Dante's Hidden God

Book excerpt: This book proposes that though Hell seems a God-forsaken place, every scene, character and major image in Dantes Divine Comedy Hell, Purgatory and Paradise is associated with one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as it were lurking in the shadows. Thus every one of the hundred cantos has a dedication to a Person, and the cantos form overarching groups which are also so dedicated, making the whole poem like a vast symbolic cathedral, where every action has a secret divine dimension. These presences make it very doubtful that Dante really thinks God tortures people for eternity! For readers who may be unfamiliar with Dante, the author has made a translation, abridged, in prose and verse, thus hoping to provide an introduction to Dante for those who do not know him and a new way of reading him for those who do. The result of decades of reflection on Dante and the Trinity, Dantes Hidden God offers a fresh and challenging vision of the Commedia. Offered as an invitation to read Dante, this inventive presentation of Dantes masterpiece will intrigue readers and gives an accessible account of Paul Priests highly original ideas about the sacrato poema. Dr Matthew Treherne, Senior Lecturer in Italian, University of Leeds