The MagazineDante in LoveYouthful ardor leads to arduous going.Dec 27, 2010, Vol. 16, No. 15
• By CHRISTOPHER BENSON
translated by David R. Slavitt Harvard, 160 pp., $18.95 The great books of the Western canon rest on the presupposition that all the books contained therein are ipso facto “great.” But what happens if you encounter a book from one of the authors that seems—well, not so great? The initial response is disappointment, like paying a half-month’s salary for a dining experience that a food critic likened to the sensations of a supernova, except that your meal ends not with a bang but a whimper. The subsequent response is guilt: Why don’t you sense the greatness that must be there; is your palette not trained enough to detect the subtleties? Reading La Vita Nuova, Dante’s first book, induced this disappointment and guilt because, as loath as I am to say, some of the lyrics don’t seem a whole lot more elevated than Katy Perry’s hormonal hit “Teenage Dream.” If I’m a philistine whose blunted imagination cannot apprehend the beauty, compare the lyrics for yourself. First, Katy Perry:
Now, Dante:
To read more, you must be a Weekly Standard Subscriber We're Sorry,
the rest of this article is available only to subscribers. You have two options: 1:
2:
If you are not yet a Subscriber to TWS, don't wait
any longer to Subscribe Now!
Subscribing today will provide you with immediate, complete access to the current issue, as well as to all back issues on the site. Each week you will be able to read articles from the newest issue even before print copies are mailed! Privacy PolicyThe Weekly Standard ArchivesBrowse 15 Years of the Weekly Standard |
What Did You Miss? 
Features |
Become a Fan on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Share This
© Copyright 2012 The Weekly Standard LLC - A Weekly Conservative Magazine & Blog. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
