Spiritual Sunday Stephen Greenblatt, the world’s preeminent Shakespearean, has an article about hell in the latest issue of the New York Review of Books that has me thinking about a subject I generally avoid. It’s a smart piece but fairly grim. For the most part, my view of hell is the one set forth in […]
Tag Archives: Dante
The Meaning of Hell
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Seneca a Fragment", Charlotte Bronte, Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, hell, Inferno, Jane Eyre, John Wilmot Comments closed
Dante’s Place for GOP “Moderates”
Dante has a place in inferno for people like current Republicans “moderates” who talk a good game but refuse to stand up to Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged immigrant children separation, Inferno, Susan Collins Comments closed
Mike Pence=Elmer Gantry + Uriah Heep
Columnist George Will calls Mike Pence a cross between Elmer Gantry and Uriah Heep. I see the two and raise to a Dante sycophant and Shakespeare’s Cassius.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Elmer Gantry, Inferno, Julius Caesar, Mike Pence, Sinclair Lewis, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Lit for Survivors Lost in a Dark Wood
Monday Commonweal recently published a heartfelt article by West Point visiting English professor Cassandra Nelson on how literature can help trauma survivors recover. Nelson begins with an angry comment about a University of Chicago dean’s facile dismissal of trigger warnings, even though she herself opposes them. She, however, speaks from the vantage point of one […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bluest Eye, Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Child Abuse, Inferno, Junot Diaz, PTSD, Toni Morrison, trauma, trigger warnings Comments closed
Irma as Milton’s & Dante’s Infernos
If one thinks of a hurricane “eye” as an anus, then the winds from hell take on a different resonance–especially when seen through Milton’s and Dante’s eyes.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Divine Comedy, Hurricane Irma, hurricanes, Inferno, John Milton, Paradise Lost Comments closed
Flattering Trump Is Like Wallowing in S***
Donald Trump is surrounding himself with flatterers. Dante has a graphic account of where such people end up in Inferno.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Anthony Scaramucci, Divine Comedy, Donald Trump, flattery, Inferno Comments closed
Envy, the Sin That Blinds
In this week’s poker essay by novelist Rachel Kranz, envy is described as the one deadly sin that gives no pleasure at all.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, envy, Poker, Rachel Kranz Comments closed
Dante’s Love: Hot Coals Unconsumed
Solomon plays an important role in Dante’s “Paradiso” become he combines earthly sensuality and celestial wisdom. I find this to be a healthier vision than those who elevate the spirit over the body.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Divine Comedy, Paradiso, Solomon, Song of Solomon Comments closed
Fighting Lit’s Culture Wars Again?!
A recent Wall Street Journal column is attempting to revive the 1990s culture wars over literature.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged culture wars, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare Comments closed
