Dante's Inferno (Illustrated by Dore): Modern English Version
- Downloads：4027
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-24 08:54:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dante Alighieri
- ISBN：149601734X
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Summary
Most English translations of INFERNO are full of colorful， but meaningless language based on today's modern standards。 Some translations are so elaborate that they are as difficult to read as the original Italian version。 This translation uses the Longfellow translation as a base， but replaces the obscure or antiquated verbiage with the language of Modern English。 This translation could easily be read and understood by today's reader。 Adding the illustrations by Gustave Dore brings this classic work to life。
Reviews
Ben Rogers
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What a scary book。 I was not expecting this much。 It was interesting， but really disturbing。 Reminded me of the mural I saw at The Duomo - really horrifying。 4。0/5
Elle
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went through hell ， very interesting sooooo yea it’s good
SweetAileen
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If you’re like me and lack higher education I definitely suggest getting outside help if you’re struggling understanding this work of literature。 A study guide and reading a chapter summary or explanation will suffice。 With that being said I really enjoyed reading Inferno and it gave me a lot to think about。 I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the Divine Comedy:）
Sofia Masciarelli
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I'm from Italy but READ IT JUST DO IT PLEASE The best part among the three I'm from Italy but READ IT JUST DO IT PLEASE The best part among the three 。。。more
Sara Bianco Muss
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Non mi posso considerare italiana senza aver letto questo。 Non lo rileggerei mai più però :）
Faith
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i had no idea what was going on but it was good
Sam Duffy
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Inferno is very deserving， for so many reasons， of it's place in the cannon。On the one hand， it is something of a historic shit-list， airing his dirty laundry。 At the same time， and because of Dante wanting to make it as public as possible， Inferno was written to be accessible to the public， setting the course of Italian literature from then on。Dante did so much to define the way hell evolved as a mythological idea that it is often hard to pinpoint how much of Inferno's imagery and ideas are bor Inferno is very deserving， for so many reasons， of it's place in the cannon。On the one hand， it is something of a historic shit-list， airing his dirty laundry。 At the same time， and because of Dante wanting to make it as public as possible， Inferno was written to be accessible to the public， setting the course of Italian literature from then on。Dante did so much to define the way hell evolved as a mythological idea that it is often hard to pinpoint how much of Inferno's imagery and ideas are borrowed from others and how many were created by him。But these historic notes are far from Inferno's only claim to fame。 Dante's journey through the depths of hell is vividly described and infinitely interesting。 The many ways devised by Satan to extract judgement on those in his custody are as entertaining as they are disturbing。 The hell of Dante's imagination begs to be read。—As a final note， ensure you choose a translation that works for you。 Switching from the Longfellow translation to James' made my experience so much more magical。 。。。more
Eschargot
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Heard her interview on the poetry foundation podcast and thought - why not？ https://www。poetryfoundation。org/podc。。。 Heard her interview on the poetry foundation podcast and thought - why not？ https://www。poetryfoundation。org/podc。。。 。。。more
Seth D Michaels
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Feels weird to give a classic of the Western canon a star rating， but it’s my first time with it and I think the translation and commentary Ciardi offers is very good。An inspiration to petty people everywhere: you can create something enduring， resonant， widely beloved and taken seriously for centuries and still have it basically be a burn book to settle a bunch of esoteric political and personal scores。 It’s not going to be a surprise that so much of Western culture is downstream of this， from Feels weird to give a classic of the Western canon a star rating， but it’s my first time with it and I think the translation and commentary Ciardi offers is very good。An inspiration to petty people everywhere: you can create something enduring， resonant， widely beloved and taken seriously for centuries and still have it basically be a burn book to settle a bunch of esoteric political and personal scores。 It’s not going to be a surprise that so much of Western culture is downstream of this， from religious imagery to fantasy literature to heavy metal lyrics， but it’s interesting as always to be able to see the well-worn references and images in their original context。 And if there’s anything I want to explore in more detail I certainly don’t need to wonder if there’s an explanatory essay I could read。 There’s seven centuries’ worth！ Glad I read this， and it’s more engaging and less chore-y than I expected。 。。。more
Isabel
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Truly the medieval Virgil。
Andy
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Definitely an interesting look into the myths and beliefs of those in the 14th century。 Beautiful prose as well。 I sense this is definitely something that becomes more rewarding the more study you put into it， but I fail to see the merits in doing so， personally。 It's an incredibly depressing read， and you could learn all you need to about Dante's Inferno just by skimming the Wikipedia page for it。 The archaics beliefs portrayed of such a vengeful God gave me no enjoyment; I wouldn't wish anythi Definitely an interesting look into the myths and beliefs of those in the 14th century。 Beautiful prose as well。 I sense this is definitely something that becomes more rewarding the more study you put into it， but I fail to see the merits in doing so， personally。 It's an incredibly depressing read， and you could learn all you need to about Dante's Inferno just by skimming the Wikipedia page for it。 The archaics beliefs portrayed of such a vengeful God gave me no enjoyment; I wouldn't wish anything described in this book on anyone。I guess I'd rather be reading something that is applicable for today and/or is fun。。。 This， to me， was neither。 。。。more
gardeningmom7
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Book club read- I thought I knew who would be in the last circle of Hell but Dante said， “You ain’t ready， girl。” “I wept。 I leaned against the jagged face of a rock and wept so that my Guide said: “Still？ Still like the other fools？ There is no place for pity here。 Who is more arrogant within his soul， who is more impious than one who dares to sorrow at God‘s judgment？””-Canto XX。 25
Navin Philip
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Simply amazing， the old writing that we in longer find in modern day poetry or literature is ample In here。 The inferno depicts the poets journey through the nine realms of hell which is surprisingly on earth。 The hatred and malice among men on this planet makes hell according to the poet and rising above it and making peace is finding heaven。 The allegory in the poem is so evident even though it takes slow reading to decipher it and most words are archaic and hence will need the reference from Simply amazing， the old writing that we in longer find in modern day poetry or literature is ample In here。 The inferno depicts the poets journey through the nine realms of hell which is surprisingly on earth。 The hatred and malice among men on this planet makes hell according to the poet and rising above it and making peace is finding heaven。 The allegory in the poem is so evident even though it takes slow reading to decipher it and most words are archaic and hence will need the reference from a dictionary to get what some verses mean。 Overall this book is too good and is a must read。 。。。more
Ciel Emerson
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want to make a tv series out of this that blows netflix away？
ruby
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I can’t believe I wasted my time reading this。
Lara
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This wasn't as rough as I expected it to be， and I'm certain that a big part of the reason for that is the translation I used。 5 stars for the translation/notes by Mark Musa。 The poem itself。。。 my goodness。 First of all， it's a masterpiece simply because of the structure/rhyming pattern which obviously doesn't come through in the translation， but like。。。 how。 How did he write something so complex with SO MANY（self-imposed） rules？ No wonder it took him forever to write。 Second of all， what the he This wasn't as rough as I expected it to be， and I'm certain that a big part of the reason for that is the translation I used。 5 stars for the translation/notes by Mark Musa。 The poem itself。。。 my goodness。 First of all， it's a masterpiece simply because of the structure/rhyming pattern which obviously doesn't come through in the translation， but like。。。 how。 How did he write something so complex with SO MANY（self-imposed） rules？ No wonder it took him forever to write。 Second of all， what the heck。 How did he come up with all of this？ It is WILD。 In so many different ways。 Third of all， my assessment （after only reading Inferno， so maybe after reading the others I'll change my mind） is that there were a lot of people who Dante didn't like， so he amused himself by designing hell and deciding where he'd put each of them。I think I'll read the other two parts at some point， but for now， I need a break。 。。。more
Gretchen
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The prose is classic and stands the test of time （5/5 stars）。 The performance， however， is not great （2/5 stars）。 The reader's voice grated in my ears when he changed his voice to perform other characters。 The prose is classic and stands the test of time （5/5 stars）。 The performance， however， is not great （2/5 stars）。 The reader's voice grated in my ears when he changed his voice to perform other characters。 。。。more
cosmina
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No thoughts， head empty
Izzy
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Intensely creative world-building for its time。 Dante throws serious shade at his political contemporaries。 Some good fart jokes too。
Niko
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The Divine Comedy: Part 1/4
Anna Bosman
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Somehow， I have expected more than a fanboy encounter with Virgil and a systematic placement of medieval Italian politicians in the various circles of hell。 It was… boring。
Jenna A
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Now I’m gonna be honest， this book was written in like the 1200s so none of it made sense。 But THEORETICALLY it is a very interesting book。 You have to think like this book is so iconic that it has managed to say relevant until the MILLENNIUM！ 2021！ We all gotta give it to Dante for managing to wow humanity into caring about this book for like 800 years past。 Now， did I know what happened in this book？ No I did not。 So， read it if you want to sound smart。 （And read translations）。Thank you for yo Now I’m gonna be honest， this book was written in like the 1200s so none of it made sense。 But THEORETICALLY it is a very interesting book。 You have to think like this book is so iconic that it has managed to say relevant until the MILLENNIUM！ 2021！ We all gotta give it to Dante for managing to wow humanity into caring about this book for like 800 years past。 Now， did I know what happened in this book？ No I did not。 So， read it if you want to sound smart。 （And read translations）。Thank you for your time🙏🏽 。。。more
Wystan
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I presume that I am missing a lot by not being able to read Dante in his native Italian， and based on free online lectures from Yale I discovered I am also missing a lot， in general。。。 it would help if I were stronger in my Classics。I spent much of the book wondering why Dante wrote this， and what the overarching theme was -- and then in the very last few cantos， it struck me that Dante deeply loved Florence and Italy but was also profoundly distressed by （what he viewed as） the sins that were t I presume that I am missing a lot by not being able to read Dante in his native Italian， and based on free online lectures from Yale I discovered I am also missing a lot， in general。。。 it would help if I were stronger in my Classics。I spent much of the book wondering why Dante wrote this， and what the overarching theme was -- and then in the very last few cantos， it struck me that Dante deeply loved Florence and Italy but was also profoundly distressed by （what he viewed as） the sins that were tearing it apart in the Middle Ages。 My own interpretation of Inferno is as Dante's treatise on the downfall of his own society， and that the responsibility lies with everyone to raise it up as they are able: we tour from the highest to lowest portions of hell， likely in the order of actions and behaviors that most aggrieved Dante。 I would like to a） read some of the epic poetry of Classic literature and then b） read this again sometime。On to Purgatorio。。。 。。。more
Brian
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I tried Longfellow and Musa translations。 I sampled a couple others。 This translation and notes were extremely helpful in understanding the text。 I will see which translation I will read for Purgatory and Paradise。
Courtney
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2。5 Stars
Mr。 Nicol
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Inventive， sad and beautiful。 Such an amazing narrative structure that I believe has never been matched。 A very challenging read that once you get it， it makes you come back again and reread。 T。S。 Eliot made me read this and John Irving directed me to him。 A cornerstone and font of ideas。 Have not felt adventurous enough to read the rest of The Divine Comedy。 I don't think I want to put in the effort to handle the intellectual challenge that awaits from reading it。 Watch the modern cartoon first Inventive， sad and beautiful。 Such an amazing narrative structure that I believe has never been matched。 A very challenging read that once you get it， it makes you come back again and reread。 T。S。 Eliot made me read this and John Irving directed me to him。 A cornerstone and font of ideas。 Have not felt adventurous enough to read the rest of The Divine Comedy。 I don't think I want to put in the effort to handle the intellectual challenge that awaits from reading it。 Watch the modern cartoon first then read the version by recent Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky。 。。。more
amydunnestan
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o ye weary souls！！
Bob Beckert
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Dolorous
caesou
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didn't end up finishing this on my first read through， since i read this quite carelessly and barely paid attention to the plot。i will say though， the "introduction" is 100 pages and i think that's 90 pages too many。 didn't end up finishing this on my first read through， since i read this quite carelessly and barely paid attention to the plot。i will say though， the "introduction" is 100 pages and i think that's 90 pages too many。 。。。more
belén
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