Dante's Inferno: Difficulty and Dead Poetry (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 1) - Softcover

Kirkpatrick, Robin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 052107052X ISBN 13: 9780521070522

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

This book represents a major re-assessment of Dante's Inferno, and of the place which the Inferno occupies in the plan of the whole Commedia. On evidence drawn also from the Paradiso and Purgatorio, Dr Kirkpatrick argues that Dante's thinking and poetry are subject to far greater internal tension than is commonly supposed. He then proceeds to analyse each of the thirty-four cantos of the Inferno, and to relate each canto in turn to its thematic and narrative context. Throughout, Dr Kirkpatrick is particularly concerned with features of language and structure which scholars have tended to overlook in emphasising the philosophical character of Dante's poetry. And while he chooses, for the sake of clarity, to write in the accessible language of interpretative criticism, he continually stresses the extent to which advances in modern critical practice may usefully be brought to bear upon Dante's writing.

About this title

Book Description:

This book represents a major re-assessment of Dante's Inferno, and of the place which the Inferno occupies in the plan of the whole Commedia. On evidence drawn also from the Paradiso and Purgatorio, Dr Kirkpatrick argues that Dante's thinking and poetry are subject to far greater internal tension than is commonly supposed.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 052107052X
• ISBN 13: 9780521070522
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464