Mismapping the Underworld Daring and Error in Dante's Comedy [Hardcover]

John Kleiner investigates the place of error in the moral and aesthetic system of Dante'sComedy. He argues that Dante's delight in finely wrought patterns does not exclude an interest in patterns of disorder, that his pursuit of harmony intensifies his interest in dissonance. Many scholars have commented on Dante's love of order and quest for formal and moral perfection in and through theDivine Comedy; this is the first book to suggest that the poem also deliberately incorporates, and takes pleasure in, error. . . . Provocative and engagingly written, this . . . is certainly a valid contribution to Dante studies.