Free College Essays - Dante’s Paradiso

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Dante’s Paradiso

In spite of all the sheer effort put behind it, Dante’s Paradiso is not easy to enjoy. It is an alliance between difficulty and controversy. It is a narration of Dante’s so called visit to heaven, which seems tangible to no one but him. He slowly gives us his perceived account while inserting an archive of philosophical tidbits, which often divert the reader’s attention from the supposed plot. Dante claims himself gifted and says that all his said experiences are ones that he encountered first-hand. And so the reader is assumed to believe that the author is not in a make-believe world and his arguments with heavenly beings are actually marvelous adventures. The theme is not relevant at all to the present, as scholars today would say that his ideas are primitive and unsubstantial. The only thing applicable to today be the fact that it is based on the timeless issue: the afterlife. And as he inserts his personal views in life, he does it in an authoritative method as his heavenly friends explain them to him. Now if the reader assumes this is all make-believe, it is tiresome to go on as the book is direly detailed. On the other hand, if the reader believes Dante’s account, then I am afraid he is very misled. As many biblical verses are inserted in the text, it is quite bothersome that his explanations and fabulous stories take on a less dogmatic direction. It doesn’t seem right to quote religion to serve both misinterpreted purposes and claims to a divine philosophy. This dissenting view is the only social impact I can make out of the book. As I read on the translated verses looking for some conflict or climax, I reached neither. It just seems as if this popularly supposed story is intended to be educational just like a textbook. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see why Paradiso was dubbed a masterpiece. If the title of "masterpiece" is labeled upon the works of great worth, I am afraid entertainment value is not something distinguishable in this case even if there is an undoubtedly enormous amount of effort, skill, and thought that was invested in it. All the lines rhyme in pairs, and are written in deep Spanish. A rhyme scheme is followed and even literary formality is observed. Dante is obviously intellectual, as his work shows.

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