Synopses & Reviews
This book investigates the place of error in the moral and aesthetic system of Dante's Comedy. It argues that his delight in finely wrought patterns does not exclude an interest in patterns of disorder, that his pursuit of harmony intensifies his interest in dissonance. The three central chapters of the book each examine a different type of error or anomaly: a mismeasured giant, a self-defeating experiment, an erring citation of Virgil. This account of Dante gives priority to wit and self-irony rather than didactic seriousness.
Synopsis
A Stanford University Press classic.
Synopsis
John Kleiner investigates the place of error in the moral and aesthetic system of Dante's Comedy. He argues that Dante's delight in finely wrought patterns does not exclude an interest in patterns of disorder, that his pursuit of harmony intensifies his interest in dissonance.
Synopsis
“Many scholars have commented on Dantes love of order and quest for formal and moral perfection in and through the Divine Comedy; this is the first book to suggest that the poem also deliberately incorporates, and takes pleasure in, error. . . . Provocative and engagingly written, this . . . is certainly a valid contribution to Dante studies.”—Choice
Synopsis
The author investigates the role of error in the Comedy and in the history of Dante studies.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [143]-175) and index.