The Inerno - Dante Alighieri

This is my first go at epic poetry. Dante (the poet) leads the reader (and Dante the pilgrim) through the circles of hell without apology. He lays bare the utter sickliness of sin and the righteousness of punishment. His mind has no want of creativity in his inventions of torchure. Virgil corrects the pity that may be conjured up when we meet some of the residents of Hell, reminding us of the hell they inflicted on others while living.

Dante is fearless in condemning some who were still living, either as future residents in Hell, or in what is perhaps his greatest invention in the story, the soul of a living shell who is then inhabited by a demon. Such was Dante's view of unrepentant sin. He is not politically correct and certainly has a better view of the sin/man relationship than our modern society.

This Barnes and Noble edition was extremely helpful with the detailed notes and explanations that would have left my appreciation of the story far short of what it is.