The Divine Comedy: I. Inferno

“Solid text, useful notes.”–Sahron Ann Jaeger, University of Pennsylvania”Sinclair’s commentary shows his complete awareness of the extraordinary beauty of Dante’s lines…and is remarkable for its concentration on the poem as an expression of Dante’s own spiritual history. There is hardly a single beauty of detail to which he does not draw attention with an apt remark on its particular significance.“–Times Literary Supplement”I have adopted it. It is a good translation, the prose appears more accessible to undergraduates. The side-by-side Italian/English is very helpful, and the notes at the end of each canto are excellent.“–Helen Regueiro Elam, SUNY - Albany”It’s convenient to have The Comedy in one volume. Good translation and notes. More economical for students.“–Reverand James Collins, Holy Family College”The introduction gives essential biographical and historical background and a discussion of the form of the poem, and the extensive notes contain new material.“–Manuscripta

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence to a family of minor nobility. He entered into Florentine politics in 1295, but he and his party were forced into exile in a hostile political climate in 1301. Taking asylum in Ravenna late in life, Dante completed his Divine Commedia, considered one of the most important works of Western literature, before his death in 1321.