Interpreting Dante’s “Commedia” : competing approaches
Abstract
This article first addresses the emphasis on the truth of the literal sense of Dante’s Commedia in twentieth-century scholarship, whether the poem is con-ceived as a mystical vision (Bruno Nardi, 1884-1968), figural fulfillment (Erich Auerbach, 1892-1957), or allegory of the theologians (Charles S. Singleton, 1909-1985; and Robert Hollander, 1933-2021). Secondly, it analyses the interpretative approach of the French Dominican scholars Pierre Mandonnet (1858-1936) and Joachim Berthier (1848-1924), who draw on symbolic theology (and the four senses of Scripture) but, unlike Singleton and Hollander, insist that the literal sense of the poem is a “beautiful lie.” Thirdly, it shows how literalist approaches underpin key twentieth-century discussions of Dante’s theology, contribute to broader secularizing trends in Dante Studies, and represent a rupture with the seven-hundred-year-long commentary tradition on the poem as a whole.
Citation
Corbett , G 2021 , ' Interpreting Dante’s “Commedia” : competing approaches ' , Bibliotheca Dantesca , vol. 4 , 1 . < https://repository.upenn.edu/bibdant/vol4/iss1/1/ >
Publication
Bibliotheca Dantesca
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2643-4946Type
Journal article
Collections
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