Chwast, Seymour. (2010). Dante's
Divine Comedy. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 978-1608190843.
Annotation
Dante’s Divine Comedy is Seymour Chwast’s graphic adaptation of
the classic, allegorical epic poem written in three parts: Inferno, Purgatory,
and Paradise.
My thoughts
This is a much lighter version of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The original 14th century allegorical
masterpiece has over 100 cantos chronicling a journey through hell, purgatory
and paradise. The original poem is intended to be horrifying and is supposed to
give a basic education of Christian theology. Chwast’s graphic adaption is much
easier to stomach and the summarization takes the text slightly away from the
Christian theology making it more entertaining than dogmatic. Overall, this is
a good introduction that is amusing and not overwhelming.
In addition, Chwast’s summarization takes away the original poetry that
can be up to over 900 pages and condenses the text to 128 pages. The poetry is
not as lyrical and has been so summarized that it has been lost so this book
might not be good if the intent is for poetry. Then again, many readers shy
away from the text because of the poetry. This is a good version to recommend
to those who do not enjoy poetry or might not want to read the religious
version. The historical names (Euclid, Aristotole, Socrates, Plato, Aeneas,
Soloman, etc.), religious figures (St. James, St. John, St. Peter, Adam, Moses,
St. Anne, St. Lucy, etc.), canto numbers, key terms (gate of Dis, the river
Acheron, etc.) and religious concepts remain the same.
Focus on Artwork
The illustrations are appealing whereas other versions (like William Blake and Dore’s) can be horrifying for readers. I remember my own dismay reading this at a very young age. The illustrations scared me. They still do. These illustrations are humorous and modern. Dante is illustrated like a 1930s Dick Tracy sunglass wearing sleuth-like individual and Vigil wears a bowlers hat and bow tie. The way that these two figures are illustrated make this historically fear-mongering piece of literature less intimidating. This graphic novel version balances out the original Divine Comedy and can be used to modernize the teachings and reading of this western literature classic.
The illustrations are appealing whereas other versions (like William Blake and Dore’s) can be horrifying for readers. I remember my own dismay reading this at a very young age. The illustrations scared me. They still do. These illustrations are humorous and modern. Dante is illustrated like a 1930s Dick Tracy sunglass wearing sleuth-like individual and Vigil wears a bowlers hat and bow tie. The way that these two figures are illustrated make this historically fear-mongering piece of literature less intimidating. This graphic novel version balances out the original Divine Comedy and can be used to modernize the teachings and reading of this western literature classic.
Curricular
connections
High school: Religious Studies, Catholic Dogma, or English.
Literary devices
Use of
Sophisticated Language: gluttony, usurers, abstain self-indulgences, wanton, sower of discord,
and other terms related to the religious poem.
Use of
Allegory: Dante's journey through the levels of inferno, purgatory, paradise is an allegory for the soul’s
journey to God.
Reading level/ Interest Age
Grade 7- High
school and up: due to mature themes. Hell, inferno, purgatory and the various
punishments for sinners aren’t really good for young minds. This is a classic,
however, and these illustrations are less intense than William Blake, Dore, or
other illustrated texts.
Reviews and Awards
Starred review, Publisher’s Weekly
Author
website:
Media: ink
Genre: graphic novel
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