Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey

This is an important book. In it, Mark Vernon, a gifted yet unpretentious 21st century scholar, has shown the timeless spiritual relevance of the magnum opus of a brilliant 14th century poet, visionary, and seeker of divine grace.Vernon's subtitle, "A Guide for the Spiritual Journey", is key to understanding the book's orientation. This is not primarily a critical literary or poetic analysis, nor is it an historical cultural examination of warring medieval Italian city-states vis-à-vis the Church and the papacy of late 13th and early 14th centuries, although those aspects are touched on for germane context; it is Vernon's profound revelation of Dante's magnum opus as a journey of spiritual transformation and enlightenment.Although Vernon's book could be read as a stand-alone text, I highly recommend using it as an interpretive guide to read alongside Dante's work. Using Louis Biancolli's three-volume blank verse English translation (Washington Square Press, 1966), I read one canto and Vernon's corresponding exegesis for it, a day at a time (there are one hundred cantos, total). Since Vernon's text is organized as a canto-by-canto analysis, this is a natural way to experience the complex, cumulative masterpiece at a satisfying, digestible pace.It is worthwhile to point out to the potential reader, that "Comedy" is a bit of a misnomer in translation to today's English. The original word, "comedia," in Dante's Latin-to-incipient-Italian, simply meant something like "happy ending," especially after a dire beginning. In other words, this is not a medieval sitcom. Even though particular vignettes and scenarios, especially throughout The Inferno, are diabolically inventive, it's a bleak, dark humor if it's humor at all. Also, the word "divine," in the title, was added by an editor or publisher, years after Dante's death. Dante, himself, simply titled his epic poem, "Comedia", or "La Commedia", depending on the reference source (no original manuscripts survive).Poetry's highest purpose is to induce and convey a particular subjective awareness, or aesthetic experience, beyond words and language. This leaves its meaning, to significant degree, open-ended, inviting interpretation. The best art, in any medium, encourages this participation. Graciously, Vernon has consistently qualified his interpretations with phrases like, "It seems to me...", "To my mind...", "I think this shows…", or, "My sense is that…" So, rather than trying to commandeer the message with condescending authoritarian omniscience, his refreshing humility makes his studied analytical interpretation pleasantly accessible as well as enlightening as a valuable, scholarly perspective. It also leaves open the door for reader participation in the analyses, in the form of conversation and debate with the author. Consequently, my copy is heavily annotated – proof of stimulated engagement.Dante's Divine Comedy is a time-honored work of innovation and coherent complexity – genius. Mark Vernon's exegesis of the work, as the spiritual journey of transformation and enlightenment that it is ("transhumanization," is Dante's neologism for it), is a carefully nuanced labor of love, devotion, insight, and intelligence that shows to us the profound relevance of Dante's "process of realization," in the 21st century, seven centuries after the last canticle was published.Mr. Vernon's thoroughly engaging book is highly recommended to anyone interested in human spirituality. Although Dante wrote as a disaffected Catholic Christian (a couple of hundred years before Martin Luther), and the work is heavily infused with the medieval Catholic tradition and those figures, it can also be read as a general human quest for spiritual enlightenment, with that tradition and those figures serving illustrative, didactic purpose just as sacred Hindu, Buddhist, and Sufi texts can and do. These are two works that, especially in tandem, can effectively serve the spiritual needs of any open-minded seeker of enlightenment.My only criticism of the book (and a mild one, at that) is scant professional biographical information on Vernon, limited to a short blurb tucked in the endpapers. So obvious is the omission on the cover, I speculate it might be at Vernon's humble request, perhaps so as not to draw attention away from the book's essential message, to himself. However, knowing his background and credentials imbues his work with the eminence it warrants. Happily, an internet search will yield quick and thorough results.Infinite gratitude to Dante Alighieri and Mark Vernon for their inspired insights and humble spiritual leadership. May their generous gifts to humanity serve their purpose well, and further yet, far into the future.

First, I want to express appreciation and gratitude to Mark Vernon for unlocking the treasures of Dante's Divine Comedy to me! Truly, Vernon's commentary is a masterpiece in and of itself and provided the key I needed to start accessing and digesting some of the delightful wisdom contained in this extraordinary work, which I tried to do in the past but failed to get very far. I know I will return to both Dante's DC and Vernon's Commentary again, again, and again. Also, in addition to his outstanding book, Vernon has a YouTube Channel where he generously shares material from this book and others. I highly recommend both!

4 stars for content. Offers thoughtful spiritual insight to each canto of Dante's journey through all 3 books. Why this book hasn't received more recognition is puzzling.The condition of the book is horrendous. Every other page slips out of the spine!

An incredibly helpful book, one that actually unlocks Dante's vision for us, today. So many of the 'standard' commentaries focus on Italian history, basic references to names and persons, and on it goes. But few seem to focus on Dante himself: what he saw, what he experienced, and what it is he's trying to convey to his readers about Divine realities and human psychology. Vernon's book does exactly this. He brings Dante to life in such a way that you feel yourself traveling with Dante, Canto by Canto.In that sense, the book truly is a guide, meant to be read *along with* The Divine Comedy. So be sure to have a copy in hand while making your way through Vernon's excellent book.

Thank you for writing this book. It has been my summer companion. So full of wisdom and insight. I cannot lend it to anyone else since every page is full of highlighted passages. I found it to be like having an encouraging spiritual mentor to affirm the possibility of the evolution of consciousness. Given the state of the world this was a much appreciated injection of hope.

This book is a gift. It’s like having a wise, generous, and endlessly insightful friend lead you through one of the greatest works of world literature--not just as literature, but as an incomparable guide for the spiritual path.Vernon writes (and in the Audible version, narrates) beautifully, achieving an agile balance of summary, close reading, and context that brings the Divine Comedy alive canto by canto. Most importantly, he uncovers fresh psychological and spiritual insights in even the more obscure sections.You'll come away staggered by the scale of Dante’s achievement, and invigorated by the timeliness and urgency of his vision as elucidated by Vernon. Brilliant work.

And even so i only made it half way through. You kind of get the gist after a while. Didn’t make it to heaven yet…

The low rating is not about the content but about a defect in the copy I was sent. I received my copy today and was surprised to discover that it was misprinted: the cover was bound to the pages upside down. I requested a refund.

This book really makes reading the Inferno (where I`m up to so far) so much more rewarding. The author`s insights into the changes taking place within the Inferno and within Dante and Virgil would have been extremely difficult to pick up on and really give the reader a chance to understand the poem on a deeper level.

The 700th anniversary of Dante's death has led to a rush of books about him. None is likely to be more valuable than this wonderful guide to his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy. Written by someone with great spiritual sensibility and the understanding of human nature that comes in part from being a psychotherapist, Mark Vernon leads the reader from the Inferno, through Purgatory to the heights of Paradise, as Dante himself was led by Virgil and Beatrice. A joy.

A classic. Very enjoyable.

muito bom trabalho

In my opinion this is an essential guide to reading The Divine Comedy. Mark Vernon is incredibly knowledgeable and having this alongside Dante's text has really expanded my understanding of this great work of literature.