Kristina M. Olson

Published in 1992, Teodolinda Barolini’s The Undivine Comedy: Detheologizing Dante was a clarion call for a paradigmatic shift in reading Dante’s Commedia. Bringing together an international cadre of scholars, A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of ‘The Undivine Comedy’ illustrates the generative influence that Barolini’s approach has exerted across continents, disciplines, and generations. It testifies to the variety of interpretations that originate in her method, and opens new perspectives on Dante’s oeuvre and the significance of literature.

A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of 'The Undivine Comedy'

Gareth Wood

Aaron M. Kahn

Ambra Moroncini

Mark Thornton Burnett

Olivia Santovetti

Luca FIorentini

Eleonora Lima

Davide Dalmas

Yujia Jin

Carlotta Moro

Alena Gašparovičová

Victoria Ríos Castaño

The “intangible power” of literature, which, in Umberto Eco’s words, “allows us to travel through a textual labyrinth (be it an entire encyclopaedia or the complete works of William Shakespeare) without necessarily ‘unravelling’ all the information it contains”, may be clearly identifiable in our contemporary age of intertextuality and, most importantly, of interdisciplinarity. It suffices to think of the countless film adaptations of Shakespeare’s works, or of the popular appeal of Dan Brown’s global bestsellers, the so-called Robert Langdon book series, which has made original (and contentious) use of literary and artistic masterpieces such as Dante’s Divine Comedy and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. What is more, the investigation of literature’s verbality through the lenses of cinematic and media perspectives has greatly benefitted from scholarly insights into dialogism, heteroglossia, polyphony, and historiophoty, opening new aural and visual windows of interpretation and knowledge. With these considerations in mind, this book explores the enduring presence of some of the most revolutionary early modern voices and works in our contemporary time. It embraces a rich diversity of literary genres (from poetry to storytelling, novels, fairy tales, and historical colonial chronicles, while also considering musical theatre compositions), and broadens the scope of research to the world of media, with cutting edge insights into contemporary films, TV series, and videogames. It presents innovative scholarly perspectives on how early modern works and themes are explored, remediated and refashioned today to address cultural, political, and social issues germane to our global moment.

Early Modern Voices in Contemporary Literature and on Screen

Kristina M. Olson

Books

Your next favorite book is out there