Customer Reviews

The Inferno

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have started several Infernos and have dropped every one of them at some point, unwilling to continue Dante's journey. This is the first one I have read all the way through, enjoyed, and learned an immense amount without hurting my head at all.

I'm no authority on Italian but I am an avid poetry reader and I found the translation to be superb; there is no straining for effect, nor does it sound flat and/or prosaic. It's a subtle and highly admirable balance of the dramatic and scholarly. But it's the outstanding notes that really make this version work for me. Detailed without being overwhelming and referenced by line for ease of use, they bring up the key points of interpretation (as well as a lot of fascinating lesser subjects) in a friendly and enlightening manner.

I now envy those who have been fortunate enough to take Robert Hollander's class on Dante, but take solace that having his and his wife's wonderful work in this handsome volume may be the next best thing to being there. If you have found the Divine Comedy too daunting in the past, I urge you to check out the Hollanders: they provide great poetry for enjoyment and much food for thought, and all without "dumbing down" what is truly one of the greatest works of the human imagination. For me, a revelation.

This translation - the Hollanders' - is rendered by beautifully readable, relaxed, English verse that is remarkably close in meaning to Dante Alighieri's great poem. The music of the poem is a harder thing to imitate, but the Hollanders have given us a lovely sounding diction. Which is to say that it is an excellent translation.

But more importantly, here's why you need to own this translation: People REALLY need to know why Dante Alighieri's Commedia is great and why they should read it even if they're not assigned it in school. Not only do they need to know why, they also need to experience the poem profoundly, even though its inception is seven centuries past. Anybody who would bring into the world yet another translation of this poem must be able to answer that question in one way or another. These translator's do that in an excellent user-friendly format: beautifully made rendering of the verse, followed by brief, illuminating line-commentary at the end of each Canto.

Also, read the introduction. It's not one of those forbiding 77 page monographs that one finds so often at the start of too many wonderful books. This one's fresh, to the point, and gets you into the poem very quickly. This in itself is worth the price of the book.

This translation of The Inferno, the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, by Robert and Jean Hollander, is one of the best that I've read. Their English version of the Comedy is fast and straightforward, sticking close to the original text but adding vigor to what can sometimes be very bland in English. Having read the Comedy numerous times in many different translations, I didn't expect to be swept up in it again as I was. The Hollanders have done us a great favor with this translation.

The notes are copious and excellent, presenting numerous perspectives on textual, symbolic, narrative, and historical issues in the Comedy. A line-by-line breakdown of each canto is at the beginning of each, and charts detailing the layout of Dante's Hell help organize a narrative that can be infinitely confusing to the beginner.

Highly recommended for beginners and seasoned fans of Dante alike.

The Inferno translated incredibly well. It has English/Italian side by side. The english reading is translated using the same verse structure and as close a translation as possible. Excellent explanation of the verse and character references in the story. I would highly recomment this work and translation. Hopefully, Mr. Hollander will also offer a translation of the Purgatorio and Paradisio.

The Hollanders have done a remarkable job in presenting Dante's Inferno. The annotations are extensive and varied as they pull from many authoritative sources. If you do not have a strong classics background, reading the Inferno is difficult as Dante referenced and copied the great epic poets who came before him. To read it, without the guidance of an experienced teacher or a superb annotation is to ultimately lose the book and wonder why it is a classic.

The joy of this translation is that through its notes it opens the whole text to you and if you do get lost it is in mastery of Dante which is how it should be. The Hollanders should be proud and we eternally thankful for their intelligence and care which shine through their Inferno.

My first experience with Inferno was a different translation a few years ago, and while I liked the story, the style didn't do much for me. I have since had the good fortune not only to read Hollander's translation, but to actually take his Inferno class at Princeton. He is an absolute master of the material, and that shows in this edition of the Inferno. Not only is the poetry very eloquent and readable, but the accompanying notes clarify all the obscure classical references, and sometimes hard-to-follow metaphors. This translation does a marvelous job of bringing a great classical Italian story to a modern English audience.

It doesn't matter if you have read every other translation of Dante's immortal poem, if you haven't read Hollander's, you haven't fully absorbed the amazing power of this classic work of art.

Perhaps needless to say, Dante is very hard to translate into English. His terza rima, his hendecayllabic lines often mislabeled "iambic pentameter," his constant elisions, his fluid syntax--all of these things are relatively easy to accomplish in medieval Italian, but trying to mimic its beauty in American English is like trying to squeeze Walt Whitman into tailored Milanese couture. The Hollanders make no such attempts to stretch American English beyond its limits, instead opting for faith to the meaning of Dante's words and lucid English syntax that actually sounds like contemporary American poetry (if Louise Glück decided to write The Divine Comedy today, this is how it would read). What more could you ask for?

Facing the text of the Hollanders' translation is Dante's Italian, allowing the gorgeousness of his poetry to speak for itself. At the beginning of each canto is an outline giving a thorough summary of the plot, and at the end are wonderfully extensive notes offering Professor Hollander's and his peers' interpretations of the text. Some might prefer to have these notes at the back of the book or in a separate volume, but I happen to think their placement in this translation allows one to flip between the poem and the notes much more easily. I also agree with other reviewers' annoyance that Hollander's notes often tell one to read further elsewhere instead of just explaining what these other sources say, but I suppose there's only so much literary criticism one can fit between two covers.

I've read three translations of the Inferno, and this one is by far the best. It's very accurate to the original text but also very readable. I found that as well as flowing better than the other translations, this one is also the most interesting.

As well as being the best translation, I also think it has the best notes. The notes and chapter outlines are helpful without being overbearing, and really help through the story.

The edition is also beautiful. It's a high quality paperback with excellent art. Simply put, if you want to read The Inferno, get this version.

This translation, although being the only one I have read, leaves me with no desire for any other. I can speak Italian, and the words used reflect the orginal marvelously well. I have found no discrepancy that was not covered in the extensive endnotes.

The Italian text used is a modern translation of the original vernacular, and though it would have been nice to have the Vulgar alongside of the Italian, I respect the Hollanders for not giving us a $50, 10 lb. monster. The text itself retains Dante's tercet structure, leaving out only the rhyme scheme that would have constrained terribly the English words and meaning.

This poem is epic in every aspect of its contribution to the 14,233 verses of the entire Commedia, and deserves an equally epic rendition into English. Hollander's work does this poem justice, in an easily read, very accurate depiction of Hell. It should inspire as it disgusts, and bring tears of sympathy alongside tears of sheer joy for the beauty of the verse.