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READING DANTE

Name: READING DANTE
Author: Prue Shaw
ISBN: 978-0-87140-742-9

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

by Prue Shaw ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 2014

Read this book to discover Dante the man, the pilgrim and the poet. Then go read his greatest poem. He’s well-worth the...

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Dante expert Shaw (Emeritus, Italian Studies/Univ. Coll. London; editor: Dante: Monarchy, 1996) explains The Divine Comedy so easily and simply, she eliminates all trepidation in anyone daunted by his masterpiece, “the greatest poem of the Middle Ages and perhaps the greatest single work of Western literature.”

To understand Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) the pilgrim, you must first understand Dante the poet. Originally a politician, Dante was exiled from his native Florence in 1302, an event that brought his poetry to maturity. The Divine Comedy was not a theological work but rather a poem by a man exploring his personal and cultural memories on a journey of life. As the author sings the praises of Dante, readers will come to understand the genius of his work. The first vernacular work in the Florentine dialect, Dante’s 100 cantos, more than 14,000 lines of poetry, are in a rhyme scheme of his own invention called terza rima—a series of three line tercets, with the end word of the second line in one tercet supplying the rhyme for the first and third line of the next. It not only generates the next tercet; it makes the poem absolutely tamper-proof. Shaw exposes the profound depth and art of poetry that encompasses so much more than language and rhythm. Dante avoided writing in Latin, as was the custom, in order to appeal to the masses. He did use a little Latin, however, and also invented words in the new and entirely flexible Italian to fit into his rhyme scheme. Shaw also includes a helpful glossary, timeline and an “excursus on metre.”

Read this book to discover Dante the man, the pilgrim and the poet. Then go read his greatest poem. He’s well-worth the exploration, and Shaw is a Virgil-like guide.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-87140-742-9

Page Count: 398

Publisher: Liveright/Norton

Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.