Reading Journal Home << Previous Entry Next entry >> Canto III 1. Death, Hope, Narrative, and Heroism The first time through Inferno, adapting to the meter and encountering its strangeness can distract from some of its real horrors. But if we recall the invitation from Canto II to participate with our imaginations in evoking images the poet…

Earlier in this series: Why Read Dante How to Read Dante Introduction Dante himself has multiple guides throughout his Comedy, and part of his point is that our souls need assistance on their journeys from perdition (the state of being lost) to salvation. We cannot save ourselves (perhaps an unpopular idea for all times and…

<< Reading Journal Home Next entry >> The reading journey begins! Your own comments and personal reactions are invited. If you’d like to contribute to this series, contact me. N.B.: I’ll be using the Pinsky translation. I encourage you to find whichever translation works for you. See How to Read Dante for an explanation of…