Irony and Inner Death in Dante’s Inferno

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an excellent paper - beautifully written and compelling in its argumentation. The use of the theological idea (and spiritual practice) of "inner death" to elucidate Dante's thinking about hell is both original and convincing. The argument is set out well and the text proceeds in a logical and very readable fashion. It is an important contribution for our understanding of Dante's work - without doubt - but it also points to the currency of such ideas in the later middle ages even among lay audiences.  The burden of proof is more than met.  

As the notion of "inner death" may be unfamiliar to readers - and the degree of its consistency in the tradition was new to me - I found the careful charting of this chain of thought from Augustine to Aquinas and Bonaventure very helpful. But it is really the use of this "inner death" theology as a vehicle to understand a central paradox in Dante's work that is impressive and original. The intense theology behind the strange paradox that Dante could enter hell and leave hell even while the divine gates state that all who enter must lose hope, is masterful and I am fully convinced by the argument that this is because he is living, and that it is among the living that "inner death" must occur. The fact that this reading can elucidate multiple stories in the Inferno points to its importance as a governing idea of the work.

I did have some minor suggestions: there are some terms that I think need explanation on first appearing in the text: parabola, and contrapasso. Twice you use the term "virtual" (in line 33, and line 174) but I was unclear on what your intended meaning was. Paragraph (lines 136-140) needs indentation. Also paragraph (lines 271-281) is a quoted paragraph that needs indentation. There is an elision on line 421, and 'anticipates" is lacking its s in line 484.    

As a historian of the afterlife, I find intrinsic value in this study, but I think the argument has potential for a wide readership because of it's importance to Dante's work. 

Author Response

Please see attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a well written and significant contribution to the theme of Irony and Inner Death in Dante's Inferno. The essay provides an excellent background to the earlier medieval sources on this theme. It also shows how these sources help elucidate what Dante means about irony and inner death in Dante's text. I especially learned much about the monastic and mendicant (Thomas and Bonaventure) approaches to Hell and why people are there according to Dante.

I have no ideas about how the article could be improved because it is so well written and presented.

Maybe Dante scholars will have some criticisms, but as a medieval theologian who has written about medieval eschatology, I do not have any criticisms to make. 

 

Author Response

Thank you very much for your comments.