If you want a kind of bare-bones Dante (and who doesn't?)--this revised edition is for you. The complete Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova, more than competently translated, with the absolute minimum of notes, put at the bottom of each page. No flipping back and forth to the back to find out who this person was, and no lengthy discussions of every minute point. Also no Italian on facing pages, but you can't have everything. A version to be read quickly. An excellent introduction for which I'm very gr...

Although I had read Dante's work and quite enjoyed it previously, this book really brought the entire Comedy into a new light for me. The notes by Mark Musa seem to occupy nearly as much room as story they detail, with very wonderful results; exquisite details--about Dante's own life, then-contemporary society, and even his references to mythology--are compiled and laid bare or the reader to absorb. Below is an example of the text as well as the accompanying notes. Canto XVII lines 60-69"But...

dwc 102 - interesting and entertaining, dante is obviously a genius but it was for class so like ignore the star rating

5 stars for this translation and edition, 3 for how much I enjoyed reading it this time. I tried to cram it for a book discussion, and it just can't be read that way. So I split the difference. I really did find this edition and the footnotes to be super readable.

Fascinating, thought provoking, overwhelming and inspiring all at once! Some sections so difficult to wade through, others perfectly express the struggles of the human condition, others a fascinating insight into the theology of the 14th Century. Interestingly, I was really disappointed by Paradisio - I much prefer the simplicity of Revelation 21:3-7! So glad to have read this book.

Laurence Binyon's masterful terza rima translation is the essential Divina Comedia for English readers. Anthony Esolen's is an excellent translation that while exacting fails to capture the marvels of Binyon's rhyming stanzas. (He certainly understands the Dante's allusions and especially his theology, better than Binyon). Mandelbaum's translation is worth owning, and occasionally excels, but does not excite me like the two previously mentioned. Except for various fragments, I've never found a t...

Of course, glorious and wise. Well worth it. But I was struck -- and perhaps unfairly -- with the Christlessness of his Heaven.

I am still in awe after reading this book. Dante is a genius on so many levels it's mind numbing. He has this unbelievable ability to write like he is painting. His imagination is so vivid and visual that his writing actually made me question whether or not he had really been on a guided tour of hell, purgatory, and paradise. On top of that, he's got that magical poet's ability to write that one line that makes you wake up for a second and take note. I think knowing the story of Dante and Beatri...

This collection contains the Laurence Binyon translation of The Divine Comedy. Harold Bloom recommends it as the translation closest to reading Dante in the native Italian. Since I don't read (or speak) Italian, I could hazard an opinion, though I would say that it appears to be the most poet of the translations I have seen, which would be the Longfellow and Mandelbaum translations. These two translation are available online at http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/new/com...My suggestion, if you are wi...

I'm finished! I can't tell you how excited I am to be done. It took a long time. This book had all of the Divine Comedy. It had Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. This is a book that we've all heard about and I decided to finally give it a whirl.So Dante's main character has a dream. And in the dream he is greeted by Virgil who guides him through hell and purgatory. Why? Because of the love of a woman named Beatrice. She has died and is in heaven. She wants the Pilgrim to know what is in store for him...

This review is for the Laurence Binyon translation of The Divine Comedy that I read as a part of this(The Portable Dante; 1947, 1965 edition) anthology: All I can say is that this was breath-taking. An epic poem in every sense of the word. I began reading this Poem on and off since 2007-2008, and have only finished it now in January 2012! It was staggering and just magical to read this poem and I mean the WHOLE poem not just the Inferno. As a bonus the Binyon translation renders the English in t...

"I personally was intrigued with this book for quite awhile now ever since reading it back in High School. However, it is the fact that there is a game coming out based loosely on Dante's Inferno that made me go through with it. Also, the one-two kick from Bruno Rontini's view of the Divine Comedy from the novel ""Time Must Have a Stop"" added to the wanting of reading this book.I love all the themes used during the Divine Comedy, which I found out was just given the ""Divine"" part later on fro...

Oh Dante! Tuscan master of belle langueWho crafted these three heavenly pearlsOf stunning verse, that unleash in songOf tortuous treks, our pilgrim led by Virgil'sWise spirit, mastering fierce devils and HellTo reach the base of Purgatory's mountBewitched by souls who stumble in a veilAttempting Heaven's Gate too long to countMenagerie of repenting souls, now wiseTo past life's sins, Latins whom beforeOur pilgrim Dante, in asking, brooks no liesAnd gains much wisdom wending through the doorThat

An average of about 2.5 stars, but I'm rounding it to 3 because the good stuff was REALLY good.Inferno: 4 stars. Well that was fun.Purgatorio: 2.5 stars. So boring, but also poetic justice is fun and the ending was awesome.Paradisio: 1 star. Wow, I thought y'all had cleansed yourselves of pride via Purgatory.La Vita Nuova: 2 stars. Annoying, but sorta amusing.I really enjoyed Musa's translation--it was very readable--but the footnotes were very inconsistent outside of Inferno. I would have appre...

WOW! Absolutely inspiring. This book made me take a thorough look at my own personal axiological assumptions and changed my mind in a couple of instances. The last Canto of Paradise just about blew my mind- epistomologically speaking of course. The entire progression from underground to mountain to the overpowering radiance of God was very Plotonic; loved it! The unified understanding of God as well as the symbolic representation of the godhead as the only way to mediate the truth of God to Dant...

O Chief of Poets who dare'st look upon Him whom Moses was not given to see; Thou master of the word, who, like the dawn Shined upon a divided Italy To give men a vision of Triune Love, Who fills the cosmos with divine fire.(This Love, which burned Dante from above, flashed from Beatrice - she he did admire for her perfect, heavenly qualities.) Lead us, by thy intoxicating vision, the one which, by the Spirit, thou didst seize like such a careful and holy craftsman. Reveal all our sins and all ou...

This is a great version of Dante's Devine Comedy because at the top of each section there was a summary of the chapter. It helped a lot when I wanted to look back at events that happened previously. It was also good if some things in the chapter were unclear, I could read the summary to help me understand what was going on. I think the chapter summaries make this an ideal translation for students and casual readers alike.My favorite of the Divine Comedy was Purgatario. Inferno is by far the most...

Tentative, unsatisfying prolegomena to a review currently under construction: Before I start rolling up the ol' sleeves, I want to admit straightaway that I am indeed a neurotic, superstitious fool with variously delusional notions of grandeur who chose to not add this book to my GR "read" list because, at the time, I was poised on the cliff of having read (by the GR tally) six hundred and ninety-nine books and I wanted Dante (who dug him some numerology) to give me the magic push up to the big

The Aeneid was read by Dante and others and the first part of the epic poem can be read as an allegory for the journey of one's life. The surface meaning of the Virgil's poem is the travels and travails of Aeneas between the time he leaves Troy and arrives in Latium, where he will found the city that one day becomes Rome. But the allegorical reading is one which can be applied to any man including Dante. Aeneas demonstrates self-control in resisting the attractions of Dido while persisting in hi...

Yes, I am a total nerd.I just finished reading the Inferno, and am taking a brief break before entering Purgatorio. Dante really liked imagining gruesome punishments, especially for people he knew in real life and apparently hated. I'm looking forward to seeing how he treated people he liked.Update as of 2/15/2010 - I made it through the Purgatorio, which could be described as slightly less painful version of the Inferno. Filled with plenty of punishments that aren't quite as horrible as Hell, b...