
The Divine Comedy (1321) - gizzlon
http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/index.htm
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vidarh
One of the parts of The Divine Comedy I find interesting is that it is an
extremely effective demonstration to point people who still believe the hard-
to-kill myth that the idea of a round Earth was unknown to Europeans before
Columbus to, because of the sheer level of detail Dante goes into about it.

Purgatorio, canto II [1] in particular explicitly "place" purgatory at the
opposite side of the globe from Jerusalem, and describe in detail how
different stars are visible, and how the time is different in Jerusalem, over
Ganges and in Purgatory, as well as how the seasons are different in the
southern hemisphere. The differences between the hemispheres etc. are
revisited several times to make explicit how Purgatory differs, for example in
Purgatorio, canto IV, verse 55 onwards [2].

[1]
[http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Purgatorio2.htm](http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Purgatorio2.htm)

[2]
[http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Purgatorio4.htm](http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Purgatorio4.htm)

~~~
leoc
The _Divine Comedy_ also underlines that in the pre-Galilean European
cosmology, the centre of the universe was not in fact considered the best
place to be ...

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sal9000
Nice effort - although it would have been better if it had both the original
and translated version side to side. Poetry of this caliber is way beyond
meaning and words, and can somehow be enjoyed even with a limited
understanding of the original language. I remember when, many years ago and
with a very limited knowledge of English, I tried to read the original works
of TS Eliot. I was blown away. The original/translated versions helped me to
get started and I never looked back.

The Comedy is an unbelievable work. I read it in full in my twenties and
always keep a copy with me. It would probably be my 'desert island' book if
only one were allowed (plus The Four Quartets of TS Eliot, if I could take
two).

~~~
graeme
Do you know a good print edition with English + original?

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keithpeter
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Divine-Comedy-Dante-
Alighieri/dp...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Divine-Comedy-Dante-
Alighieri/dp/0195087445)

Seems to fit the bill, new translation, issued in separate volumes for each of
the _Cantos_. I have not seen this book myself. Amazon provide access to
sample pages where you can compare the Italian with the translated verses for
the first Canto.

I had a translation with the original Italian on facing pages some time ago
but it appears to have grown legs and walked away... I do lend books out
fairly frequently.

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devindotcom
If you're going to embark on a major translated work like this, do yourself a
favor and read the first hundred lines or so in a few different translations.
Makes a huge difference. Old or new - just give a few a shot. You can always
read it again, but you can only read it for the first time once.

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michaelsbradley
Epic poetry seems to have died out, at least for a time, as a literary art
form. Will it make a comeback? Would or could the Internet play a role in such
a comeback?

One of the last great epic poems written in the English language is G.K.
Chesterton's _The Ballad of the White Horse_ :

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse)

[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse](http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_the_White_Horse)

Readers here who have their interest stirred by Dante's poetry might enjoy
Chesterton's work.

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jfmercer
This is excellent. I also recommend the Dante Project, hosted by Princeton
University:
[http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/index.html](http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/index.html)

~~~
gizzlon
Yeah, these two are the easiest to read of those I've found..

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at-fates-hands
My first exposure to Dante was John Ciardi's version in college for a
philosophy class I took.

I loved it since it gave an outline to each Canto and described what you were
about to read. You then have his notes at the end of each Canto, which helps
if you missed some of the references he makes.

Here is that version - [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inferno-dante-
alighieri/...](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inferno-dante-
alighieri/1115435265?ean=9780451531391)

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riffraff
So, my favorite part of the divine comedy is not even the divine comedy. Is
how, in Canto XXVI[0], Dante takes Homer's tale of Ulysses (odysseus) and
extends it. And then 500 years later, Lord Tennyson takes Dante's idea and
extends it further[1].

I find this two thousand years long compounded work incredibly fascinating.

[0]
[http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Inferno26.htm](http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Inferno26.htm)
[1]
[http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174659](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174659)

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lelele
As an Italian, I can't understand what foreigners see in the Comedy. Really.
There are some vivid descriptions -- sure -- but likewise there are in other
books. There are some interesting characters -- sure -- but they are just
sketched.

Among Italian poets, I prefer Giacomo Leopardi.

~~~
sal9000
Italian here - your feelings toward this book are most likely the result of
our mandatory 3-year Divine Comedy classes we all had in high school. It's sad
to note that most of us developed indifference - if not mild aversion - to
Dante's work after that. If you have time and will, I really recommend to read
this book skipping all comments, interpretations and stuff. Then most likely
you'll see why people from all over the world admire his work. Dante was a
poetic genius that created an entire language from scratch and pushed it in
incredible directions. And yes, he truly was an uber-nerd of his time.

~~~
lelele
Thanks for chiming in. Actually, the mandatory 3-year Divine Comedy classes
didn't bother me. I liked literature, albeit I lacked the maturity to truly
appreciate it. Later, I have tried to read the Comedy again and again, but
besides the vivid imagery and Dante's mastery of poetry, I have failed to see
what value I could extract from it. On the other hand, Giacomo Leopardi -- a
literary geek, so to speak -- had some insights to share about human
condition.

> Dante was a poetic genius that created an entire language from scratch and
> pushed it in incredible directions.

I agree with this, but this is something of interest mostly to Italians alone,
isn't it?

~~~
fibo
Dante nerd? Leopardi geek? You are talking about giants, don't use those
inappropriate terms to describe them please. Both are Great artists, we all
need to study more before judge or even comment about Dante and Leopardi.

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sherr
A recent translation by Clive James has been much praised. As someone who has
not read Dante's classic yet, the James version might be the one I read.

[http://www.clivejames.com/poetry/divine](http://www.clivejames.com/poetry/divine)

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ecesena
Is any metric respected (or attempted to)? From what I can quickly see the
verses don't seem to be hendecasyllables, but I don't really know how to count
that in English :) Anyway, not a complain, it looks like a great effort!

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riffraff
doesn't seem so, and AFAICT rhyming isn't respected either, but I think trying
to fit metric, rhyme, and meaning would be nearly impossible.

~~~
ecesena
Rhyme is not respected, but I guess that's really impossibile. Metric should
be "easier" than rhyme, but I totally agree - meaning first.

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gizzlon
Comments and images from the University of Texas at Austin:
[http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/index.html](http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/index.html)

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kabdib
My first introduction to this was via Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's
_Inferno_ , about an SF writer who dies and then finds himself in Dante's
version of Hell . . .

~~~
ggreer
(Spoilers ahead for those who haven't read both Infernos.)

While Niven & Pournelle's _Inferno_ was definitely inspired by Dante's, it's a
key plot point that Niven & Pournelle's Hell was fundamentally different. In
Dante's Hell, there is no possibility of redemption. No matter how sorry one
feels or how much one strives to make amends, Hell is forever. In Niven and
Pournelle's version, Hell is a form of purgatory. This is first hinted at by
the missing "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here" sign. It's made obvious when
the protagonist escapes Hell at the end of the story, having suffered less
than many prisoners do today.

That distinction is probably why I enjoyed Niven & Pournelle's _Inferno_ much
more than Dante's. That and the fact that Dante had the subtly of a Soviet
propagandist. He wrote his political adversaries into his depiction of Hell.
Even bad fanfic can't get away with that today.

~~~
jgallag8
The reason there is no hope for those in Dante's hell is because they are in
death as they were in life. They are not so much being punished as they are
simply extending the less than ideal life they lived before. In this sense,
there suffering is not so much inflicted upon them as it is self-inflicted.
This is the reason that there is no hope for them; they are their by their own
will. (I guess it is assumed that their character becomes fixed in death.)

As to Dante not having subtly, I have to disagree. For example, the
contrapasso associated with each circle of hell at first seems to have nothing
to do with that circle's particular sin. It takes, at least for me, quite a
bit of thought to be able to begin to see the subtle connection. These
connections, though, often reveal something quite profound about human nature.

I am likely quite biased in my opinion, since I believe the Comedy is perhaps
the greatest work of literature ever written. I think it is a pity that the
Inferno tends to get the bulk of the attention. Even though it's great, the
Purgatorio and Paradiso are even more fascinating.

Edit: There is no denying that Dante had strong political opinions though:
about Florence, about the role of the Church in politics (that it shouldn't
have any), about the Holy Roman Empire, etc.

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RockofStrength
It's important to be aware that the original has a very intricate rhyming
structure that is never preserved in the translations.

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_ZeD_
as an italian ... it's strange to read Dante in english :)

~~~
kifki
...and it's also strange that people read it voluntarily, and not forced by
the school. I hated it so much back then, although Inferno was kinda fun.

