Depiction of Dante by Gustave Dore‘The Beginning of Wisdom’ by T.M.A. Day The Society September 12, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . The Beginning of Wisdom Within the passing noon of our own life, I saw through woodlands dark and traces grim, Those words upon the graven arches rim, Whose clarity compounds immortal strife. They claimed their maker was that power divine, The highest wisdom and the primal love, Who makes and moves the sun and stars above, And set this portal deep below the brine. Great gates of steel lay broken to the side, Their hinges warped and bent as at a blow. Rude barricades scarce filled a gap so wide, That any soul who pleased might come or go. And the remains of men who have just died, Were urged by frantic whispers not to slow. . . T.M.A. Day is in formation for the Catholic priesthood in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 10 Responses Richard Craven September 12, 2022 A devotional Petrarchan sonnet. Very polished and technically adept, and an accomplishment to be proud of (at least if you hadn’t taken holy orders!). One minor point: is there a particular reason why you’ve written “have” rather than “had” in the penultimate line? Reply T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 Thank you! A good point on have v.s. had – I thought that it would convey a greater sense of immediacy as the poem progressed, but now I am second guessing it. Reply Roy E. Peterson September 12, 2022 The image that came to my mind was of a decrepit cemetery with the concept that earthly interment is for the mortal body, but the tombstones herald the beginning of wisdom. Reply Paul Freeman September 12, 2022 An intriguing piece with a number of interpretations which I’ll be sifting through. Thanks for the read. Reply T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 N.B. – It might be helpful to open up to Inferno, Canto III, in whatever version of Dante you have around. Reply Cynthia Erlandson September 12, 2022 I think this is both a marvelous poem in its own right, and also such a good echo of Dante that it could be mistaken for his writing. Reply Geoffrey S. September 12, 2022 Why is it “the passing noon of our own life” instead of “the passing noon of my own life” given that in the next line you refer to “I”? The Petrarchan sonnet is a good choice for a poem reflecting Dante, but it doesn’t strictly adhere to the abbaabba rhyme scheme in the octet. Is there a reason for the variation? Reply T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 The plural in the first line is a reference to the first line of the Comedy, which is normally translated to the effect of: “Mid-way through the journey of our life,” before switching to the singular. As for the variation, it was more the fact that I wanted the second quartet to mirror as strongly as possible a line and a half from Canto III while referencing the last line of the whole Comedy, “the Love which moves the sun and other stars.” Reply Satyananda Sarangi September 14, 2022 Greetings! This is ethereal! The cadence was adept – each word had its importance. Awe inspiring stuff. Thank you for this poem. Reply Margaret Coats September 20, 2022 For this to be a sonnet in its own right, it can’t depend so much on Dante that the poem makes no statement of its own about the beginning of wisdom. “Any soul who pleased might come or go” seems to be that statement. Sin and hell are not inevitable. However, I find the idea obscured both by the Dantesque atmosphere, and by common-sense Christian faith applied to the sonnet situation. By the atmosphere, I mean the sonnet ending with frantic whispers, seeming to emerge from hell, and urging souls to hurry up and enter. That makes sense insofar as it contributes to the terror of Dante, a temporary visitor who will see hell and report on its horrors. Common sense, though, says that the souls of the deceased enter hell by choices made during life. They have no choice after death, and cannot go out again if they please. The sonnet’s pronouncement about the beginning of wisdom is addressed only to the living with choices still to make. Hell does its best to make that unclear. Having come back to read this poem a number of times, I take it the hellish lack of clarity is intentional, but I find that the darkness achieved leaves the reader looking for the wisdom. The “portal deep below the brine” could also be a confusing detail. Of course, you mean Dante puts hell beneath the surface of the earth, but an underwater scene comes to mind. Looking at Canto III, I see that Dante wisely refers to air. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Richard Craven September 12, 2022 A devotional Petrarchan sonnet. Very polished and technically adept, and an accomplishment to be proud of (at least if you hadn’t taken holy orders!). One minor point: is there a particular reason why you’ve written “have” rather than “had” in the penultimate line? Reply
T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 Thank you! A good point on have v.s. had – I thought that it would convey a greater sense of immediacy as the poem progressed, but now I am second guessing it. Reply
Roy E. Peterson September 12, 2022 The image that came to my mind was of a decrepit cemetery with the concept that earthly interment is for the mortal body, but the tombstones herald the beginning of wisdom. Reply
Paul Freeman September 12, 2022 An intriguing piece with a number of interpretations which I’ll be sifting through. Thanks for the read. Reply
T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 N.B. – It might be helpful to open up to Inferno, Canto III, in whatever version of Dante you have around. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson September 12, 2022 I think this is both a marvelous poem in its own right, and also such a good echo of Dante that it could be mistaken for his writing. Reply
Geoffrey S. September 12, 2022 Why is it “the passing noon of our own life” instead of “the passing noon of my own life” given that in the next line you refer to “I”? The Petrarchan sonnet is a good choice for a poem reflecting Dante, but it doesn’t strictly adhere to the abbaabba rhyme scheme in the octet. Is there a reason for the variation? Reply
T.M.A. Day September 12, 2022 The plural in the first line is a reference to the first line of the Comedy, which is normally translated to the effect of: “Mid-way through the journey of our life,” before switching to the singular. As for the variation, it was more the fact that I wanted the second quartet to mirror as strongly as possible a line and a half from Canto III while referencing the last line of the whole Comedy, “the Love which moves the sun and other stars.” Reply
Satyananda Sarangi September 14, 2022 Greetings! This is ethereal! The cadence was adept – each word had its importance. Awe inspiring stuff. Thank you for this poem. Reply
Margaret Coats September 20, 2022 For this to be a sonnet in its own right, it can’t depend so much on Dante that the poem makes no statement of its own about the beginning of wisdom. “Any soul who pleased might come or go” seems to be that statement. Sin and hell are not inevitable. However, I find the idea obscured both by the Dantesque atmosphere, and by common-sense Christian faith applied to the sonnet situation. By the atmosphere, I mean the sonnet ending with frantic whispers, seeming to emerge from hell, and urging souls to hurry up and enter. That makes sense insofar as it contributes to the terror of Dante, a temporary visitor who will see hell and report on its horrors. Common sense, though, says that the souls of the deceased enter hell by choices made during life. They have no choice after death, and cannot go out again if they please. The sonnet’s pronouncement about the beginning of wisdom is addressed only to the living with choices still to make. Hell does its best to make that unclear. Having come back to read this poem a number of times, I take it the hellish lack of clarity is intentional, but I find that the darkness achieved leaves the reader looking for the wisdom. The “portal deep below the brine” could also be a confusing detail. Of course, you mean Dante puts hell beneath the surface of the earth, but an underwater scene comes to mind. Looking at Canto III, I see that Dante wisely refers to air. Reply
