Description
Book SynopsisDante''s Inferno describes his descent into Hell midway through his life with the Roman Virgil as his guide, and is unparalleled in its depiction of the tragedy of sin. It is a work inspired by a profound confidence in human nature, yet also expresses Dante''s horror at the way individuals can destroy themselves and each other, creating Hell on Earth. A response to the violent society of thirteenth-century Italy, the Inferno reveals the eternal punishment reserved for sins such as greed, self-deception, political double-dealing and treachery. Portraying a huge diversity of characters culminating in a horrific vision of Satan, it broke new ground in the vigour of its language and its storytelling. It has had a particular influence on Modernist writers and their successors throughout the world.
Robin Kirkpatrick''s new translation pays exceptional attention to the originality and force of Dante''s narrative. Printed in English with facing pages in Dante''s Italian, this edition also offers an introduction, along with commentaries and notes on each Canto by the translator, which identify the historical, cultural and philosophical issues behind the poem.
Trade Review“A masterly translation.” ―
Judith Thurman, The New Yorker“Kirkpatrick brings a more nuanced sense of the Italian and a more mediated appreciation of the poem’s construction than nearly all of his competitors. . . . There is much to recommend here―certainly the intelligence, the energy, the linguistic range. . . . His introduction and canto-by-canto notes are remarkably level and lucid, as attentive to structure as to syntax, language and motif, and deftly cross-reference the whole poem. On their own, they would justify the price.”
―The Times (London)“We gain much from Kirkpatrick’s fidelity to syntax and nuance, and from the fact that the Italian is on the facing page for our inspection. . . . His introduction . . . tells you, very readably indeed, pretty much all you need for a heightened appreciation of the work. . . . Kirkpatrick edges us, smoothly, into Dante’s mind, and shows just how and why his influence has seemed to grow with the passage of time. We even get a map of
trecento Italy (nestling against a map of hell). . . . If the
Purgatorio and
Paradiso are as good as this, then English readers will, I hope, start familiarising themselves with the two-thirds of the work most never get round to reading.” —
Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian“Likely to be the best modern version of Dante . . . The perfect balance of tightness and colloquialism.” —
Bernard O’Donoghue“This version is the first to bring together poetry and scholarship in the very body of the translation—a deeply informed version of Dante that is also a pleasure to read.” —
David Wallace, University of Pennsylvania
