Divine GR

[ckaratnytsky at nypl.org]

     Rispuosemi:
     
     >BTW, I think there's more black comedy in Inferno than just 
     >Malebranche -- but some of it is so harsh that we tender moderns 
     >tend to wince, instead of falling down with them Guelph 'n 
     >Ghibelline Giggles...
     
     Hmm.  I'm curious what you think this might be.  I've been pondering 
     it further and can only come up with the nature of the poetry itself 
     -- the "low" puns, the conversational language, the occasional 
     coarseness of tone, you know like that.  I can't recall any specific 
     episodes, other than the Malebranche, that might qualify.
     
     Don't tell me now, Monte, that Paolo and Francesca give you the 
     chuckles -- do they, hmmm?  Or, whew -- it can't be t-that Ugolino, 
     can it?  I dig the head-chewing that precedes his account of the death 
     of his children, but even *my* grim fascination is soon overtaken with 
     pity.  Fess up, now.
     
     Chris (who today on her lunch hour bowed to the statue of Dante that 
     stands across from Lincoln Center)