Synopses & Reviews
Robert Durling's spirited new prose translation of the
Paradiso completes his masterful rendering of the
Divine Comedy. Durling's earlier translations of the
Inferno and the
Purgatorio garnered high praise, and with this superb version of the
Paradiso readers can now traverse the entirety of Dante's epic poem of spiritual ascent with the guidance of one of the greatest living Italian-to-English translators.
Reunited with his beloved Beatrice in the Purgatorio, in the Paradiso the poet-narrator journeys with her through the heavenly spheres and comes to know "the state of blessed souls after death." As with the previous volumes, the original Italian and its English translation appear on facing pages. Readers will be drawn to Durling's precise and vivid prose, which captures Dante's extraordinary range of expression--from the high style of divine revelation to colloquial speech, lyrical interludes, and scornful diatribes against corrupt clergy.
This edition boasts several unique features. Durling's introduction explores the chief interpretive issues surrounding the Paradiso, including the nature of its allegories, the status in the poem of Dante's human body, and his relation to the mystical tradition. The notes at the end of each canto provide detailed commentary on historical, theological, and literary allusions, and unravel the obscurity and difficulties of Dante's ambitious style . An unusual feature is the inclusion of the text, translation, and commentary on one of Dante's chief models, the famous cosmological poem by Boethius that ends the third book of his Consolation of Philosophy. A substantial section of Additional Notes discusses myths, symbols, and themes that figure in all three cantiche of Dante's masterpiece. Finally, the volume includes a set of indexes that is unique in American editions, including Proper Names Discussed in the Notes (with thorough subheadings concerning related themes), Passages Cited in the Notes, and Words Discussed in the Notes, as well as an Index of Proper Names in the text and translation. Like the previous volumes, this final volume includes a rich series of illustrations by Robert Turner.
Review
"As Durling and Martinez complete their monumental three-volume presentation of Dante's masterpiece, we can sense their triumph and elation, despite their characteristic modesty. This, after all, is the volume with which they can demonstrate the fullness and consistency of Dante's great project, its final approach to what they describe in one footnote as 'a pitch of intensity unique in all literature.' The scholarship, as always, is graceful, comprehensive, and acute, and it surrounds a translation that is so carefully considered and fully realized as to be, at times, quite breathtaking."--David Young, translator of The Poetry of Petrarch
"Durling and Martinez deliver Paradiso in elegant English prose faithful to Dante's Italian. The general introduction and succinct notes to each canto enable an informed reading of a frequently daunting text, while the longer 'Additional Notes,' bibliography, and indices will more than satisfy the most exigent critic. Marvelous, in the richest medieval sense of the term."--Michael Wyatt, author of The Italian Encounter with Tudor England
"At the end of his poem Dante claims that his 'high imagining failed of power,' but Durling and Martinez have suffered no such fate in completing their translation of the Divine Comedy. Their Paradiso is a crowning achievement, a work of lucid prose and of impeccable accuracy. Readers will find themselves rewarded by the succinct, richly informative notes at the end of each canto and the extended essay-notes at the back of the volume. A splendid accomplishment."--Richard Lansing, editor of The Dante Encyclopedia
Synopsis
Robert Durling's much-anticipated translation of the Paradiso, the third and final volume of Dante's Divine Comedy, is available at last. Durling's prose translations of the Inferno and the Purgatorio garnered high praise, and with this superb version of the Paradiso readers can now traverse the entirety of Dante's epic poem of spiritual ascent with the guidance of one of the greatest living Italian-to-English translators.
Reunited with his beloved Beatrice in the Paradiso, the poet-narrator journeys through the heavenly spheres and comes to know "the state of blessed souls after death," the joy that every man can attain with God's grace. As with the previous volumes, the original Italian and its English translation appear on facing pages for language mavens. But every reader will be drawn to Durling's precise and vivid prose, which is perfectly suited to capture Dante's extraordinary range of expression--from the high style of divine revelation to colloquial speech, lyrical interludes, and scornful diatribes against corrupt monks.
This edition boasts several unique features to aid readers. The notes by Durling and Ronald Martinez at the end of each canto not only illuminate the Paradiso, but stress the links among all three volumes of the Commedia, something seldom done in other editions. It also includes several drawings that illustrate Dante's medieval cosmology and a map of the poet's journey through Paradise. Durling's lucid, stage-setting introduction explores the Paradiso's unsurpassed imaginative richness and provides historical, political, biblical, and theological contexts that further enhance the reader's comprehension of the poem's major themes. Finally, the volume includes a unique set of indexes, including Proper Names in the Notes (with rich subheadings concerning themes and rhetorical devices), Passages Cited in the Notes, Words Discussed in the Notes, as well as the customary Index of Proper Names in the Text and Translation.
No reader will be disappointed by this reader-friendly, lovingly rendered new edition, a fitting capstone to Durling's remarkable achievement.
Synopsis
One of the greatest living Italian-to-English translators, Durling has at last completed his rendition of the third and final volume of Dante's masterful literary epic, The Divine Comedy. As with the two preceding volumes, Durling's precise and powerful translation of Paradiso appears alongside the original Italian text recounting Dante's journey through heaven with the beautiful Beatrice. The end of each canto contains thorough yet succinct notes by Durling and Ronald Martinez that acquaint the reader with Dante's medieval world and his reference points. Thus the volume will appeal to the general reader as well as lovers and students of Italian literature, language, and history. While English-language translations of the Commedia abound, the accuracy and lyrical verve of Durling's translations have earned him a place as one of the all time greats.
About the Author
Robert M. Durling is Professor Emeritus of English and Italian Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ronald L. Martinez is Professor of Italian at Brown University. Their works together include Dante's
Inferno and
Purgatorio and
Time and the Crystal: Studies in Dante's "Rime petrose."Robert Turner has been a professional illustrator for thirty years.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Abbreviations, xv
Introduction, 2
PARADISO
CANTO 1
Notes to Canto 1
CANTO 2
Notes to Canto 2
CANTO 3
Notes to Canto 3
CANTO 4
Notes to Canto 4
CANTO 5
Notes to Canto 5
CANTO 6
Notes to Canto 6
CANTO 7
Notes to Canto 7
CANTO 8
Notes to Canto 8
CANTO 9
Notes to Canto 9
CANTO 10
Notes to Canto 10
CANTO 11
Notes to Canto 11
CANTO 12
Notes to Canto 12
CANTO 13
Notes to Canto 13
CANTO 14
Notes to Canto 14
CANTO 15
Notes to Canto 15
CANTO 16
Notes to Canto 16
CANTO 17
Notes to Canto 17
CANTO 18
Notes to Canto 18
CANTO 19
Notes to Canto 19
CANTO 20
Notes to Canto 20
CANTO 21
Notes to Canto 21
CANTO 22
Notes to Canto 22
CANTO 23
Notes to Canto 23
CANTO 24
Notes to Canto 24
CANTO 25
Notes to Canto 25
CANTO 26
Notes to Canto 26
CANTO 27
Notes to Canto 27
CANTO 28
Notes to Canto 28
CANTO 29
Notes to Canto 29
CANTO 30
Notes to Canto 30
CANTO 31
Notes to Canto 31
CANTO 32
Notes to Canto 32
CANTO 33
Notes to Canto 33
THE NICENE CREED
BOETHIUS' O QUI PERPETUA MUNDUM RATIONE GUBERNAS
Notes to "O qui perpetua'
ADDITIONAL NOTES
1. The Figure of Beatrice (After Canto 2)
2. The Paradiso and the Monarchia
3.The Primacy of the Intellect, the Sun, and the Circling Theologians (After Canto 14)
4. Dante and the Liturgy (After Canto 15)
5. The Religious Orders in the Paradiso
6. The Threshold Cantos in the Comedy
7. The Fate of Phaethon in the Comedy
8. Circle-Cross-Eagle-Scales: Images in the Paradiso
9. The Final Image
10. The Neoplatonic Background
11. Dante and Neoplatonism
12. Dante's Astrology
13. The Heavens and the Sciences: Convivio 2
14. The Paradiso as Alpha and Omega
Textual Variants
Bibliography
Index of Italian, Latin, and Other Foreign Words Discussed in the Notes
Index of Passages Cited in the Notes
Index of Proper Names in the Notes
Index of Proper Names in the Text and Translation