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Abandon all hope you who enter here' (Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate) Dante's Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism. Passing under a lintel emblazoned with these frightening words, the poet is led down into the depths by Virgil and shown those doomed to suffer eternal torment for vices exhibited and sins committed on earth. Inferno is the first part of the long journey which continues through redemption to revelation - through Purgatory and Paradise - and, in this translation prepared especially for Audiobook, his images are as vivid as when the poem was first written in the early years of the fourteenth century.… (more)
this must be a "time and place" book. Meaning, there is a perfect time and place for this book in a person's life. This must not be my time.
I spent most of the book in the "explanation" section in the back. I surprised to see that so many references in the book were either 1. words that don't actually exist but that the author made up so they had to leave them as is and explain them in the back 2. references to either famous during the author's time or people that must have been in the author's life but no one can actually find (they believe many of the references may be to boyhood friends or people in the town that no one can find records for)
If I just read the book, the poetry was a very nice change of pace from most books. I just wish I could have read it that way instead of spending all my time in the back so I understood the meaning and references.
Virgil gives Dante a guided tour of hell. There are a lot of figures from medieval Florence experiencing various torments there; maybe some people Dante knew and fantasized that this is where they belonged. The worst torments are for treachery, which means that I can think of at least one ex-President who would end up there, if indeed there was such a place. Dante seems pretty freaked out much of the time, as one would imagine. Sort of like a really, realy bad acid trip. Hard for me to give this a rating, as it is just too weird. ( )
I started one translation of the Inferno then switched to another, resulting in two interestingly different reading experiences. The first that I happened to come across in the library had a 1939 prose translation by John D Sinclair. I read the first few cantos of this in a very slow and unwieldy, yet rewarding, fashion. I have very basic knowledge of Italian, thanks to a short course during Sixth Form and GSCE Latin, both long ago. Sinclair’s translation sacrifices poetry in order to remain close to the Italian, close enough for me to follow. This allowed me the luxury of reading each verse aloud in Italian, then aloud in English, then mapping the latter onto the former. (My Italian accent was inevitably atrocious, but as I was on my own there was no pronunciation police to castigate me for it.) Whilst I enjoyed this process, it was labour intensive and removed the pace and vigor of the narrative, whilst instead emphasising the beauty of the original poetry. Then I told a friend I was reading it this way, they were vaguely horrified and promptly lent me another translation.
The second translation was by Robert Pinsky, who states in his introduction that he prioritised poetry (but not exact rhyme) over literalism in his version. He also didn’t follow the line breaks in the original Italian, as Sinclair tended to do. My very limited Italian could not cope with this, so I ended up reading this version entirely in English and not aloud, which was vastly quicker. This allowed appreciation of what was actually happening, rather than merely wallowing in the sound of words (not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that). If I am over-explaining how I read the Inferno, it is largely because I tend to feel incompetent at reading and appreciating poetry, having given up studying literature after GSCE despite a lifelong obsession with reading. The great thing about reading anything for leisure purposes, of course, is that you are not being marked on your response to it.
This is especially fortunate as the Inferno is dense with allusions that went completely over my head. The notes at the end helpfully explained many of them, whilst also highlighting areas where scholars still argue bitterly about what Dante meant. I appreciated this, but frequent moments of incomprehension did not prevent my enjoying the poem. I was convinced to read it by Alberto Manguel’s [b:Curiosity|23168484|Curiosity|Alberto Manguel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411447672s/23168484.jpg|42713702], which uses the Divine Comedy as a framing device to examine humanity’s desire to know ourselves, each other, and the world. Manguel emphasises the universal themes of the Divine Comedy, which I had in mind as I read the Inferno. Perhaps the most powerful of these themes is the pity and sympathy that Dante has for most of the shades he finds suffering in the various circles of Hell. Although there are several that he has no pity for (including one he kicks in the face), for the most part he wants to know their names and stories. Dante does not question God’s plan for these unfortunate souls, and neither do the sinners themselves, but he nonetheless has considerable empathy for their plight. Virgil is more tight-lipped and hurries Dante on when he gets too deeply into conversation with tortured souls, most of whom consider it a respite to talk to a living being.
Dante’s depiction of the circles of Hell and the punishments meted out within is intensely vivid and horrific. It also retrospectively made me realise the debt owed to the Divine Comedy by, amongst other things, the excellent Lucifer graphic novel series (my favourite volume of which is in fact titled [b:Lucifer, Vol. 5: Inferno|314573|Lucifer, Vol. 5 Inferno|Mike Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309578687s/314573.jpg|305411]) and [b:The Amber Spyglass|18122|The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)|Philip Pullman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329189152s/18122.jpg|1774510]. On the other hand, the narrative also echoes Aeneas’ journey to the Underworld in [b:The Aeneid|12914|The Aeneid|Virgil|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386923968s/12914.jpg|288738], which I remember doodling across my notes at school. (Why did no-one recommend the Divine Comedy to me when I was teenager? I would have loved it!) In fact, the tension between antiquity and Christianity throughout the poem is fascinating. Dante makes it abundantly clear that he loves and reveres Virgil, but Virgil is only qualified to be his guide to Hell because he cannot enter heaven. Having lived in the pre-Christian era, he is doomed by default, as are the heroes, philosophers, and poets of Greece and Rome. The deeper bowels of Hell, however, seem more densely populated by Christians who did terrible things. Two exceptions are Ulysses and Diomedes, whose actions as ‘false councillors’ land them in the Malebolge (what a wonderful word, Malebolge).
Rather than rambling further, I will conclude with a quote from the Pinsky translation. I greatly enjoyed the whole poem and found that this translation had a lovely rhythm, so I chose a bit of canto XX entirely arbitrarily.
Reading myself at the cliff’s brink, I looked down Into the canyon my master had revealed And saw that it was watered by tears of pain:
All through the circular valley I beheld A host of people coming, weeping but mute. They walked at a solemn pace that would be called
Liturgical here above. But as my sight Moved down their bodies, I sensed a strange distortion That made the angle of chin and chest not right -
The head was twisted backwards: some cruel torsion Forced face towards kidneys, and the people strode Backwards, because deprived of forward vision.
Perhaps some time a palsy has wrung the head Of a man straight back like these, or a terrible stroke- But I’ve never seen one do so, and doubt it could.
Reader (God grant you the benefit of this book) Try to imagine, yourself, how I could have kept Tears of my own from falling for the sake
Having read this long enough ago to have largely forgotten it's contents, it was time to go through it again. However, listening to it as an audio book while doing something else reduced the attention that I gave to it and it was less meaningful to me. Perhaps the translation also made a difference
Still, as I passed being 20% of the way through the book it became more meaningful to me. I also thought about the reaction of offended contemporaries; what kind of person was Dante to write with such chance of causing enemies? I began to notice that nearly all of the people mentioned seemed to be Italian. What reaction was there to the book? ( )
E quant' io l'abbia in grado, mentre io vivo convien che nella mia lingua si scerna. Inf. xv. 86-7
(Penguin Classics, Dorothy L. Sayers translation, 1977 reprint)
Dedication
To the dead master of the affirmations, Charles Williams
(Penguin Classics, Dorothy L. Sayers translation, 1977 reprint)
First words
When I had journeyed half of our life's way, I found myself within a shadowed forest, for I had lost the path that does not stray. [translator: Allen Mandelbaum]
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, ché la diritta via era smarrita.
The ideal way of reading The Divine Comedy would be to start at the first line and go straight through to the end, surrendering to the vigour of the story-telling and the swift movement of the verse, and not bothering about any historical allusions or theological explanations which did not occur in the text itself.
Introduction (Dorothy L. Sayers, 1949).
Midway this way of life we're bound upon, I woke to find myself in a dark wood, Where the right road was wholly lost and gone. [translator: Dorothy L. Sayers]
THE STORY. Dante finds that he has strayed from the right road and is lost in a Dark Wood. ...
Midway this way of life we're bound upon, I woke to find myself in a dark wood, Where the right road was wholly lost and gone.
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 [translator: John Ciardi]
Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wilderness, for I had wandered from the straight and true. [translator: Anthony Esolen]
Quotations
Last words
And with no care for any rest, we climbed--he first, I following--until I saw, through a round opening, some of those things, of beauty Heaven bears. It was from there that we emerged, to see--once more--the stars. [translator: Allen Mandelbaum]
He first, I following, till my straining sense Glimpsed the bright burden of the heavenly cars Through a round hole; by this we climbed, and thence Came forth, to look once more upon the stars. [translator: Dorothy L. Sayers]
He first, I second, without thought of rest we climbed the dark until we reached the point where a round opening brought in sight the blest and beauteous shining of the Heavenly cars. And we walked out once more beneath the Stars. [translator: John Ciardi]
He first and I behind, we climbed so high that through a small round opening I saw some of the turning beauties of the sky. And we came out to see, once more, the stars. [translator: Anthony Esolen]
Abandon all hope you who enter here' (Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate) Dante's Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism. Passing under a lintel emblazoned with these frightening words, the poet is led down into the depths by Virgil and shown those doomed to suffer eternal torment for vices exhibited and sins committed on earth. Inferno is the first part of the long journey which continues through redemption to revelation - through Purgatory and Paradise - and, in this translation prepared especially for Audiobook, his images are as vivid as when the poem was first written in the early years of the fourteenth century.
Questa nuova opera dantesca conserva - e consolida - la fortunata idea-forza delle precedenti dello stesso autore: trasparenza e didatticità dei commenti e delle note esplicative, aggiornamento e puntualità degli interventi critici. Ciascuno dei tre volumi si apre con una introduzione mirata alla struttura fisica e all'ordinamento morale di ciascuna delle tre cantiche. In particolare il volume dedicato all'Inferno reca anche un'introduzione globale su tutto l'oltremondo dantesco. In ciascuno dei tre volumi compaiono tutti i canti. Ogni canto, completo nei versi e negli apparati, è preceduto da un'introduzione di sintesi narrativa, di valutazione critica, di inquadramento storico. Ed è concluso da una o due letture critiche su temi focali di Dante e della cultura che fu sua, desunte dalle opere dei maggiori dantisti e medievisti italiani e stranieri; da una ricca bibliografia di approfondimento multidisciplinare; da una batteria di proposte di ricerca. Spesso, al termine del canto, ricorre la rubrica dei "passi controversi" dove vengono considerati i luoghi cruciali del poema di più complessa interpretazione filologica. Un dossier di tavole illustrate fuori testo testimonia la fortuna iconografica della Commedia nei secoli, dai primitivi maestri miniatori ai grandi pittori del '900. Rispetto alle precedenti opere dantesche dello stesso autore è stato accresciuto il numero complessivo delle pagine, è stata notevolmente migliorata la leggibilità, sono state aggiunte nuove letture, sono state rivisitate e ampliate molte proposte di ricerca. (piopas)
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Paris Review Challenge : The Divine Comedy, Season 1
Wikipedia in English (24)
I spent most of the book in the "explanation" section in the back. I surprised to see that so many references in the book were either
1. words that don't actually exist but that the author made up so they had to leave them as is and explain them in the back
2. references to either famous during the author's time or people that must have been in the author's life but no one can actually find (they believe many of the references may be to boyhood friends or people in the town that no one can find records for)
If I just read the book, the poetry was a very nice change of pace from most books. I just wish I could have read it that way instead of spending all my time in the back so I understood the meaning and references.
I'll have to read it again sometime. (