Inferno

By Dante Alighieri

Book Overview

"Here at last that much suffering reader will find Dante's greatness manifest, and not his greatness only, but his grace, his simplicity, and his affection." -- William Dean Howells, The Nation
"As a crown to his literary life, Longfellow combines his exquisite scholarship and his poetic skill and experience in the translation of one of the great poems of the world." -- Harper's Monthly
Enter the unforgettable world of The Inferno and travel with a pair of poets through nightmare landscapes of eternal damnation to the very core of Hell. The first of the three major canticles in La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), this fourteenth-century allegorical poem begins Dante's imaginary journey from Hell to Purgatory to Paradise. His encounters with historical and mythological creatures -- each symbolic of a particular vice or crime -- blend vivid and shocking imagery with graceful lyricism in one of the monumental works of world literature.
This acclaimed translation was rendered by the beloved nineteenth-century poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A skilled linguist who taught modern languages at Harvard, Longfellow was among the first to make Dante's visionary poem accessible to American readers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486442888
• ISBN13: 9780486442884
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Difficult to read.

It's written in old English and I wonder how accurate it is because the notes in the back don't jive with the text. Even Longfellow said in the beginning it doesn't translate into English well. "More beautiful in Italian." I'm a amature theologian and I have to say it's amazing this poem was turned into a belief system.

Classics

So many classics on my list, but ever since I watched the animated film and heard about this book in middle school I’ve always wanted to read it!

it came fast and it looks brand new!!

love it

Audacious journey

This is a review of the Nicholas Kilmer 1985 translation, illustrated by Benjamin Martinez.There have been over 700 years of commentary on this classic, so I won't add anything original here. On the web search for "Dartmouth Dante Project" and you will find many. The reading is helped by added commentary, for example understanding the role of Beatrice or Francesca as heroine. The Dorothy Sayers translation offers more background information. The audaciousness of the poet to enter this realm of Biblical themes is remarkable, as his ability to garner sympathy for some of the sinners, such as Ugolino. Its fun to think where Dante would have placed some of today's public figures. Kilmer's translation is clear and straightforward, fairly modern sounding. For example contrast Kilmers(from Cantos XXiv):Quicker than I cross t, dot i, he kindled, burned, and falling down, was completely changed to ashes versus Sayers:Never did writer with a single dashOf the pen write "o" or "i" so swift as heTook fire, and burned, and crumbled way to ash.After I read the poem, I studied the dark illustrations by Benjamin Martinez and they present another view of the journey.

Ciardi's the Best

There's no doubt about it...Ciardi's is the best translation of the haunting and powerful poem about the medieval view of God's divine plan. Ciardi dumps archaisms and goes for the throat of Dante's poetry and meaning. You'll never touch another translation after you read this!