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The Divine Comedy

Volume 1: Hell

Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri - Author

Dorothy L. Sayers - Translator

Dorothy L. Sayers - Introduction by

Paperback | $14.00 | add to cart | view cart
ISBN 9780140440065 | 352 pages | 30 Jun 1950 | Penguin Classics | 5.07 x 7.79in | 18 - AND UP
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A stunning 3-in-1 deluxe edition of one of the great works of Western literature
 
An epic masterpiece and a foundational work of the Western canon, The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as his guide; his ascent of Mount Purgatory and reunion with his dead love, Beatrice; and, finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire, and enlightenment and furnished with semiautobiographical details, Dante's poem is a brilliantly nuanced and moving allegory of human redemption. This acclaimed blank verse translation is published here for the first time in a one-volume edition.



"The perfect balance of tightness and colloquialism . . . Likely to be the best modern version of Dante."
— Bernard O'Donoghue


"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)


"We gain much from Kirkpatrick's fidelity to syntax and nuance. . . . His introduction . . . tells you, very readable indeed, pretty much all you need for a heightened appreciation of the work."
— The Guardian (London)