The Divine Comedy / La Divina Commedia - Parallel Italian / English Translation de Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy / La Divina Commedia - Parallel Italian / English Translation

Dante Alighieri

This edition gives a side-by-side parallel translation of Dante's Divine Comedy using Longfellow's translation. The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is generally considered to be the preeminent work of Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem is written in the Tuscan dialect, and the poem helped establish this dialect as the standardized Italian language. The poem is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. At the superficial level, the poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but at a deeper level, it ia an allegory of the soul's journey towards God. In order to articulate this journey towards God, Dante uses on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Longfellow's translation is considered to be the best translation, overall. Longfellow, being a poet himself, was able to create a flowing translation that has not been surpassed.

Citește tot Restrânge

Notă biografică

Durante degli Alighieri (1265 - 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa and later christened Divina by Boccaccio, is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In the late Middle Ages, the overwhelming majority of poetry was written in Latin and therefore accessible only to affluent and educated audiences. In De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular), however, Dante defended use of the vernacular in literature. He himself would even write in the Tuscan dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and the aforementioned Divine Comedy; this choice, although highly unorthodox, set a hugely important precedent that later Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would follow. As a result, Dante played an instrumental role in establishing the national language of Italy.