In The Seven Deadly Sins and Other Poems, veteran poet David R. Slavitt touches on topics from the mundane to the mysterious with his signature wit and intelligence. In OC Stupid, OCO for instance, he transforms a simple head cold into an appreciation for the richness of consciousness, and in OC Waking, OCO the very effort of rising from bed becomes something like a miracle: OC I heave myself up to a sitting position, pause / a moment, and am amazed by what I have done. . . .OCO Slavitt explores the range of the human condition with such ease and insight that readers cannot help but ponder what life isOCoand what it could be. What ifOColike the mythic sea creature in OC The DogfishOCOOCohumans could return to the womb when frightened? In the collectionOCOs title poem, Slavitt gives a voice to the Seven Deadly Sins, each of which claims, persuasively, to possess a value to humans that is seldom noticed or appreciated. Slavitt has a unique ability to examine an ideaOCobe it virtue or vice, dark or blitheOCoand offer perspective and wisdom about the conundrums of our existence."

This volume opens with the bold suggestion that the seven deadly sins constitute a key to the structure of Inferno and Paradiso, as well as Purgatorio. It ends with a discussion of cowardice (not strictly a deadly sin) in Inferno iii, followed by a look at Dante himself in the light of all the capital vices. In between, each of the seven is focused on in turn. Intellectual pride is cited as the reason for Cavalcanti's absence from the Commedia, while-separately-the pride cantos in Purgatorio are read as a reconstruction of the individual's passage from pride to piety. Envy is located in the political sphere and shown to be almost always figured in conjunction with other vices whose sinful acts it prompts. It is then argued that Dante clarifies problems encountered in medieval attempts to distinguish between just and unjust anger. Sloth in The Divine Comedy is explored next, with particular attention to the poet Statius, its only named exponent. The poet's understanding of avarice is placed in the context of the revived money economy and the papacy's inflated temporal pretensions, while that understanding is, secondly, viewed in relation to the ancient Romans. Gluttony occasions reflection about analogies between the body and the book, as well as remarks about illustrations of the gluttons' aerial bodies in The Divine Comedy's early printed editions. The ambivalence of Dante's principal representations of lust is seen to imply a tension in his great poem between love poetry and spirituality, a tension he seeks to resolve in Beatrice. (Series: UCD Foundation for Italian Studies) [Subject: Literary Criticism, Dante, Italian Studies, The Divine Comedy, Renaissance Italy]

With intellectual insight and deadpan humor, Kleinberg deftly guides the reader through Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman thoughts on sin. "Seven Deadly Sins" takes a compassionate, original, and witty look at the stuff that makes us human.

The Canterbury Tales' is a collection of 24 stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer. In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and, three years later, Clerk of the King's work. It was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, 'The Canterbury Tales'. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.

This book contains over twenty-eight different types of poetry, with explanations and examples of each type. Many of my poems are romantic, such as My Beloved, Ode to Melissa, To Love a Woman, My Hearts Desire, Love, and My Love. While others are inspirational, like Forgiveness, Hope, The Seven Virtues, Empathy, and Kindness. Still others are philosophical in nature, such as my poems Living, True Freedom, Who Knows What Tomorrow Brings, and The State of the Economy. My kyrielle poem Life could be said to be both inspirational and philosophical. Some of my poems are educational, like The Benefits of Reading, which extols the virtues of reading, and To Be Young Again, which talks about nutrition and exercise. Some are family-oriented poems, such as my poem Little Bit, which I wrote for my niece Kristin, or Camping with Younger Brother, which I wrote for my brother Craig, or Little Child, which I wrote for all the little ones in the world. Other poems are devoted to naturelike my Froggy, Turtle, Tornado, and Mother Nature poemsor to mankind in general, such as Earth on Which We Live and True Happiness. And others were written with some fun in mind, like the poem Nude I wrote in response to an online contest to rhyme the last word in each line with the word nude. (Birthday Lesson is another fun poem like this.) I also did a series of seven poems on each of the seven deadly sins, where I used archaic language to spoof each of these sins, which unfortunately often plague mankind. I truly hope you will enjoy reading the poems contained in this book.