[1]

I read this in high school but like most people at that age, didn't even remotely come close to appreciating it. Comically, you know you're getting old when you look for a certain title in a bookstore/online and the majority of the results are Cliff Notes. :lol:

A few years ago I tried to read it in italian with a pretty cool translated version, but ended up just looking for a good English translation. This one here is the best I've found, though it's just Inferno.

The problem with some of the meter in English is that it doesn't quite flow as well as the Italian version because so many Italian words end in vowels, but that version there is much better than the previous one's I've tried.

For anyone looking to spend a few hours catching up on one of the most important pieces of literature ever written, start with that version. :yesway:

Do NOT get this version:

Amazon.com: The Divine Comedy eBook: Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Kindle Store

If you have a Kindle. The spacing is all fucked up, and the line breaks between stanzas are allJacked uplikethis for
Themajorityofthebook which is really
fuckingannoying.

 

[forelander]

Know of any good versions with the Italian on one page and the English on the opposite one? I've been curious to read this for a while now.

 

[1]

I had it as a paperback, but donated the bulk of my books to charity when I got the kindle and the house. I had probablly 300-400 books, and just nowhere to put them all. I can't remember the author's name, but I'll look around and see if I can find it.

It's pretty awesome if you read the English version, then the Italian right after it, stanza by stanza. The Italian flows so well, even with my absolutely-nowhere-near-correct mental vocalization of how it's supposed to sound.

This is such a fucking fantastic read for anyone really - even people who aren't into prose, so to speak. After the first two pages you stop reading it in verse, and it just flows as a story. (Not just Inferno, the whole thing)

 

[406]

As The Divine Comedy is an extraordinary piece of art, and I have a huge faible for everything "hell"-themed (and lets face it - this is, right after the bible, THE source of it :lol: ), I have read 3 different (german) translations - one including the original italian text (left side: italian - right side: Fred. I mean: german)- I don't speak italian unfrotunately, but with that bit of latin I learned in school, i could see how some things have been adapted for a better understanding.

It is amazing. Badassery, in the most artistic way possible.

 

[Joey]

As The Divine Comedy is an extraordinary piece of art, and I have a huge faible for everything "hell"-themed (and lets face it - this is, right after the bible, THE source of it :lol: ), I have read 3 different (german) translations - one including the original italian text (left side: italian - right side: Fred. I mean: german)- I don't speak italian unfrotunately, but with that bit of latin I learned in school, i could see how some things have been adapted for a better understanding.

It is amazing. Badassery, in the most artistic way possible.

I'd actually put the bible fairly low on the list of hell literature. There really isn't much mention of it.

 

[406]

Fair point! I actually wasnt sure as I actually never completely read the bible, so I edited the "right after the bible" part into it, just to go for sure / to avoid any "bro, bible is much earlier"..

 

[Joey]

Fair enough. I just thought I'd mention it since the Bible is really fairly low on any "if you die you go to heaven or hell, and this is what they look like" type stuff.

 

[Naren]

I studied Buddhism a lot and a very convincing theory I read was that Christianity got its idea of Hell from Buddhism. There is no mention of Hell in the Bible's old testament, but it is suddenly introduced in the new testament and it seems quite similar to the hot hell in Buddhism (depending on the sect of Buddhism, there are a lot of Hells). The biggest difference is that in Buddhist hell, they have reincarnation, so you can eventually get out, but you can't get out of Christian Hell. Aaaaand Islam got their idea of Hell from Christianity. (For reference, Buddhism started around 500BC, Christianity started around 30-50AD, Islam started around 630AD).

 

[Drew]

It's pretty awesome if you read the English version, then the Italian right after it, stanza by stanza. The Italian flows so well, even with my absolutely-nowhere-near-correct mental vocalization of how it's supposed to sound.

You and I probably had the same version then:

Amazon.com: The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri : Volume 1: Inferno eBook: Dante Alighieri, Robert Turner, Robert M. Durling, Ronald L. Martinez: Kindle Store

I have the Inferno and the Purgatorio from this publisher - apparently the Paradisio is still in the works. It's great - original Italian on one page, and on the facing page the english translation, allowing you to get a sense for the rhythm of the work while still being able to follow the content.

It's also a story that's just worth knowing, as part of being culturally informed. This is one of the earliest artistic depictions of the human understanding of Hell and our place in the universe.