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Product Description
Product Description
Described variously as the greatest poem of the European Middle Ages and, because of the author's evangelical purpose, the `fifth Gospel', the Divine Comedy is central to the culture of the west. The poem is a spiritual autobiography in the form of a journey - the poet travels from the dark circles of the Inferno, up the mountain of Purgatory, where Virgil, his guide leaves him to encounter Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise. Dante conceived the poem as the new epic of Christendom, and he creates a world in which reason and faith have transformed moral and social chaos into order. Charles Sisson's blank verse translation is remarkable for its lucidity and vigour, and the Introduction, diagrams, maps, and notes by David Higgins provide the reader with invaluable guidance.
About the Author
Charles H. Sisson is a well-known poet and translator, and editor of Poetry Nation Review. David Higgins is Head of Italian Studies at the University of Bristol, and is the author of Dante and the Bible (1992).
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Dante Alighieri died in Ravenna in 1321, shortly after the completion of the Paradiso, the third and final canticle of The Divine Comedy. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Dante Alighieri died in Ravenna in 1321, shortly after the completion of the Paradiso, the third and final canticle of The Divine Comedy. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a brilliant edition of the masterpiece and before buying it I was apprehensive that I wouldn't understand half of it but the translation is simple and there is a wealth of notes at the back for further understanding. Would recommend this to anyone interested in reading The Divine Comedy.
115 of 120 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has to be rated as one of the best and most approachable translations of the Divine Comedy available today. Mr Sisson has retained the true lyricism of Dante's original Italian verse as well as the sense of 'terza rima' so important in this work. I highly recommend this edition to students and to those first time explorers of Dante and his great poem. The notes are extensive and detailed, a great aid to the uninitiated. In three years of University study this edition has never let me down, It is always at my side.
50 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After seeing movies and TV shows with references to The Divine Comedy, I thought it about time to see what all the fuss was about.
There are times when the pace of the poem slows. However this never distracts from the narrative epic adventure from hell to heaven via purgatory. It has stunning descriptive visuals and excellent social comment of the time.
This is a brilliant study of human morality and religion. However I would recommend a little study into ancient mythology and the bible to easier understand this book. Also having not studied the social history of the time I did find it best to read a canto at a time and then read the study notes for that canto to aid my understanding.
This is a once in a lifetime experience to be had by all.
There are times when the pace of the poem slows. However this never distracts from the narrative epic adventure from hell to heaven via purgatory. It has stunning descriptive visuals and excellent social comment of the time.
This is a brilliant study of human morality and religion. However I would recommend a little study into ancient mythology and the bible to easier understand this book. Also having not studied the social history of the time I did find it best to read a canto at a time and then read the study notes for that canto to aid my understanding.
This is a once in a lifetime experience to be had by all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent translation for those studying Dante
If you need to read this for your studies I would say that this is an excellent volume to buy. There is an extensive introduction which frames the work and gives it context, and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
Divine Comedy is divine !!!!
Having developed an interest in all things Italian recently I wanted to acquaint myself with this masterpiece of Italian, and indeed world, literature, but as I do not know Italian... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Margo
What can I say?
This book is excellent. Packed with meaning and written in prose, it is an brilliant insight into Western civilisation and how it has developed. Read more
Published 18 months ago by John Henry Esquire
Must read version of this classic
This book was my first foray into "Classics" and I cannot have enjoyed it more. The poem was easy to read, thanks in many parts to the Guidance Notes included. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Elena
Dante's Divine Comedy
I got this book because I am about to enjoy a series of lectures to guide me through it - it looks well presented and I can see the structure and notes formats, the tone and the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Anne M. Bennett
Excellent
Very good translation, easy to read and understand, commentaries and notes great to put in context .
Published 22 months ago by Caligula
Excellent Translation
Having read the Oxford World's Classic's Paradise Lost, I was worried that their Divine Comedy would be equally dense with archaic language. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by J. Astbury
Comedy?
I have to say, I was disappointed in this book.
It was well written don't get me wrong, but it wasn't in the least bit funny. If anything it was depressing! Read more
It was well written don't get me wrong, but it wasn't in the least bit funny. If anything it was depressing! Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2009 by C. L. Martin
Divine
"Midway life's journey I was made aware/that I had strayed into a dark forest..."
Those eerie words open the first cantica of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," the... Read more
Those eerie words open the first cantica of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," the... Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2009 by E. A Solinas
What this book is
Italy in the late 13th century. A poet writing in the modest sonnet form on themes of love in his younger days, meditates on a higher less personal love. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2008 by Jason Powell
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