Dec 22, 2017 inferno is the first part of dantes divine comedy. Ive heard pinskys translation of the inferno is really good. Some translations are so elaborate that they are as difficult to read as the original italian version. Please subscribe to our channel for daily updates and dont forget to like, share, comment. For example, he translates dantes beautifully compact paradiso 2. Side by side translations of the inferno by dante alighieri. Divine comedy, longfellows translation, complete by dante. Specific thanks goes to jennifer hogan project editordirector, tanya larkin assistant to editor, robert w.
Breaking the code of the divine comedy with patient reverence. This translation uses the longfellow translation as a. In fact the first english translation was only completed in 1802, almost 500 years after dante wrote his italian original. English translations of dantes divine comedy wikipedia. The base text for this edition has been provided by digital dante, a project sponsored by columbia universitys institute for learning technologies. The present translation, which is the result of over twenty years work with large classes in dante in english at brown university, was undertaken and continued with the object of meeting a need, which did not seem adequately met by the well known translations of cary, longfellow, norton, or others more recent. Dantes inferno translated ebook by dante alighieri. The divine comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three cantiche singular cantica inferno, purgatorio, and paradiso each consisting of 33 cantos italian plural canti. Kindle, 238 kb, this is an ebook formatted for amazon kindle devices. World of dante complete allen mandelbaum translation complete sidebyside comparison of the entire inferno for longfellow, cary, and norton translations divinecomedy. Every new translation of the divine comedy, though in itself a fresh tribute, however.
Dantes divine comedy, translated by clive james the. Many poets, including great ones like robert pinsky, have tried to do justice to dante s verse in verse translation. A new telling of dante s inferno, this translation is the most fluent, grippingly readable version of the famous poem yet, andwith all the consummate technical skill that is the hallmark of sean obrien s own poetrymanages the nearimpossible task of preserving the subtle power and lyric nuance of the italian original, while seeking out an entirely natural english music. In modern english kindle edition by alighieri, dante, neff, douglas, longfellow, henry wadsworth. Apr 21, 20 clive james takes on a verse translation of dantes divine comedy.
Dantes divine comedy is a journey through the afterlife of hell, purgatory, and paradise, written by one of the greatest classical poets in history many scholars believe that the divine comedy is the greatest single work of poetry ever written. Hundreds of translators have sought to render the divine comedy with relevance, force, and verve. Jan 15, 2015 by the way, if there s anyone still following this thread unlikely and is also curious about translations of dante to other languages besides english, i stumbled across this page. The base text for this edition has been provided by digital dante, a project sponsored by columbia university s institute for learning technologies. Dantes inferno translated by dante alighieri bookshop. Longfellows english indeed comes across as italianate. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading dantes inferno. Describing dantes descent into hell midway through his life with virgil as a guide.
This translation includes an overview of the inferno, purgatory, and paradise, and more. Hi, i was thinking about finally reading the inferno and was struck by the shear amount translations available. This book includes the italian version at the end of the book, notes on textual. Dante alighieris poetic masterpiece, the divine comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of hell, up the. The book was published on may 14, 20, ten years after. But in english, he writes, the word stars has very few words with which to rhyme. I still have the inferno book, though, fifty years later. The divine comedy by dante aligheri was translated into french and spanish and other european languages well before it was first translated into english. How to read dante in the 21st century the american scholar.
Im no dante expert that sounds like i dont know anything about art, but. Its no easy task, but with a new translation of dantes inferno, this is exactly what mary jo bang aims to do. The divine comedy by dante, translated by clive james. Description of the book dantes inferno in modern english. So many translations have been done that the goal of this book seems to me not to be to attempt another inferno of syntax thats become standardised, but to introduce dante to the world of contemporary poetry by meshing the classic with the eclectic array of poets in this book. Simon harris in terza rima in the middle of the journey of our life i found myself again in a dark forest, for i had lost the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading dantes inferno translated.
Feb 07, 2010 i read the sayers translations of inferno and purgatorio when i was fifteen. From all i have seen, bangs version is unlike anything that has come before. Divine comedy, longfellows translation, complete by dante alighieri. A complete listing and criticism of all english translations of at least one of the three books cantiche. Daniel halpern a brilliant concept beautifully executeda new version of dantes masterpiece, translated by 20 contemporary englishspeaking poets selected not for their familiarity with italian or for proven. Bringing dante into the realm of contemporary english the. He produced one of the first complete, and in many respects still the best, english translations of the divine comedy in 1867. The best translation is john sinclairs excellent facingpage translation in prose.
Divine comedy, longfellows translation, complete by dante alighieri free ebook project gutenberg. To hell and back is a celebration of the art and craft of poetry translation. There are many references to dante s work in literature. I have a number of translations of dantes the divine comedy in my home among them the translations of charles singleton, dorothy l. Modern english translation kindle edition by dante alighieri. Mar 27, 2019 the divine comedy by dante alighieri full english audiobook. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. If you havent yet read the divine comedyyou know who you arenow. Dante s divine comedy is a journey through the afterlife of hell, purgatory, and paradise, written by one of the greatest classical poets in history many scholars believe that the divine comedy is the greatest single work of poetry ever written. In music, franz liszt was one of many composers to write works based on the divine comedy. Translation of dantes inferno, canto i and poetry by j. Jan 31, 1995 it was not a lateborn obsession with evil or the ways of damnation that drove robert pinsky to translate dante s inferno, the 14thcentury poet s odyssey through hell.
The lack of english translations before this is due in part to dante s catholic views being distasteful, or at least uninteresting, to protestant english audiences, who viewed such a catholic theology, mixed with references to classical mythos, as heretical. I read the sayers translations of inferno and purgatorio when i was fifteen. Read some translations though and see what you think. Inferno, purgatorio, paradiso 3 classic unabridged translations in one ebook. Dante and shakespeare divide the world between them there is no third. First, my preferred verse translation is still ciardis version plus, if for study purposes, he translated all of the comedy not just one book so you dont have to. Rather than write a strained couplet to close each book, i wrote a final line in. Part of the problem lies in the difficulty that dante poses for english translation. It was very useful to see the connections to dantes inferno. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes inferno study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Others want to carry documents around with them on their mobile phones and read while they are on the move. The modern english suited me to be able to better understand the prose. Which is the best englishlanguage translation of dante. See also the list of english translations of dantes divine comedy on the english.
But ciardis rhymed stanzas are looser, wordier, and less faithful to the original than thorntons blank verse. In my last post i compared john ciardi and allen mandelbaums translation of the inferno by looking at how they handled canto xxvi, lines 112120. The divine comedy is regarded as the foundation of modern literary italian. For a book such as this you could probably do a search and find that this question has popped up repeatedly before. It was one of the first major works of literature written in the italian language, rather than latin which was until then. The divine comedy has been a source of inspiration for countless artists for almost seven centuries. The italian text with a translation in english blank verse and a commentary by courtney langdon, vol. There have been countless translations of the inferno, but this one by poet robert. The inferno by dante alighieri translated by ciaran. I bought this copy because of the many references in the new dan brown book inferno. Versions of dante in english offer the reader almost unparalleled. An extraordinary new verse translation of dantes masterpiece, by poet, scholar, and lauded translator anthony esolen of the great poets, dante is one of the most elusive and therefore one of the most difficult to adequately render into english verse. Inferno is the first part of dante s epic poem the divine comedy, revealing the eternal punishment reserved for such sins as greed, selfdeception, political doubledealing and treachery.
At last, a readable rendering of dante books the guardian. Most english translations of inferno are full of colorful, but meaningless language based on todays modern standards. The 15 translations are those of ciaran carson, john ciardi. Clive james takes on a verse translation of dantes divine comedy.
The book was published on may 14, 20, ten years after publication of the da vinci code 2003, by doubleday. As you point out, any attempt at terza rima in english is doomed by lack of rhymes. Fifteen translations of dante compared boisterous beholding. This penguin classics edition is translated and edited with an introduction and notes by robin kirkpatrick. Smith and sonzogni have assembled and annotated two complete translations of dantes most popular canticle, inferno. By the way, if theres anyone still following this thread unlikely and is also curious about translations of dante to other languages besides english, i stumbled across this page. This translation uses the longfellow translation as a base, but replaces. Inferno is the first part of dantes epic poem the divine comedy, revealing the eternal punishment reserved for such sins as greed, selfdeception, political doubledealing and treachery. Start by treating the divine comedy not as a book, with a coherent. Samuel beckett, whom we would do well to emulate, was once asked what ambitions he had. This includes original texts, translations and book covers. The inferno of dante alighieri, translated by ciaran carson granta. Enjoyed them but didnt really get it, wording strained to match the meter.
Its also a poetry translation, as opposed to prose translations. A little less structured than the original although differences in the languages are responsible for that its a recent translation, so you dont run into the archaic usages youd find in longfellow. Best translation of divine comedy the literature network. Whats the best way to read the divine comedy if you dont know. But perhaps the most neglected one is the battered volumes i found on ebay. Side by side translations of the inferno by dante alighieri the divine comedy is regarded as the foundation of modern literary italian. I think i got more out of dan browns inferno by having read this text. Bringing dante into the realm of contemporary english. Its poetic, has notes, its cheaper and is contained in a single volume. It was not a lateborn obsession with evil or the ways of damnation that drove robert pinsky to translate dantes inferno, the 14thcentury poets odyssey through hell.
For many years, ciardis translation has been the standard and it has much to recommend it. I have a shelf devoted to dante, but as of today, i give the nod to jean and robert hollander for their rather recent translations. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the divine comedy. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Side by side translations of the inferno dantes inferno. Dantes divine comedy, translated by clive james the new. See also the list of english translations of dantes divine comedy on the english wikipedia. It was one of the first major works of literature written in the italian language, rather than latin which was until then still the language of the scholars and poets. The divine comedy changed my life, and it may do the same to you. Seamus heaney ends his book seeing things with a brief passage translated from the inferno.
It did not hurt that longfellow had also experienced the kind of traumatic lossthe death of his young wife after her dress caught firethat brought him closer to the melancholy spirit of dantes writing. Dantes inferno, canto i poem by dante alighieri translation by j. This translation uses the longfellow translation as a base, but replaces the obscure or antiquated verbiage with the language of modern english. Samuel beckett, whom we would do well to emulate, was once asked what. To reproduce the comedy in english terza rima, it has been calculated. Here i want to expand that exercise, comparing 15 different translations in a more systematic way. I highly recommend this translation of dantes inferno. The lack of english translations before this is due in part to dantes catholic views being. A new telling of dantes inferno, this translation is the most fluent, grippingly readable version of the famous poem yet, andwith all the consummate technical skill that is the hallmark of sean obriens own poetrymanages the nearimpossible task of preserving the subtle power and lyric nuance of the italian original, while seeking out an entirely natural english music. In this superb translation with an introduction and commentary by allen mandelbaum, all of dantes vivid imagesthe earthly, sublime, intellectual, demonic, ecstaticare rendered with marvelous clarity to read like the words of a poet born in our own age. Most english translations of inferno are full of colorful, but meaningless language based on today s modern standards. There are translations of the first canto of inferno in german many, actually, spanish, french, and i even spotted one in turkish. An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100.