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Inferno The Divine Comedy Dante Gustave Dore Anthony Esolen 9780812970067 Books

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Inferno The Divine Comedy Dante Gustave Dore Anthony Esolen 9780812970067 Books

When I went in search of a good literal translation of Dante's "Inferno" for selections to accompany an exhibition of Amos Nattini's remarkable illustrations of this text, Anthony Esolen's version filled the bill to perfection. With Italian and English on facing pages, it was easy to see how he tried to keep as close and true to Dante's original meaning, rather than to twist everything up in order to fit in the rhymes. Right now, we're trying to get permission from Random House to use selections from Esolen's version for our exhibition text panels, but beyond that, it is a fresh and competent version, highly readable, with plenty of informative notes and reproductions of Gustave Dore's illustrations.

Classical Curiosities


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Inferno The Divine Comedy Dante Gustave Dore Anthony Esolen 9780812970067 Books Reviews

Esolen's translation seems wonderful to me, as well as so very readable.
Scary but good classic
Esolen is a genius.. What a terrific translation of an unparalleled classic.
Simply the best translation I've seen. I truly admire Professor Esolen's clear writing style and how he approached translating Dante for us. It comes alive for me thanks to him. Bravo!
Picking a translation is a very personal process - some styles resonate more with different readers. That platitude aside, I think it's pretty clear that this is one of the better translations available. I've read several myself (at least a number of cantos - including Mandelbaum, Pinsky, Musa, Ciardi, Turner, Simone, Lombardo, Hollander and Kirkpatrick). The feature of this translation that really sets it apart for me is that it actually propels you through the poem. Other translators often try too hard to be overly literal or poetic - causing the poem to fall flat or become opaque. This one, however, glides the reader along Dante's spectacular journey with a rare beauty and clarity - the translator acting as a kind of second Virgil. When it comes to masterpieces like this I would never advocate relying on one and only one translation (part of the fun in reading a few), but if you're going to narrow your list - be sure to leave this one in, perhaps even as your primary translation. As an aside, the notes are thoughtful and very helpful. In the end this is a beautiful translation that deserves consideration (it's certainly in my top 3 - along with Pinsky and Mandelbaum).
Esolen lets Dante speak. Esolen obviously respects the Inferno and tries to bring the reader into the poem and the religious and cultural milieu and worldview of Dante so the reader can appreciate the poem as Dante intended it. Esolen does not impose modern values or approaches onto the poem.

Esolen's notes are at the end of the volume so the reader will be less likely to interrupt reading the poem to read the notes; he does not put endnote numbers in the the poem but instead his endnotes include page and line references that let the reader locate the appropriate point in the poem. (There are some brief notes on obscure matters at the relevant points in the poem.) I read the endnotes for each canto after reading the canto; the notes are uniformly informative and helpful. In the rare instances where Esolen's notes interject modern prejudices or seem to undercut Dante (I saw 2 instances), it's a brief and not particularly sharp disagreement that Esolen merely posits but does not argue. Dante's punishments are so clear and appropriate that at times he forces the reader to consider his own conscience and the sins he's committed. Yet, Dante admonishes the reader (and himself) not to dwell unnecessarily long on the punishments.

Dante's Inferno flows very well in Esolen's translation. Esolen renders Dante's masterpiece in iambic pentameter and does not force rhyme. He presents the Italian and his English rendition on opposing pages, and the Italian is an aid for even those of us who don't read Italian as its sense is often discernible -- with or without the translation. Some might consider the Italian "filler" that makes the book longer and thus more expensive, but given the very reasonable cost of the book, that would be unfair.

Esolen includes some of Gustave Dore's illustrations in the volume. They're helpful, but small. A complete set of Dore's illustrations, The Dore Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy (136 Plates by Gustave Dore), is available inexpensively and is a tremendous aid in visualizing Dante's hell. (I would not recommend Blake's illustrations, however.) I had previously read Ciardi's translation of The Inferno without using Dore's illustrations and found that using them while reading Esolen's was a great aid. (Ciardi includes a schematic of hell; Esolen does not, and that is a deficiency.)

Highly recommended.
I chose this translation because I am listening to a series of lectures on the Inferno recorded by the translator, Anthony Esolen, for Catholic Courses. This translation reads easily but doesn't seem to erase the feel of the original. The notes given for each canto expand on the allusions in the text that I otherwise might have missed and it's information not repeated in the lectures.
When I went in search of a good literal translation of Dante's "Inferno" for selections to accompany an exhibition of Amos Nattini's remarkable illustrations of this text, Anthony Esolen's version filled the bill to perfection. With Italian and English on facing pages, it was easy to see how he tried to keep as close and true to Dante's original meaning, rather than to twist everything up in order to fit in the rhymes. Right now, we're trying to get permission from Random House to use selections from Esolen's version for our exhibition text panels, but beyond that, it is a fresh and competent version, highly readable, with plenty of informative notes and reproductions of Gustave Dore's illustrations.

Classical Curiosities