Dante's Sacred Poem

Sheila J. Nayar is Associate Professor of English and Communication Studies at Greensboro College, North Carolina, USA.

• Preface1 The Immutable Feast of Dante’s Comedy: Introduction2 The Eucharist to the Time of Dante3 Flesh Corruptible: Dante’s Inferno4 Betwixt and Between: Dante’s Purgatory5 Bread of Angels: Dante’s Paradise6 ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Nayar fills a remarkable gap in Dante studies. Offering an extended analysis of the Eucharistic themes that extend throughout the Divine Comedy, she argues that “one cannot adequately stress the import of [transubstantiation]—this corporal intimacy with Christ—up to, and within, Dante’s time.” Careful not to overstate her thesis, the author treads cautiously, foregrounding the ambiguities and underscoring the limitations of such readings, never drawing too-sweeping conclusions on crux issues, especially the extent of Dante’s own religious convictions. As with any good study of the Comedy, this work illuminates more than the poem, offering new insights on medieval theology, philosophy, and culture, especially evolving notions of the Eucharist and the myriad anxieties and cultural stresses such beliefs evoked and alleviated. Well written, methodically sourced, and carefully argued, the book justifies the conclusion that “through its subtle, evanescent, ungraspable presentation of Christ, Dante’s poetic vision manages to evoke that physically indiscernible Real Presence which, for the Roman Catholic, transubstantiation begets.” Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.