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/lit/ - Literature

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1797608 No.1797608 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/.

I'm about to start read The Divine Comedy and was wondering if I should read the Bible first to get a firmer grasp on the Christian iconography depicted in the Comedy?

>> No.1797616

eh, probably not really necessary for the divine comedy. a surprising amount of it is non-biblical.

although you should probably just be familiar with the bible in general

>> No.1797617

Not sure if serious. . . Saging out of safety.

The Divine Comedy has very little in common with any Biblical imagery of just about anything. If you want to understand the moral background, by all means, read the Bible.

But the imagery and iconography is almost all fictional.

>> No.1797626

Knowing the basics of Christianity will be enough to get you through Divine Comedy.

Any good translation should have footnotes for the higher concept stuff (non biblical, but theology concepts)

>> No.1797639

>>1797616
>>1797617
>>1797626

10-4. Thanks guys.

>> No.1797662
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1797662

nope.

divine comedy is mostly about talking shit about italian politics.

Reading the bible is ducky, and something you really ought to do if you want to understand history, art, or culture of the west or be an educated person in general, but it is not necessary in particular for the divine comedy.

Or just google "bible contradictions", talk about Amalek and stroke yourself off to anime.

>> No.1797681

>Get Penguin edition of the Inferno
>Learn that it is just a comedy, not 'The' comedy, definitely not 'The Divine' comedy
>The author of the foreword spends fifty pages on bitching about people getting it wrong
>The foreword is 300 pages long
>The Inferno itself is about 200 pages long
>100 of those are in Italian
Fucking forewords.

>> No.1797701

>>1797662
>Or just google "bible contradictions", talk about Amalek and stroke yourself off to anime.

Would this be Neckbeard Mode?

>> No.1797703

Try reading up on Renaissance-era Italian politics first. Better yet, if you can find an edition that is heavily foot-noted, that would be helpful. The first copy I read had summary of each chapter & explanations of the political figures. But it was one of them forced rhymed editions. I was young & foolish.

All in all, I don't think the book is all that culturally significant. Sure, it's badass, but ehhh.

>> No.1797708

ITT: Some inexperienced kids think poetry can be read in translate.

>> No.1797720
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1797720

>>1797703
>Single-handedly created the means by which modern Christians imagine Hell
>Christianity is the biggest religion on earth
>Not culturally significant

>mfw

>> No.1797731

>>1797681

OP here. I have The Great Books of the Western World, 1954 edition. :)