Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy is Dante's record of his visionary journey through the triple realms of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. This, the first 'epic' of which its author is the protagonist and his individual imaginings the content, weaves together the three threads of Classical and Christian history; contemporary Medieval politics and religion; and Dante's own inner life including his love for Beatrice, to create the most complex and highly structured long...

The "Divine Comedy" was entitled by Dante himself merely "Commedia," meaning a poetic composition in a style intermediate between the sustained nobility of tragedy, and the popular tone of elegy. The word had no dramatic implication at that time, though it did involve a happy ending. The poem is the narrative of a journey down through Hell, up the mountain of Purgatory, and through the revolving heavens into the presence of God. In this aspect it...

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri's 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 of Paradise -- the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation. Now, for the first time, John Ciardi's brilliant and authoritative translations of Dante's three...

"Dante Alighieri's magnificent story of his journey through the infinite horrors of Hell and past the gates inscribed with the timeless words: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here. The poem is a terrifying vision of the consequences of sin, a daring quest for the path to Paradise, and a vivid pageant of the Middle Ages"--Container back cover insert.