Sarah Hart's new book Once Upon a Prime argues that math and literature are bound together in many interesting ways. I examine her claims and the book's content.
Did she get to The Divine Comedy? That seems like a book where mathematics and geometry etc play a dizzying role and the experience of the math is part of the aesthetic experience and meaning of the story itself.
The Divine Comedy was not discussed at any length in the text. Hart spent a lot of time on works like Flatland, Ella Minnow Pea, and La Disparition than classical texts. She does cite a dissertation or two that actually takes a deep look at math in the works of classic literature. The classics she touch on are mostly Moby Dick and Alice in Wonderland.
Did she get to The Divine Comedy? That seems like a book where mathematics and geometry etc play a dizzying role and the experience of the math is part of the aesthetic experience and meaning of the story itself.
The Divine Comedy was not discussed at any length in the text. Hart spent a lot of time on works like Flatland, Ella Minnow Pea, and La Disparition than classical texts. She does cite a dissertation or two that actually takes a deep look at math in the works of classic literature. The classics she touch on are mostly Moby Dick and Alice in Wonderland.