Alright, so it's been awhile since the last post! Okay, it's been FOREVER!!! Ah, well, better late than never! :D
THE DIVINE COMEDY by DANTE ALIGHIERI
It has been awhile since we read this, but I must say that the memories are fond ones. We read all of the Inferno, and then excerpts from Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Comedy (though at times it was indeed more of a tragedy) was hilarious at times! A certain quote that has remained fresh in my mind goes something like this: "He then made a trumpet out of his ass." I laughed really hard when I read that!
Anyways, I thought the Inferno was interesting because it was full of reasonably nice people. Virgil, Dante's guide and resident of Hell, seemed in particular quite good and deserving of at least a long wait in Purgatory. When Dante must leave Virgil, I was so heart-broken that the ancient poet had to stay in Hell. :(
Purgatorio is a mountain, whose top is the Garden of Eden. This is a very clever touch I think. Paradiso is incredible and Dante does a spectacular job at describing it.
An interesting fact to note is that Dante includes mythical characters in his Comedy. People from fairytales and ancient poems are found in the different circles. Dante portrays legendary figures as real people that lived. Gods and goddesses are found throughout the Comedy. In Heaven, Dante gives praise to Apollo. I thought this was all really fascinating. I wonder if Dante really did have a vision of the whole thing..
JULIAN OF NORWICH
Julian was a hermit, mystic, and writer who lived in the Dark Ages. Her writings are mysterious and inspiring. It was cool to read the writings of a woman from the medieval times since women back then were not usually allowed much education. Anyways, Julian documents different visions that God has shown to her. She describes God as our mother which I really loved. I would like to learn more about her!
SIR GAWAIN
I honestly don't remember everything about this poem but basically, it's about a knight- Sir Gawain- who volunteers to find this crazy Green Knight. The Green Knight lives up to his name: he is all green; skin, eyes, hair, clothes, blah, blah, everything. So Gawain is gallant blah blah and ventures to fight the green man. Oh yeah, and Sir Gawain is one of King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. The tale is a good adventure.
KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER: THE WREATH by SIGRID UNDSET
I loved, loved, loved this book! It is about the life of a girl living in medieval Norway. Her character is so human and goes through so many things that everyone can relate to. I was shocked at how modern the story was! I guess nothing has changed! Kristin is a strong woman who puts up with a lot of junk, and yet she is also very vulnerable and ordinary. I recommend this to all!
CANTERBURY TALES by GEOFFREY CHAUCER
These stories are CRAZY and RIDICULOUS! They are just so WEIRD! Basically, it's like a medieval Superbad/The Hangover meets Beach Blanket Bingo. The tales are really all about farting and sex and toilet humor- it's just written in old English so it isn't as obvious. The stories are hilarious and just kind of creepy. It is nice to see that people back then still had a sense of humor, however strange it was.
Sarah and Mom -
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed by all that you have read!! I NEED to read Dante! I was supposed to read it in high school but didn't and just wrote the paper anyways...sad :( Hannah thinks it's one of the greatest things ever written.
As for Julian of Norwich, we read her in college and I remember liking her and being impressed, like you were Sarah, that she was a woman writer from so long ago. She is a true and orthodox example of "feminist theology."
Kristin Lavransdatter: I need to read it!! Birthday present idea!! I started reading the first one and never finished and I feel ashamed. What I had read of it I did really like.
And Canterbury Tales: yes, it is CRAZY! And very, very crude. I always wanted to make a modern day movie version of them, maybe of a bunch of random people stuck in an airport terminal or on the same bus trip.
Keep reading and keep posting! Mom, you owe us some!