Paradisio Terms – Sophia Park
1.
Glory
– (1) – Dante begins Paradisio speaking of divine glory that moves all things; this glory
moves Dante through spheres of Heaven to a vision of Itself; will be shown in the last line of the
poem to be a “love that moves the sun and the other stars”; central theme: God’s glory is reflected
in varying degrees throughout the universe, even in angels and saints; he has visited the
Empyrean, the heaven that receives the most of God’s life
2.
inequality/diversity/difference
– (1) – God’s glory is reflected in varying degrees throughout the
universe; all things have order among themselves and thereby reflect God, who wishes intelligent
creatures to rejoice in that reflection
3.
motive force in the universe
– (1) – a natural instinct moves all creatures toward their proper
goal; in creating intelligent creatures, God shoots them toward himself, like an archer (with a
boomerang for arrow); only in Empyrean will they find their joyful target and ultimate repose; by
seeking false pleasures, intelligent creatures can be diverted to unnatural targets; since Dante’s
sinful hindrances are removed, Dante should naturally move
4.
trasumanar
– (1) – transgression: going beyond the human: a problem for language; If this
paradise is beyond the
human; beyond temporal experience, beyond words, beyond memory,
beyond images, how can a poem tell us about it? transhumanized; Dante looks at Beatrice and
feels himself being transhumanized; rising above his human condition: refer to Glaucus
5.
Glaucus
– (1) – legendary fisherman; after eating an herb that sent his fish leaping back into the
sea, plunged into the sea himself and became a sea god; referred to how Dante feels being
transhumanized; i.e. rising above his human condition ; example of ineffability
6.
Marsyas
– (1) – Apollo, playing his lyre, defeated the flute-playing Marsyas and punishes the
satyr’s presumption by having him flayed; Dante portrays the satyr’s torture as a violent but
uplifting possession of the poet by the deity
7.
problem of representation
– (2) – a series of substitutes: treasure in my mind, a shadow stamped
in my mind; the activities of the physical world are a mirror of the spiritual world; spiritual world
derives from the Divine Energy centered in the Empyrean and radiating down to the Earth through
interlocking spheres; great chain begins with Primum Mobiles, “first movable,” also known as
Crystalline, transparent and invisible; this heaven, ninth from Earth, receives energy from God
undifferentiated; energy transmitted to eighth heaven, fixed stars/constellations, take qualitative
difference; differentiation continues through other seven heavens (5 planets, plus Sun and Moon);
all exert influences; also God’s problem: God expresses himself through his creatures: all things
whatsoever have order among themselves, footprint of the eternal worth; Dante represents his
experience in heaven: treasure, shadow
example, NOT the experience itself
8.
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- Fall '11
- Cornish
- The Bible, The Aeneid, Celestial spheres, Conceptions of God, Primum Mobile
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