The New Leader, March 1st, 2001
ATTENDING a number of recent funerals brought home to me the overpowering influence Dante has had on people who probably have never read him. His dramatic vision colors the mental pictures of believers and skeptics alike. Hell, for example, instantly conjures up images of burning pitch and ingenious punishments that, in the words of W. S. Gilbert's Mikado, "fit the crime." If the Florentine poet's portrayal of Purgatory and Heaven has swayed imaginations somewhat less, it is probably because they lack the drama inherent in eternal torment. "Dante made communication with the dead the substanc...
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