The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dante Alighieri
Creator: John Ciardi
Publisher: NAL Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
Buy New: $10.42
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Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 931
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 928
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0451208633
Dewey Decimal Number: 851.1
EAN: 9780451208637
ASIN: 0451208633
Publication Date: May 27, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Dante Alighieri's poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise-the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 Great copy December 22, 2008
Way better than the classroom set using easy to understand language and tons of references and footnotes!
COMPLETE EDITION of the BEST RHYMING TRANSLATION! October 3, 2008
Ciarni's points out in the "Translator Notes" that using Dante's own "Terza Rima" rhyming ending scheme of ABA BCB CDC DED etc. in English simply doesn't suit and doesn't work properly! But even a blank free verse translation also doesn't do Dante the justice he deserves since he wrote it in rhyme!
He tried mulitple techinques including assonantal terza rima, couplets, ballad stanzas and blank verse, but couldn't render Dante's poetics into the English idiom normally and naturally until he finally tried a Rhyming ending scheme of AbA CdC EfE GhG etc. where he then actually became surprised with the natural flow of the poetics. He was then happy to have the priviledge then to render Dante in a Rhyming ending scheme that was as close to Dante as possible and that could work for the English language.
Here is a few quotes by Ciarni I'd like to post:
"...I am not a Dante scholar, I have undertaken what I hope to be a poet's work...All I can truthfully say is, that equivalence as I have managed has happened by "feel".
"...I could find no translation that satisfied my sense of the original...In looking at other translations I was distressed by the fact that none of them seemed to be using what I understood as Dante's "vulgate". They seemed rather to fall into literary language, the very sort of thing Dante took pains to avoid. And none of them, above all else, gave me a satisfying sense of Dante's pace, which is to say, the rate at which the writing reveals itself to the reader."
"...This final version "feels" enough like the original, and "feels" enough like English poetry to allow me to conclude that I have probably caught it as well as I shall be able to....What has any poet to trust more than that "feel" of the thing?"
- Here are a couple of excerpts from the openings of Ciarni's Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso...
INFERNO - CANTO 1:
Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood. How shall I say
what wood that was! I never saw so drear,
so rank, so arduous a wilderness!
It's very memory gives a shape to fear.
Death could scarce be more bitter than that place!
but since it came to good, I will recount
all that I found revealed there by God's grace.
How I came to it I cannot rightly say,
so drugged and loose with sleep had I become
when I first wandered there from the True Way.
PURGATORIO - CANTO 1:
For better waters now the little bark
of my indwelling powers raises her sails,
and leaves behind that sea so cruel and dark.
Now shall I sing that second kingdom given
the soul of man wherein to purge its guilt
and so grow worthy to ascend to Heaven.
Yours am I, sacred Muses! To you I pray.
Here let dead poetry rise once more to life,
and here let sweet Calliope rise and play
some fair accompaniment in that high strain
whose power the wretched Pierides once felt
so terribly they dared not hope again.
PARADISO - CANTO 1:
The glory of Him who moves all things rays forth
through all the universe, and is reflected
from each thing in proportion to its worth.
I have been in that Heaven of His most light
and what I saw, those who descend from there
lack both the knowledge and the power to write.
For as our intellect draws near its goal
it opens to such depths of understanding
as memory cannot plumb within the soul.
Nevertheless, whatever portion time
still leaves me of the treasure of that kindgom
shall now become the subject of my rhyme.
O good Apollo, for this last task, I pray
you make me such a vessel of your powers
as you deem worthy to be crowned with bay.
- This edition issued for the first time in one single volume in 2003(translated in 1954, 1957 and 1961) contains the complete Divine Comedy with Introductions, Canto to Canto End Notes, Map Diagrams, Illustrations, and Canto to Canto Summaries...all in large, spacious and eye pleasing print!
A Beautiful edition!
Best Collection/Translation September 1, 2008
John Ciardi is certainly the best translator of the Comedy, and this collection is a perfect arrangement of his work.
 Solid translation for a schizophrenic work! July 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This translation was easy enough to understand although the work itself suffers from a major problem and that is a sharp contrast that exists between exciting moments to ones where the lack of action is utterly unbearable. I suggest you read this version which makes it easier to understand Dante's thinking. Which is something you will want to get a firm grasp on as you enter the later sections which can be laboriously slow.
Three and a Half Years Later... June 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
...I finally finished this wonderful book (today)! To tell the truth, it was the kind of book I put away for a few weeks or months and then picked it up again, reading a few cantos at a time. As assumed by most, I believe the Inferno may be the best of the three Canticles if only for the descriptive passages, and my memories of first hearing about it in the tenth grade. In fact, that first canto/introduction was what got me to start reading the book. So, as for the story, the Inferno, I feel, was the only canticle that did not really have a dry spot, simply because most of us have heard about the circles of hell in popular culture, so it was nice to read about Dante's interpretation of it all. As for Purgatorio and Paradiso, I felt that they did have some slow sections. The Purgatorio Canticle picked up where the Inferno left off, and so those parts were nice, but as Dante started his journey up the mountain, it was a little dull until he started to observe the punishments of those who sinned, but were ultimately destined for Heaven. The same thing happens in Paradiso; it starts off well, then takes somewhat of a dive, until there are some interesting "guest appearances." I will not go into detail, but it was fun to learn about some of these historical figures. But that is the problem with writing about Heaven, is that there really should not be any spheres or levels, but Dante has done so to mirror the other Canticles, which seems like the most balanced way to do it. Aside from this, another high point for me was when he finally meets St Peter, St James, and St John, who, represent Faith, Hope, and Love, respectively. This is kind of like the Gates of Heaven passage, except there are no gates, but there are some very interesting questions that are answered. The cantos on Angels were essentially disappointing, but once they reached the Empyrean in the last four cantos, the Divine Comedy really ended on a high note.
Now, I saved my review of the guides for the end, because they are such a large part of the Comedy. Virgil was a simply amazing guide through both Hell and Purgatory, as he represented Human Reason, and really fit in perfectly, even shooting down Dante when he felt bad for a sinner, or practiced some other fault. That might not make sense as Virgil did not believe in God, but it still works. Beatrice, as Dante's guide in Heaven and representation of Divine Revelation, was also a great choice, if only for her role in his life. After all, I would have done the same if I were writing a similar story. In addition to these two, there is a third and forgotten guide of Dante's, which leads him through the Empyrean and represents the Contemplative Soul; St Bernard. This really came out of nowhere for me, because I thought it was only Virgil and Beatrice, but since he was only around for about four cantos, it is not like I can say I was surprised, in the sense that he is forgotten and that he is there, since Dante always uses the theme of the Trinity. Still, all three guides make the Divine Comedy an even more memorable piece of Literature that has deserved its place in history as a magnificent piece of literature.
***Notes on this Edition***
I really enjoyed all the effort that the translator John Ciardi put into this wonderful work. And I do not mean just putting this book into the English language, but actually maintaining the style in which Dante wrote the book, as this translation also follows the "tercet" pattern that Dante wrote it in. However, as assumed, it becomes a bit tedious, since he keeps the rhyming patterns, meaning that it is not a straight translation and that Ciardi had to take artistic freedoms to make it work. However, he more than compensates for this by writing a brief summary at the beginning of each canto and gives notes at the end to clear up any confusion or any changes. The notes, however was what also made it such a long read, as they take up more time than the actual text, but given that this book was written more than 600 years ago, it is also helpful in understanding everything, since it was sometimes hard to understand the original text, which all of its rhymes and poetry patterns. Still, I feel that this edition was perfect for myself in my first reading of this historical text, which has made me wonder whether I should learn how to read it in the vernacular! It was that great!
T.S. Eliot - "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them-there is no third."
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