Customer Reviews

Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

C. H. Sisson's one-volume edition of Dante's masterpiece on life and faith, accompanied by David Higgins' introduction and notes, may be recommended to anyone seeking entry to Dante's cosmos. The advantage of a single-volume edition of the Dante's "Comedy" is that, though one may be assigned a single volume in a course (most often Inferno), with the other volumes included in the same binding one is more likely to return to the rest of it later. To be assigned "Inferno" alone is to leave the reader stranded at hell's gate, offering neither the cautions "Purgatorio" makes for the living, nor the light its author intends "Paradiso" to shine out for the world.

Other key single-volume offerings are Mark Musa's well-annotated "Portable Dante", Allen Mandelbaum's "Everyman's" cloth edition (with concise end-notes by Peter Armour and line drawings by Botticelli), and John Ciardi's still-inviting translation (New American Library). Those seeking more expansive introductions and notes may turn to Kirkpatrick's individually available Penguin volumes, Mandelbaum's Bantam volumes (annotated by him, with illustrations by Barry Moser), and Esolen's Modern Library volumes. W. S. Merwin's stand-alone "Purgatorio", Robert Pinsky's solitary "Inferno", and Elio Zappulla's brisk "Inferno" are also each significant poetic accomplishments.

I bought a copy of this translation of the Dante's Divine Comedy because I wanted to read all 3 parts - Inferno, Pergatory and Heaven - beginning to end. Due to a different specialisation, I was never required to read this at university. I knew that reading Dante's masterpiece from start to finish would be a challenge and so I knew, to give myself the best chance of success, I needed to have a translation which I could understand.

I tried some different translations and browsed others. But this paired down text, whilst absent of thou's, thee's and grammatical complications, was by far the easiest to understand and keep on reading in a flowing manner. It means I can see the imagery that Dante wrote, even though I might not experience any sense of his original turns of phrase. And what imagery it is... it's stunning. I think Dante's creation of hell, pergatory and heaven carry over, through translation from an old Italian to quite modern English, via paired down text. For what it's worth, I think so much of the original writing would be lost just by translating from the old Italian to any sense of modern English - I felt it was better to not worry about that at all.

I once read in the introductory chapter of another translation of the Divine Comedy that it would be ideal to just read it from cover to cover, but that the modern reader is likely to hit a wall at some point and need some historical contextual information in order to keep going. I've almost finished Inferno, in Sisson's translation, and I've hit no wall as yet. I'm really enjoying the journey, the stunning worlds created by Dante, and the main characters. I will go and read some of the notes afterwards, I hope I can get something out of them by reading them seperately to the main text. But I'm loving have my reading experience un-interrupted by footnotes all over the place.

I'm enjoying this translation as the easiest way to just flow through the story and appreciate this incredible work - I would highly recomend this translation to anyone who just wants to understand what it is they're reading, rather than struggling to comprehend the very meaning of what is written.

The book is a bit bulky as a paperback, with a third of the bulk being footnotes and extraneous writings. Why not go ahead and include etchings, too? I don't need that. I already have the books in separate with all the historical info I need, and if I hadn't, I have the library within a few minutes drive. I was looking for a compact version of the trilogy to carry around (I don't know why) or keep beside my bed. Anyway, the translation compared to others I've leafed through is superb. No nonsense and very straight-forward, but at the same time betraying a certain depth. You can choose to read between the lines or not. The translation warrants a 5-star rating, but the book's fuction as a paperback brings that rating down.

I got the package on time, it was in perfect condition, and it wasn't too pricey. Overall I am very happy with my purchase!

This book is a classic of medieval literature. It demonstrates European thought during the 13th century, and also demonstrates a timeless human perspective. Dante was well read in the science of his time, the great literature, the metaphysics of his day, and all this reflects in his work. This translation is great! I found myself passing through the circles of hell, up a mountain on my way to paradise, and engulfed in a great light, all with great enjoyment, and even with a reverence. It took me one month to finish it, but I finished a few other books during that month as well. I recommend this as an essential book for anyone wanting to round out their soul.

Reading this book gave one the impression that they could well sympathize with Hannibal's troops as they crossed the alps--one sets out with an obstensibly noble mission, but encounters massive casualties along the way.

Sisson's vers libre provides the vacuum within the bog. If the Divine Comedy is poetry, the Divine Comedy this is not. Poetry turned mundane.

However, his 235 pages of endnotes are massively helpful. The Divine Comedy was, in part, an exercise in commentary concerning contemporary politics. This veritable iceberg of symbolism's main bulk remains unseen without a strong dose of explanation for each page. Sisson offers the needed notes.

All things considered, a mixed-bag. An abysmal translation in text of this length is akin to adding the chains of Dickens's Marley onto the reader. Formidable scholarship regarding explanation of symbolism is, for the reader, analogous to Bouchard's discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

Divina Commedia is the most AWESOME story ever written. Dante ranks among the most brilliant men of all time. Maybe I feel this way because I'm a kid who likes fantasy novels, but I must say that I have read no wilder, more beautiful adventure quest than Dante's journey through the Catholic hereafter. The imagery alone is incredible. These books are stunning. Really. They make me wish I could understand Italian so I could catch the magic of Dante's rhyme... And if you've already read the Commedia, you haven't caught the whole story until you've finished La Vita Nuova as well! La Vita Nuova is a collection of sonnets about Dante's reactions to the life and death of Beatrice. Don't miss it. One more thing... If you're a Dante groupie like me, listen to the song "Dante's Prayer" by Loreena McKennit.

This translation was done in 1980 in free blank verse.

I find it incredibly bland, plain, un-visionary and extremely un-poetic.

The opposite of these are the qualities that make Dante's Divine Comedy immortal and entertaining...

It's as if Sisson is "trying" to make Dante's epic un-interesting!

I often recommend having at least 2 different translations, and as I am dissapointed by this one I stand by Ciarni's and Huse's beautiful and magisterial versions.

Good luck!

Note that this book is 2" thick and will take up substantial room in a suitcase. The paper appears to be of low quality (better paper would have been thinner, and probably not a great deal more costly), although the quality of the printing is good.

With the advent of word processors, end notes are an unnecessary nuisance. Footnotes would be preferable, especially in a work like "The Divine Comedy" where the notes are so important. On a recent trip to Florence, I found (in the Museum of the Opera of the Duomo bookstore, the best bookstore in Florence) a copy of "The Divine Comedy" in Italian that used footnotes. Unfortunately there appears to be none in English.

By the way, on that same trip, we visited Ravenna (the site of Dante's tomb) to see the beautiful mosaics. Highly recommended.