He is professor in european literature emeritus at princeton and the founding director of both the dartmouth dante project and the princeton dante project. The divine comedy is not a comedy at all, the title commedia refers to the fact that the journey starts from hell and ends with dantes visit to heaven and meeting with god and understanding of the mystery of reincarnation. This translation of the inferno, the first canticle of dante alighieris divine comedy, by robert and jean hollander, is one of the best that ive read. The divine comedy by dante alighieri is an epic poem written between 8 and his death in 21. The divine comedy series 3 book series kindle edition.
The authoritative translations of the inferno, the purgatorio, and the paradisotogether in one volume. If youve already downloaded the first 2 parts, feel free to redownload them, as the final versions are extended, with few mistakes corrected, plus with an enhanced layout. And the two translators have taken very different approaches to the style of the poem. The allegory describes dantes journey through the depths of hell. Often translated and into many languages, the comedy the adjective divine was added by an editor to the authors title in 1555 attracts new readers every year.
So, this video is the first in a potential little series where i talk about my favorite classics, the ones that mean the most to me and those i think everyone should read. The first english translation of dante s divine comedy, by the rev. The divine comedy is the precursor of modern literature, and this translation decades in the making gives us the entire epic as a single, coherent and compulsively listenable lyric poem. The manuscript is a strictly themed dante devotion and is of magical quality if one considers the fantastic. The hollander translation is the new standard in english of this essential work of world literature.
Now let me divert a bit into how i read the divine comedy. Thanks, i have recently purchased the 60 volume britannica great books of the western world, and the divine comedy volume is singletons translation. Eliot called such poetry the most beautiful ever writtenand yet. Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, dante alighieris poetic masterpiece, the divine comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of hell, up the arduous slopes of purgatory, and on to the glorious realm. Featuring the original italian text opposite the translation, their edition offers an extensive and accessible introduction as.
They have produced the clearest, most accurate, and most readable translation of the three books of the divine comedy, with unsurpassable footnotes and. And since robert hollanders achievements as a dante scholar are unsurpassed in the englishspeaking world, the commentaries that accompany each canto offer. Ive opted to go with the robert and jean hollander translation. Purgatorio by dante alighieri, jean hollander translator, robert hollander translator, dante alighieri and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Their purgatorio is almost twice as long as mandelbaums. Over the past decade, poet jean hollander and her husband, dante scholar robert hollander, have produced an acclaimed translation of the divine comedy, drawing roberts scholarship and jeans poetic sense. The divine comedy by dante aligheri was translated into french and spanish and other european languages well before it was first translated into english. Their english version of the comedy is fast and straightforward, sticking close to the original text but adding vigor to what can sometimes be very bland in english. They are at work translating dantes purgatorio and paradiso, and doubleday will publish their complete divine comedy in 2002. An invaluable source of pleasure to those english readers who wish to read this great medieval classic with true understanding, sinclairs threevolume prose translation of dantes divine comedy provides both the original italian text and the sinclair translation, arranged on facing pages, and commentaries, appearing after each canto, which serve as brilliant. Complete dante alighieris divine comedy in pdf 3 books.
If you havent yet read the divine comedyyou know who you arenow is the time, because robert and jean hollander have just completed a beautiful translation of the astonishing fourteenth. The divine comedy by dante alighieri free pdf ebook. Robert hollander, a renowned scholar and master teacher of dante, and jean hollander, an accomplished poet, have written a beautifully accurate and clear verse translation of the first volume of dantes epic poem, the divine comedy. The epic grandeur of dantes masterpiece has inspired readers for 700 years, and has entered. Which translation of the divine comedy is the best. The divine comedy on translations the 100 greatest. Jean hollander, a poet, was in charge of the verse. Jean hollander, his wife, is a poet, teacher, and director of the writers conference at the college of new jersey. Robert and jean hollanders verse translation with facingpage italian offers the dual virtues of maximum fidelity to dantes text with the feeling necessary to give the english reader a sense of the works poetic greatness in italian. My short guide to divine comedy translations based on 7 cantos. Divine comedy by dante abebooks shop for books, art.
Jean hollander, an accomplished poet, and robert hollander, a renowned scholar and master teacher, whose joint translation of the inferno was acclaimed as a new standard in english, bring their respective gifts to purgatorio in an arresting and clear verse translation. The poems imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the. Bit earlier than promised, ive finished the paradiso, so i bring you complete dante alighieris divine comedy in pdf for free download, as 3 separate ebooks inferno, purgatorio, and paradiso. In 2008 their translation of the commedia was honored by the unione. A threevolume translation by robert hollander and jean hollander arrives at paradise. Featuring the original italian text opposite the translation, their edition offers an extensive and. English translations of dantes divine comedy wikipedia. The divine comedy by dante aligheri was translated into french and spanish and other. Their complete divine comedy is 2600 pages, a small portion of which is taken up by the poem in english and italian. The divine comedy hollander translation dante alighieri. Remarkably, perhaps due to anticatholic sentiment, the englishspeaking world largely ignored the divine comedy until the 18th century when william blake translated portions of it and is accredited with reigniting interest. In fact the first english translation was only completed in 1802, almost 500 years after dante wrote his italian original. The work is written in the first person, and tells of dantes journey.
Theirs is the one that keeps coming up when looking for a good verse translation. The hollander translation reads very much like prose. So, for all of you who are simply torn over which translation to read, here is. I was surprised to see a prose translation i didnt know there was such a thing and wanted to find out how singletons translation was viewed. This translationa labor of love and the first ever by two poetswas begun in florence in 1997 and completed in hopewell in 2006. Purgatory mercer, 1997 by retelling the story in her own words. Fifteen translations of dante compared boisterous beholding. With books as popular as the divine comedy, its best to sample different translations and decide which one you like the most, as well as decide which kind of translation exactly you want. Kathryn lindskoog leads readers through dantes divine comedy.
Since you asked in english, i will assume you want an english translation. How to read dante in the 21st century the american scholar. By dante translated by robert hollander and jean hollander. There are more literal ones, prose translations, verse translations, etc. The inferno dante, robert hollander, jean hollander isbn. Altogether, their notes, spread out over the three volumes of the comedy, are about 480,000 words, as long as a thousand page novel, or a third of the complete proust.
Dante alighieri robert hollander translator jean hollander. These breathtaking lines conclude dantes divine comedy, a 14,000line epic written in 21 on the state of the soul after death. Written in the early 14th century and completed in 21, the year of dantes death, the divine comedy is perhaps the greatest work of epic poetry ever. Robert hollander taught dantes divine comedy to princeton students for fortytwo years, and is the author of a dozen books and more than seventy articles on dante, boccaccio, and other italian authors. Recent work includes paradiso doubleday, 2007, the third and final volume of a verse translation done with his wife, jean hollander of the divine comedy with facing italian text and a commentary. Divine comedy, divine spirituality crossroad, 1999 serves as a basic guide to the complicated poem. Joan acocella of the new yorker called their translation beautifulmore idiomatic than any other english version i know, and credited jeans ear with allowing the verse to sing. Their english version of the comedy is fast and straightforward, sticking close to the original text but adding vigor to. Inferno is the first part of italian poet dante alighieris epic poem divine comedy. Dante alighieri inferno i hollander translation genius.
Durante degli alighieri, commonly known by his short name dante alighieri or simply as dante 1265 21, was a major italian poet of the late middle ages. Featuring the original italian text opposite the translation, this. Samuel beckett, whom we would do well to emulate, was once asked what ambitions he had. Recently, the poet robert pinsky offered us an english inferno. The lack of english translations before this is due in part to dantes catholic views being distasteful, or at least. The divine comedy audiobook by clive james translator. It is widely considered to be the preeminent work in italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. When dante wrote the poem we call the divine comedy, he called it simply the commedia.
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