Product Description

This edition features all three parts of Dante's great poem about the journey of the soul - "Inferno", "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso" - with explanatory notes on each canto. It includes Botticelli's illustrations of "The Divine Comedy", drawn in the 1480s.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1026412 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

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).

Customer Reviews

A sensitive approach to Dante
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.

For the uninitiated, probably the definitive edition to read.
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.

An astonishing translation of an astonishing poem
It is certain that Dante's inferno is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, and though purgatory and paradise are not as brilliant, tending to drag in places, they are also well worth reading. This translation is excellent, keeping the rhythm of the orginal, as well as keeping meanings close to their originals. The notes in the back are also excellent, helpful and informative.

Most worthy of 5 stars.