A recent re-reading of The Divine Comedy left me once again in awe of Dante’s genius. I turned to Penguin’s single-volume edition, guided by Robin Kirkpatrick’s translation, to weigh up all that I gained from this literary journey through hell, purgatory and heaven. Three general observations struck me and helped me discern a final reflection on what I consider to be one of the keys to unlocking the Commedia as a whole.
The first thing to notice about Dante’s masterpiece is that it is a story operating on multiple levels. It is epic quest, theological exposition, spiritual autobiography and Christian allegory all in one. Yet this last genre is the one that has stuck with me the most. If we read the Commedia as little more than a riveting safari through the afterlife then we lose sight of the work’s true literary and theological depth.
