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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Ciardi's translation is a classic. With the synopsis at the beginning of each Canto and the notes at the end, Ciardi really wants you to understand the story. Likewise he'll sometimes render Dante's implicit allusions explicit. As for the poetry of his translation it's respectable although not always the most faithful to the text. There are a lot of places where a phrase will be added for purposes of rhyme and meter, and imagery, metaphors will be changed or reworked (sometimes this is done in order to heighten clarity)
Palma manages to recreate Dante's "terza rima" rhyme scheme (something few if any other translators have done. What's more, far from mangling the text in order to make it rhyme, he stays very faithful (suprisingly faithful) to the original Italian (as you can see with the Italian and English text side by side in the book). In many cases, Palma's language is actually closer to the Italian than that of other translations. For these reasons I would recommend this edition of the Inferno for those wanting to experience the poetry, language and meaning of the original.
On the down side, sometimes staying closer to the language of the original makes the story harder to follow, e.g. in the case of elliptical sentences. At other times it dispels the drama of a scene. Thus in some places I actually prefer a freer, more direct translation (like Ciardi's).
On the down side, sometimes staying closer to the language of the original makes the story harder to follow, e.g. in the case of elliptical sentences. At other times it dispels the drama of a scene. Thus in some places I actually prefer a freer, more direct translation (like Ciardi's).
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
increíble, incalificable, una lectura para toda la vida, un texto para estudiar una y otra vez
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The music between Cantos, pulled from Chominciamento Di Gioia:
Virtuoso dance-music from the time of Boccaccio's Decamerone, performed by Ensemble Unicorn, was absolutely delightful and helped set the scene. I found it difficult to follow, but that has more to do with my personal struggles with audiobooks and less with the text itself (although I do think that translated classics such as this are best consumed with a healthy serving of footnotes). Heathcote Williams's narration is wonderful, his voices are excellent, and I would recommend this to those who like audiobooks and classical literature.
Virtuoso dance-music from the time of Boccaccio's Decamerone, performed by Ensemble Unicorn, was absolutely delightful and helped set the scene. I found it difficult to follow, but that has more to do with my personal struggles with audiobooks and less with the text itself (although I do think that translated classics such as this are best consumed with a healthy serving of footnotes). Heathcote Williams's narration is wonderful, his voices are excellent, and I would recommend this to those who like audiobooks and classical literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture
Moderate: Suicide, Violence
Minor: Incest, Cannibalism
It's a book about hell written in 1320. Use your best judgement.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this solely to prepare for the release of Katabasis, and I actually found myself enjoying it more than I’d anticipated. You can definitely tell how much Dante idolised Virgil from how he tried to emulate his writing style and how certain lines felt more like they belonged in a self insert fanfiction. I enjoyed identifying all the references to Classical mythology, but the other references were a lot more niche and specific to Dante’s own time (bro really wrote fanfic of all his opps in hell being punished in increasingly original ways - even the ones who are supposedly still alive at the time of writing, which is just cold).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Child death, Death, Incest, Cannibalism, Murder
It will be my first time teaching just selections and not assigning the full work. Hard to pick!
I am not sure why people only read The Inferno. This is clearly meant to be read as a whole, the Inferno portion of the text is only placed into context when you read of the rising of Dante through the final two parts of the book.