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The Divine Comedy

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Seven centuries after Dante Alighieri wrote La Divina Commedia, it remains one of the most spectacularly amazing literary masterpieces in any language of any time.

The story of a spiritual journey, The Divine Comedy is essentially an allegory which began on Good Friday 1300 (when Dante was thirty-five) and lasted for just seven days. It is also a bitter political polemic, directed against all in authority in Italy at the time, but particularly those in Dante's native Florence, and also serves as a denouncement of the wealth and corruption of the papacy.

The Divine Comedy embraces the celestial and the terrestrial, the mythological and the historical, the practical and the ethical. It is a discourse on the role of reason in faith and the individual in society.

The Divine Comedy is a poem in which Dante views himself as a pilgrim, representative of all mankind, who is led on a journey through the various circles of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. It is written in three volumes (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso), each composed of thirty-three cantos (there is one introductory canto serving as an overview).

Originally written in Italian, The Divine Comedy uses a rhyming scheme known as terza rima, which was invented by Dante, himself. Many translations attempt to adhere to this rhyming scheme, however this only confines and constrains the translator in his ability to capture the meaning and nuance of the original text. Anyone not able to read The Divine Comedy in its original Italian would be far better off in choosing a blank verse translation.

Dante's first guide is the poet, Virgil, who leads him through Hell and Purgatory. As Dante and Virgil descend through the ever-deepening circles, they speak with the damned, who are being punished according to their sins on earth.

Some of these denizens of Hell are mythological, some are historical and some are Florentines who were Dante's contemporaries.

Within Inferno, the condemned sinners are referred to as "shades." Virgil, himself, is first introduced as a shade. Although this can be confusing to some readers, the confusion can be easily cleared up once we realize Dante is employing the image of shades because, in his eyes, dead souls have grown faint through the absence of God's light.

Once Dante begins to work his way upwards, towards Paradise, Virgil, who is, himself, a resident in limbo, must take his leave and Dante finds his guide to be Beatrice (Bice Portinari, a woman Dante met and fell in love with in 1274 and who died in 1290). It is Beatrice who leads Dante on to Paradiso and his final vision of God.

The name, The Divine Comedy, is derived from two words, comus and oda, which, in their literal translation mean, "rustic song." Dante, in a letter to a Ghibellinline Captain in Verona, said he was attempting to separate his work from a pure tragedy (that which begins in tranquility and ends in sadness, e.g., Romeo and Juliet), from a comedy, which can begin in sadness but, by its very nature, ends in love, joy or perfection. The term, "divine" was suggested to Dante by Giovanni Boccaccio as a way of representing the content of the poem and the beauty that it holds.

The Divine Comedy is, without a doubt, one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature. In a literal sense, it is Dante's own depiction of the state of souls after death, but allegorically, it is so much more. On this deeper level, the poem investigates mankind's eternal search for salvation in which he must first descend to the depths of hell before rising to the heights of Paradise.

The Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of subject matter but it is also a masterpiece of Dante's Tuscan dialect (which eventually became the literary language of the whole of Italy). Those lucky enough to read it in the original Italian will find the language gorgeous beyond compare; a limpid and ethereal Italian that remains so fresh and invigorating it could have been written yesterday.

The Divine Comedy is not the easiest work in literature, either to read or to understand. But, for those who are prepared to make the effort, the rewards are far greater than could ever have been anticipated.

Dante's great epic poem comprises three parts: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradisio. It is a moral allegory of spiritual growth, following Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In each of these places he witnesses (successively) the tortures and ecstasies of actual people, both historical figures and people still living in Dante's own time. The Inferno is the most entertaining of the three. It is said that Dante "invented Hell," being the first man to describe it in detail as a place of fire and brimstone where devils torture their victims in accordance with their sins. The fact that he described the tortures of several former Popes did not leave him in the good graces of the Catholic church. I recommend a translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Ciardi, or Lawrence Grant White. I strongly recommend against the rhymed couplet translation by Dorothy Sayers, in which the rhyme most often overcomes the reason.

Dante, with the Divine Comedy, has produced a work that has endured for centuries and influenced many of the greatest Renaissance thinkers. This is quite a testament to his abilities. The Divine Comedy is divided into three basic sections: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante begins his travels in hell. Guided by the Latin poet Virgil, he sees kings, monks, popes, and an assortment of other people, all of whom are tormented in ways fitting the level and type of their sins. After leaving hell, he continues to the mountain of Purgatory. Here he encounters those souls who must be purged of their sinfulness in order to reach heaven. Finally, he enters into Paradise, where the lovely Beatrice now guides him. He travels through the seven planetary heavens (an interesting note on the science of Dante's time) where he dialogues with the Saints, beholds the radiance and glory of the Triune God and is told the mysteries of Heaven. Dante presents his poem with vividness and great detail allowing the reader to comprehend the horrors of Hell and the otherworldly beauty of Paradise.

I particularly enjoyed reading about the many colorful people he encounters on his journey. It is interesting to see the people he puts in hell, purgatory, and paradise and to hear their stories. Many are famous historical figures. His comedy has many examples of allegory, prophecy and even theology. He tackles issues such as the Atonement, divine justice, and free will. The story includes many references to both classical pagan stories (e.g. Greek mythology) and Christian writings (e.g. Thomas Aquinas). The only downside (in my opinion anyway) is that Dante devotes too much time to philosophical discussions relating to Aristotle, who was popular with nearly every prominent medieval thinker. These discussions slow the pace of the poem at times.

This particular edition contains all three parts of the comedy and is unabridged. The low price is a plus too. It is in prose, although the language is pretty stilted. It uses "thees" an "thous," for example. This is not necessarily bad because it makes the story quite dignified, but some of the sentences can be very difficult to understand. Here is an example: "Thy kindliness not only succoreth whoso requesteth, but doth oftentimes freely forerun request." Fortunately, there are long introductions that summarize each chapter (canto) and numerous endnotes, which explain in detail the people, places, things, and ideas of Dante's work. Overall, I highly recommend the Divine Comedy to every reader, especially for those interested in medieval literature. Still, you may want to find another edition.

The all-encompassing mind of Dante has produced indeed one of the main sources of Western culture. It is a rich poem, full of interesting stories and commentary and which, like all true classics, can be read from different standpoints and has different dimensions. It tells Dante's travel to Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Daniel Boorstin has called it "Adventures in Death". It is also one of the main bridges between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Like other works from this period, it mixes classical mythology and tradition with Christian history. The first evidence of this is the fact that although Dante travels to the Christian underworld, his guide is the Roman poet Virgil, no less.

Dante's work is thus multi-layered: it is an exploration of virtue and sin and their consequences; a profound criticism of the state of the Catholic Church at the time, attacking fiercely the institution of the Papacy and Boniface VIII in particular, for their corruption; a reelaboration of old Medieval themes; a bitter analysis of Italian and especially Florentine politics of his day, whose effects he so cruelly suffered.

During his trip, Dante meets and speaks with Biblical characters, Greco-Roman ones, and contemporaries of him. These people tell their stories and explain why they are where they are. Dante touches practically on all relevant and controversial subjects of his time, as well as many of our own. Although in any translation we miss the lyricism of his verse, we can still appreciate the quality and dignity of his writing.

It is not, of course, an easy reading. It is not "light" literature and it demands intelligent, cultivated and also demanding readers. But the reward is infinite. Dante's work has had any number of repercussions in subsequent culture. I think, for example, of Tchaikovsky's "Francesca di Rimini", based on one of the fascinating stories told to Dante in Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Dante's images are powerful, terrorific in Hell and purely Divine in Heaven. His imagination is truly remarkable, in the way he describes the punsihments and rewards, as well as the characters and their situations.

Lose the fear and plunge into this greatest tour de force. It is really Dantesque.

Never has there been a tale quite so epic, so emotional, and thought provoking. Dante, has done what no one else has dared to do, take us on a guided tour of hell, purgatory, and paradise. He makes you believe and fear the real thing. This story will stand for another 700 years as one of the single most important literary works of all time.

This version of the Divine Comedy contains all three sections, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso. This poem is a masterpiece to be savored and surprisingly it's not as difficult to read as one might think.

Ample notes and diagrams are provided throughout all three sections, and before each Canto (Chapter) a synopsis is provided detailing what just happened and what is going to happen next. A very nice addition that will help in comprehension of the poem.

The descriptions of Dante's Hell, Purgatory and later Heaven are breathtaking. Each section can be read seperately and enjoyed as is but combined they provide a brilliantly realized journey.

Beware that the translation pictured is not a John Ciardi translation. The reviews following it make it sound like it is but if you are looking for him specifically, this copy isn't the one you want.
Kim

Genius! That is all that I can say, GENIUS! This is, without a doubt, one of the best and most important works of literature in human history. Dante is second only to Shakespeare in human literature. I enjoyed every minute that I spent reading "The Divine Comedy" and could hardly put it down. If you enjoy reading at all then PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!!

Dante's Divine Comedy is compulsory reading in Italian high schools. Generally, the three books are read one per year. Because I *had* to read it, I never paid much attention to Dante's language (save for a few famous passages), nor the meaning.

I recently picked my old tattered version and began to read. As a youngster I had preferred the Inferno, mostly for its almost gossipy quality-a veritable who's who in hell. Now, my preferences have shifted towards the last canto of Purgatory and all of Paradise. The beauty of the language the Alighieri uses, as he enters into Paradise, where Beatrice now guides him (instead of Virgil, elevating her to celestial status); where he dialogues with saints and describes the radiance and mysteries of heaven is so vivid.

This is a body of work that surpasses the divine, at times, and should be read by young and old. I highly recommend this version as the translation is exquisite.

This is by far the best and most moving work of literature that I have ever read