Dante Alighieri

Robin Kirkpatrick

An introduction and notes accompany this classic epic poem about a spiritual pilgrim being led by Virgil through the nine circles of hell.

Inferno

Describing Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide, this title depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins.

A detailed study of the Italian poet explores Dante's renowned narrative poem, discussing the relationship the poet believed to exist between God as creator of the universe and the human being as a creation of God.

Dante: The Divine Comedy

Prologue & Palinodes

Later

A Collection

This is the first comprehensive critical comparison of English and Italian literature from the three centuries from Dante to Shakespeare. It begins by examining Chaucer's relationship with Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, and then looks at similar relationships within the areas of humanist education, lyric poetry, the epic, theatrical comedy, the short story and the pastoral drama. It provides a detailed comparison of major works from both traditions including descriptive and critical readings of Italian works. It shows why English writers valued such works and demonstrates the ways in which they departed from or tried to outdo the Italian original. Assuming no prior knowledge of Italy or Italian literary history, this book introduces the student and general reader to one of the most important and fascinating phases in European literary history.

A Study of Source, Analogue and Divergence

English and Italian Literature From Dante to Shakespeare

Dr Kirkpatrick analyses Dante's Paradiso through the language, organisation of the poem, and religious and philosophical belief.

A Study of Style and Poetic Theory

Dante's Paradiso and the Limitations of Modern Criticism

Paradiso by Dante Alighieri (Penguin Classics)

Penguin Classics Introduction to The Divine Comedy 3

With Italy at its centre, but encompassing the whole of Renaissance Europe, this evocative history challenges some of the popularly-held views on the Renaissance period. In particular, whilst always acknowledging the brilliance and exhuberance of Renaissance culture, Robin Kirkpatrick draws equal attention to the strangeness and often unresolved tensions that lay beneath the surface of that culture.Insisting on a European rather than purely Italian viewpoint, he embraces Renaissance thinking and culture in all its diversity: from Northern thinkers such as Cusanus, Luther and Calvin, to the painting of Van der Weyden and El Greco, and the music of the Flemish musicians, Josquin des Prez and Orlando Lassus. Special attention is also paid to the unique contribution made by Margueritte of Navarre to the development of humanist culture. The book concludes with a study of Shakespeare in which his plays are viewed as a searching critique of some of the main principles of Renaissance culture.

The European Renaissance 1400-1600

Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri (Penguin Classics)

Penguin Classics Introduction to The Divine Comedy 2

Inferno by Dante Alighieri (Penguin Classics)

Penguin Classics Introduction to The Divine Comedy 1

In this re-assessment of Dante's 'Inferno', and of the place which it occupies in the plan of the whole 'Commedia', Kirkpatrick argues that Dante's thinking and poetry are subject to far greater internal tension than is commonly supposed. He then proceeds to analyse each of the 34 cantos of the 'Inferno'.

Difficulty and Dead Poetry

Dante's Inferno

Robin Kirkpatrick delves into Dante's poems and focuses on his relation with God and Virgil.

Dante, the Divine Comedy

This book represents a major re-assessment of Dante's Inferno, and of the place which the Inferno occupies in the plan of the whole Commedia. On evidence drawn also from the Paradiso and Purgatorio, Dr Kirkpatrick argues that Dante's thinking and poetry are subject to far greater internal tension than is commonly supposed. He then proceeds to analyse each of the thirty-four cantos of the Inferno, and to relate each canto in turn to its thematic and narrative context. Throughout, Dr Kirkpatrick is particularly concerned with features of language and structure which scholars have tended to overlook in emphasising the philosophical character of Dante's poetry. And while he chooses, for the sake of clarity, to write in the accessible language of interpretative criticism, he continually stresses the extent to which advances in modern critical practice may usefully be brought to bear upon Dante's writing.

Robin Kirkpatrick

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