Synopses & Reviews
The second volume of Dante's epic, printed with the original Italian and Robin Kirkpatrick's sublime translation
Climbing out of Hell, Dante in the Purgatorio reaches an island set in the southern ocean. This is Mount Purgatory, where he encounters the penitents who heroically endure their sufferings and speak of their time on Earth. Strange and fresh at every turn, Dante's narrative evokes the mountain landscape in terms of intense physical sensation, right up to the summit. There, before rising to heaven, he enters the Earthly Paradise, where he is movingly reunited with his lost love, Beatrice. This gloriously vivid portrayal of the search for redemption transformed the traditional conception of Purgatory and affirmed the dignity of human will and compassion.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Review
"Kirkpatrick brings a more nuanced sense of the Italian and a more mediated appreciation of the poem's construction than nearly all of his competitors."
-The Times (London)
Review
“Although I studied Dantes
Inferno in high school, it wasnt until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dantes work on the modern world.” —
Dan Brown, author of Inferno and The Da Vinci Code
“Kirkpatrick brings a more nuanced sense of the Italian and a more mediated appreciation of the poems construction than nearly all of his competitors.” —The Times (London)
Review
"Kirkpatrick brings a more nuanced sense of the Italian and a more mediated appreciation of the poem's construction than nearly all of his competitors."
-The Times (London)
Synopsis
Dante's epic-in a stunning new clothbound edition. Describing Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, the Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasing torture, Dante encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, the poet must journey with Virgil to the heart of Hell-for it is only by encountering Satan that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin.
Synopsis
Read the original Inferno and search for the secrets to Dan Browns Inferno!
In the highly anticipated new novel by bestselling author Dan Brown, the Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of historys most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces: Dantes Inferno. The most famous of the three canticles that comprise The Divine Comedy, Inferno describes Dantes descent into Hell with Virgil as his guide. Robin Kirkpatricks brilliant translationlikely to be the best modern version” (Bernard ODonoghue)is the perfect companion to Dan Browns Inferno for readers looking to unlock its secrets.
About the Author
Dante Alighieri was born in 1265. Considered Italy's greatest poet, this scion of a Florentine family mastered in the art of lyric poetry at an early age. His first major work is
La Vita Nuova (1292) which is a tribute to Beatrice Portinari, the great love of his life. Married to Gemma Donatic, Dante's political activism resulted in his being exiled from Florence to eventually settle in Ravenna. It is believed that
The Divine Comedycomprised of three canticles,
The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and
The Paradisowas written between 1308 and 1320. Dante Alighieri died in 1321.
Robin Kirkpatrick is a widely published Dante scholar. He is fellow of Robinson College and professor of Italian and English literature at Cambridge University.