DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI LIFE AND PAINTINGS IS A SAME DANTE ALIGHIERI'S DIVINE COMEDY'S INFERNO;PURGATORIO;PARADISO...


MERCI TO KNOW

Another fine classic. It truly demonstrates to power of the written word. It seems to be invincible.

The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is a very complex book that describes Dante's adventure through the deepest depths of hell, and all the way through highest circle of Heaven. This highly detailed book, written sometime between 1308 and 1321, is a great description of what hell, purgatory, and heaven are like.
This is book is based mostly on religion, but you don't have to be religious to enjoy it. Dante's descriptions of all 3 places are very well done, and extremely well detailed. Also, this book is somewhat hard to read because of its complexity. Because it was written so long ago, the wording is much different then it would be today. However, with a little help from spark notes and other sources of notes, this book is much easier to read. (You may find some trouble getting cliff notes for Purgatorio and Paradiso.)
Throughout the book, Dante also does a great job of creating an atmosphere.
You almost feel you're in the inferno when he describes the gates. "Through me the way into the suffering city, through me the way into eternal pain ..." You feel like you're there.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though at times it was hard to read. The details and descriptions Dante gives you are just amazing. I became so into this book, that I began looking for artwork, so I could see what others could create with Dante's descriptions.
Overall, The Divine Comedy was an astounding book. Even with being confused at times I loved it. It's most definitely a must read for anyone and everyone who enjoys reading.

in all honesty i am not a fan of mandelbaum. his odyssey is flat, his aeneid is flat, he's overrated. his translation of dante is better, but its hardly the kind that would keep a first timer's attention. read mandelbaum after you've grown to love the poem, because his translations, while bland, are still valuable in studying. for beginners though, i recomend either Mark Musa or Charlie Singleton. Singleton is the dante master, even though his trans is prose. Hollander's good too, especially for crit.

There are three types of books: worthless ones; worthwhile but difficult or dense; and worthwhile and straightforward. The first category we needn't concern ourselves with. The second includes works by writers like Faulkner or Joyce. The Divine Comedy seems to me to be in the last category. Although it is true that having a solid grasp of European history and culture would allow the work to resonate more with the reader, anyone who has not had the time or inclination to read Virgil, Homer, or the Bible might find themselves inspired to do so after reading Dante. Mandelbaum's translation is as smooth as silk. He handles Dante's 'weighty' lines well:
And so I saw that splendid school assembled,
led by the lord of song incomparable,
who like an eagle soars above the rest.

but, even more impressively, does spendidly with the little transitional scenes:
So did we move along and toward the light,
talking of things about which silence here
is just as seemly as our speech was there.

Doesn't that flow nicely?
There are notes in the back of the book adequate for a layman's purposes, and a cool chronology that puts Dante's life into a cultural and historical context. I found the introduction by Eugenio Montale to be a bit precious, but one can't have everything. What more is there to say; one either decides to read the great works of the world or one doesn't. If you are among the minority of those who choose to take the high road, this is a good place to start or continue your journey.