The Divine Comedy: Penguin Classics

Penguin always produce fine books.

This is not (cannot) be a review of Dante's classic - who would dare, as Dante's text is up there, at the very top, next to Lear and Quixote, the essays of Montaigne and Emerson, and a few more - not much more books. It is a piece of history, it's a book that makes you feel you need no more books, or as Carlyle said: Dante is the voice who put an end to ten centuries of silence.This is more a review of the superb Penguin edition, of the priceless introduction, of a very good translation and over one hundred pages of notes that lead the reader through the layers of the timeless poem, and through a who's who in Medieval Florence - and as a bonus, to the actual antecedent for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Dante has seldom, if at all, been presented as superbly as it is here.As Harold Bloom said, "immortal books are those which you want to finish soon, so you can read them again, sometimes even when you're still reading them for the first time". This one fully qualifies for that notion. Words that leave one without words.Lastly, a tip for those who enjoyed this jewel of a book: do read before, during or after it, Oxford's Very Brief Introduction of Dante, by Pater Haimsworth and David Robey, a magnificent companion to the poem and a very illuminating view to Dante.

This book is dense but lyrical and I couldn’t put it down. It has an interesting biblical-gothic tone and tells us so much about human nature (if you read it from a psychological view point). I’m autistic and fascinated by what makes humans tick and do the things they do, where we come from and where we’re going. This is an absolute stand-out reac and I’m understanding Christianity from a whole new perspective.

It's a wondering translation of a fantastic book. It's a shame that the "new" book I ordered looks a bit scuffed up with a couple of page corners folded which makes me think its been pre-owned.

I have made one previous attempt to read the Divine Comedy in English, using Longfellow's translation of 1867. This foundered somewhere in the middle of Purgatorio (i.e. the second of the three sections), largely as a result of trying to read it in too-large chunks with too-long gaps in between (and consequently losing the plot).My current read-through, using this Penguin Classics edition translated by Robin Kirkpatrick (c. 2007), has been more successful and I am now nearing the end of Paradiso (the final section). This is partly due to my newer strategy of reading (aloud) one canto every day, but this wouldn't work if the translation didn't flow well. Fortunately it does.Kirkpatrick's translation is in iambic pentameter blank verse, which works much more naturally in English than trying to force the original Italian poem's terza rima to work in translation. He uses a variety of registers, from exalted to earthy (which probably mirrors the original text, although my grasp of Italian isn't good enough to know for sure - if it was I probably wouldn't bother with a translation anyway). There are fairly frequent quotations in Latin, which are left untranslated in the text with a translation given in the end-notes.The notes are extensive and give a lot of useful background information about the many classical allusions and references to Dante's contemporaries and the politics and culture in which he was writing, as well as a few nice maps and diagrams. There is also a very comprehensive looking introduction which I haven't read yet (I decided to plunge straight into the text and then go back to the introduction when I've finished).

As described and in good condition

This is a good piece of literature I remember reading it years ago in school. I wanted to pick it up again and read it once more. I highly recommend Dante’s The Divine Comedy to be added to your reading list. That my personal opinion

Exactly as described.

Love it, sometimes find it confusing, but this is a must read for anyone who wants a view like no other into the spiritual world. Dante brings to live both heavenly and dark sides of an existence in his poetry that seems real. A must have for any readers collection. It is a large book so the paperback makes it easy to throw in a bag to take with you.

Obra clássica a um preço óptimo.

Good edition, with preface and maps.

It is clearly a book, that contains the Divine Comedy in english. Would recommend.

Great delivery and good packaging, book is original and pages are great.