The paradiso

By Dante Alighieri

Subjects: Heaven, Poetry (poetic works by one author), FICTION, Poetry, Classics

Description: The Paradiso, by Dante Alighieri, is part of the <A href=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/classics/index.asp?z=y&cds2Pid=16447&sLinkPrefix>Barnes & Noble Classics</A> series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:<UL type=disc><LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Biographies of the authors <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Footnotes and endnotes <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Comments by other famous authors <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Bibliographies for further reading <LI style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto class=MsoNormal>Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.Dante's Paradiso, often thrown into shadow by the first two parts of The Divine Comedy, features one of the most sublime, luminous, and exciting visions in all of literature--that of Heaven itself.Having climbed the mountain of Purgatory, Dante begins to ascend to the heights of the universe with his beloved Beatrice as guide. They soar through the nine spheres of heaven--the moon, Mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the stars, and the Prime Mover. Along the way Dante meets people he knew on Earth, who now appear as dazzling jewels, and many others whom he had always wanted to meet, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, Saint Bonaventure, and his great-great-grandfather. Finally, Dante reaches Heaven, where incredibly beautiful scenes--brilliant lights and colors, and flowering gardens-- unfold before his eyes, always accompanied by celestial music. Heaven, he learns, is not a place of boring rest, but one of joyful activity, dancing and singing, and endless movement and surprises.A poem of true heroic fulfillment, Paradiso stands as literature's greatest hymn to the glory of God.Peter Bondanella is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and Italian at Indiana University. Julia Conaway Bondanella is Professor of Italian at Indiana University. Both have translated works from Italian and have published extensively on Italian culture and art.