![]() English ♦ ix ♦ tr a n s la to r ’s note shapes itself in terms o f stress French shapes itself in terms of linked syllables- not quite so abundant a richness as Italian, but pretty closely related to it. Most readers will be familiar with William Blake’s “The Tiger,” which begins: Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forests o f the night, What immortal hand and eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (Note that in Blake’s time, “symmetry” was pronounced sim-a-try.) Suppose we wanted to translate this poem into French, another of the many languages which have descended from Latin. Let me (like Alice using her magic mirror) start by turning the matter upside down. But how can this be done? The liquidity o f Italian, and its facility in the matter o f rhyming, are notorious, as are both the relative paucity of English rhyme words and our language’s often harsh bluntness. And this, I believe, is what has been lacking, and what I have here tried to supply. In a poem as celebrated as the Commedia, what the English-speaking reader needs is the sweep and flow o f Dante’s poetry: this is what carries everything else. But Dante’s great ness is not a simple issue o f clarity o f expression, or breadth of intel lect, or virtuosic characterizations. That is, following on a succession of florid attempts, we now have a succession of more plain-spoken versions. ![]() ![]() To explain the absence of a definitive English version o f this great and world-famous poem, we need go no farther than Dante’s poetry. There are surely other reasons for translating Dante, but the absence o f a definitive English version has surely helped stimulate what can be safely called a virtual flood, at least one (very well received) by a poet who states very openly that he does not read Italian. Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence CONTENTS Translator’s Note Acknowledgments Introduction: The Pilgrim’s Path to Freedom ix xvii xix The Divine Comedy Inferno 3 Purgatorio 175 Paradiso 345 Notes 515 t r a n s l a t o r ’s n o t e There is no definitive English version of the Commedia, although in the past century and a half there have been many translations. to create a magnificent synthesis combining ideal and reality, the universal and the particular. did not succeed in reconciling all of the contradictions between the two traditions, but his genius enabled him. Although this work contains the universal concepts of the classical and Christian traditions. PQ4315.R28 2010 851.1- dc22 2010010430 0 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements o f the American National Standard for Information Sciences- Permanence o f Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. (Northwestern world classics) Includes bibliographical references. ![]() The divine comedy / Dante A lig h ieri translated from the Italian by Burton R a ffe l notes by Henry L. Printed in the United States o f America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321. Published 2010 by Northwestern University Press. f f l Northwestern University Press ♦ Evanston, Illinois Northwestern University Press English translation copyright © 2010 by Burton Raffel. Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy Translated from the Italian by Burton Raffel With an introduction by Paul J. Insightful commentary and compelling new translations help readers discover the joy o f outstanding writing from all regions o f the world. The seriesfeatures essential new editions o f well-known works, lesser-known books that merit reconsideration, and lost classics o f fiction, drama, and poetry. The Divine Comedy NORTHWESTERN WORLD CLASSICS Northwestern World Classics brings readers the world's greatest literature. ![]()
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