence that we Americans are some of the most unhappy people on Earth? We spend so much time trying to find just the right book that will unlock the secret to happiness, but refuse to look ourselves in the mirror. That reflection shows those beasts.
A final thought structural thought. I am convinced that Dante did not intend for this first Canto to act as "Canto 1". The entire epic is filled with numerology, specifically Trinity numerology. Three books, 33 Cantos in Purgatory and Paradise. Why 34 in Inferno? Wouldn't 99, or three pairs of 33's be a much more symbolically meaningful division? I've heard arguments for both sides, and it does appear that original versions do in fact have 100 cantos, so I guess that's what we have to go on. But it's always bugged me, as I know how meticulously Dante mapped out everthing in his epic.
Until next time, take that first step into the dark forest. It's worth it.
Day 1
It begins with "Midway upon the journey of life, i find myself within a dark forest, for the straightforward path was lost". Dante informs the reader that he is lost in life, unsure as to what to do next. This sounds suspiciously like a mid-life crises. Unfortunately for Dante, the world was about 750 years away from the sports car, so he wrote an epic poem. It begins with a lacking in one's own life. We all look for exterior remedies, quick-fixes, or solutions to crises that can only be answered by looking within. That is for most of us a terrifying prospect, because you expose yourself to a lifetime of regrets, fears, anger and pain. But there is also joy, bliss, and hope, if you search hard enough. And that is what this whole epic is about. It's a work of fiction. Dante did not actually go to the afterlife. He journeyed to his inner self, through his own darkness out through his own divinity. It is Dante trasnforming his own desires, showing us his own artistic representation of finding a path to the interior heaven. All of us have this capacity, if we are brave enough to face the darkness.
But before Dante can even start down the path, he is confronted with three beast. I wrote about this in my last blog, so I'm going to do a little copy and paste, because I rather liked what i wrote before. I am quite certain in Dante's Inferno, this sort of self-congratulatory business would get me a nice place amongst the prideful.
Before Dante is united with Virgil, he encounters three beasts; a Leopard, a Lion and a Wolf. There have been a variety of interpretations of what these beasts symbolize, but the common line is they represent lust pride and avarice respectively. This is relatviely easy to recognize. In Canto I, Dante meets the leopard, who is "very quick and lithe and covered in spotted hide." The leopard, in all of its lusty litheness, obstructs Dante from his path several times. It's fascinating that even before Dante is allowed to begin true physical, psychological and spiritual transformation, he is obstructed from initiating the process.
After becoming frustrated at trying to find the path, the sun arises and Dante seemed to be looking forwarded to seeing the leopard again, which strengthens the case that the leopard does indeed represent lust. However, Dante doesn't see the leopard. He comes face to face with a lion. Dante says that "his head held high and ravenous with hunger-even the air around him seem to shudder." It's the head held high line that clues most folks into the pride sin. Well, that and the fact that we are trained to associate the lion with pride (it is, afterall, what we call a whole bunch of them). Dante cowers before this menacing symbol, but is quickly confronted by the third beast, the wolf. He says that "she seemd to carry every craving in her leanness; she had aleady brought dispair to many." So this is avarice, the unquenchable greed that has afflicted many before Dante. Dante was so afraid of the wolf that she actually scared him out of the light back into the darkness. Very fascinating symbolic imagery. Dante is clearly struggling with the very idea of examing these very human tendencies. He is at the place so many of us are when we see the need to change. We recognize our lives are filled with happiness, which is a great first step. But that second step, actually doing something about it, is filled with fears. We have to acknowledge the things that make us unhappy, even if it means staring down leopards, lions and wolves. Oh my.
I have a couple of new thoughts (and I promise not all posts will be as lengthy as this one. There's a bit of set-up that needs to happen. I had originally wanted to limit myself to 100 words per day/post, but immediately realized that that was never going to happen. But i promise more brevity)
Is it any wonder that if you walk into any bookstore, the self-help section is one of the largest in the entire store. And is it a coincidence that we Americans are some of the most unhappy people on Earth? We spend so much time trying to find just the right book that will unlock the secret to happiness, but refuse to look ourselves in the mirror. That reflection shows those beasts.
A final thought structural thought. I am convinced that Dante did not intend for this first Canto to act as "Canto 1". The entire epic is filled with numerology, specifically Trinity numerology. Three books, 33 Cantos in Purgatory and Paradise. Why 34 in Inferno? Wouldn't 99, or three pairs of 33's be a much more symbolically meaningful division? I've heard arguments for both sides, and it does appear that original versions do in fact have 100 cantos, so I guess that's what we have to go on. But it's always bugged me, as I know how meticulously Dante mapped out everthing in his epic.
Until next time, take that first step into the dark forest. It's worth it.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Welcome to the beginning!
Here we are. Standing before the dark forest. Unsure whether to proceed. So many of life's decisions, be they major life changing events or simply what flavor of Skittles to eat next, begin with the uncertainly of choice. With choice comes decision, and with decision comes consequences. There's a good reason why Dante claims that those remaining indifferent have a special place amongst the damned, especially in times of great crisis. Whether one takes this view as scripture depends entirely upon how you engaged with the piece of literature La Divina Comedia. And that, my friends, will be a central theme of this blog/project. I am of a mindset that every once in a while, something is created by humanity that it has the capacity to alter one's consciousness and truly affect an individual's perception on the life they lead. It confronts us and demands that questions be asked. It may not provide concrete answers. Indeed, it's quite possible that it will lead to many more questions, as Dante's masterpiece has done for me. But life is all about the questions, and searching for the answers to those questions. So when one of my friends acquaintances, relatives, co-workers, etc. ask me just what is it that attracts me to this piece of poetry written 800 years ago, my initial response is that it acts like a mirror. The deeper i gaze into the work, the more i find out about myself. This happens with many, many great works of creation. Certainly the major religious texts can act this way. I am certain that there are pieces of music that have informed me of aspects of my inner self, as there are paintings, works of architecture, ballets, plays, movies, televsion shows. The list is too long and too subjective.
I have started several Dante blogs, and abandoned them for a variety of reasons, mostly my own neglect and lack of follow through. I begin this blog with a slightly different approach. Call it the breaking bad approach. I know the ending, or rather, the bookend. I have, after this first introductory rambling, limited myself to 100 postings, each coinciding with the 100 Cantos of The Divine Comedy. I don't intent this to be a retelling; in fact there may be posts that seem only to allude to the Canto of the day. There are far more adept literary critics for that type of analysis. If you want a recap of the story, well, Dante is having a midlife crisis, finds himself in the afterlife, journeys from hell to purgatory and finally to the throne of God in Paradise, all the while learning about his own need to transform his desires. No, this is my meager attempt to explore many different aspects of the work as mirror to one's own experiences. I want to look at the many layers, sometimes gazing at the numerology, other times the hisotircal significane, still other times the mystical connotations, and yes, even the plot itself. All that, plus whatever connections I can make with modernity. After all, these dusty old tomes are considered "timeless" for a reason. I hope i can bring some of that out. Until the next, first post, when I theorize as to why I believe there are actually 99 Cantos, plus an introduction.
I have started several Dante blogs, and abandoned them for a variety of reasons, mostly my own neglect and lack of follow through. I begin this blog with a slightly different approach. Call it the breaking bad approach. I know the ending, or rather, the bookend. I have, after this first introductory rambling, limited myself to 100 postings, each coinciding with the 100 Cantos of The Divine Comedy. I don't intent this to be a retelling; in fact there may be posts that seem only to allude to the Canto of the day. There are far more adept literary critics for that type of analysis. If you want a recap of the story, well, Dante is having a midlife crisis, finds himself in the afterlife, journeys from hell to purgatory and finally to the throne of God in Paradise, all the while learning about his own need to transform his desires. No, this is my meager attempt to explore many different aspects of the work as mirror to one's own experiences. I want to look at the many layers, sometimes gazing at the numerology, other times the hisotircal significane, still other times the mystical connotations, and yes, even the plot itself. All that, plus whatever connections I can make with modernity. After all, these dusty old tomes are considered "timeless" for a reason. I hope i can bring some of that out. Until the next, first post, when I theorize as to why I believe there are actually 99 Cantos, plus an introduction.
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