From Dante to September 11th

Adonis never ceases to amaze with the wide range of allusions he incorporates into his poetry. He chooses to explore multiple religions, places, and time periods–rather than focusing on just one–to show flexibility in meaning and to encourage a broader world view. Adonis straddles seemingly divergent pieces: a “concerto” on Dante, the Italian poet from the Middle Ages, to a concerto on 9/11, a modern tragedy involving both America and the Middle East, all while managing to make connections between the two.

In “Concerto for the Road to Dante’s Church,” Adonis tackles one of the oldest visions of the afterlife founded upon Roman Catholic beliefs. Dante wrote his Divine Comedy between 1308 and 1321; in particular, Dante’s piece Inferno illustrated his “journey through Hell” which he depicts as a series of nine circles or levels based upon nine different sins. Each circle faces increasingly brutal punishment to match the sin itself. This topic of the afterlife becomes a primary concern for Adonis; on page 302 he pleads, “Dante, the roads to the purgatorio, paradiso, and inferno still pour with tears. There is no/ one in the processions of the gods except corpses. Do the gods hate life so much?/ I ask you and I cry from the gorges of my inferno: How strange monotheism is!” Here, Adonis clearly struggles with the religious tenants of Heaven and Hell. It seems that Adonis would rather emphasize the beauty of life on earth, rather than the uncertainty of death. (I am curious as to whether others agree or disagree with my assumption?)

Additionally, Adonis juxtaposes Dante’s ideas about death with an airport and an airplane; why does he choose this particular setting? It could be foreshadowing or at least a precursor to his “Concerto for 11th/September/2001 B.C.” The attacks on September 11th have forever tainted the feeling of safety; we each fear our deaths, and Adonis uses fear to fuel his tumultuous, controversial poetry. One more thing that stood out to me Adonis’s repeated mention of “the lower layers of creation” (305-306) in “Concerto for 11th/September…” which links back to the nine layers of Dante’s Inferno; in this way, Adonis seems to suggest that there is a special place in Hell for the irreversible, destructive act of terrorism which occurred that day.