To the groundbreaking series that began with Iliad (1997), and continued with Odyssey (2000) and Aeneid (2005), Stanley Lombardo now adds his translation of the first part of their most natural successor, Dante s great poetic synthesis of the classical pagan and medieval Christian traditions. Here is the Divine Comedy s most harrowing canticle, one whose fantastical Underworld setting, riveting plot line and dialogue, and remarkable range of diction offer perhaps the best vehicle yet for Lombardo s performance-based craft. Inferno takes to new heights the narrative skill and poetic virtuosity that have made him America s leading translator of epic literature.
In a brilliant Introduction that throws down an irresistible challenge to readers of the poem ( Questioning Inferno ), Steven Botterill also treats such topics as Dante and Our Life of Mind and Body, (Auto)Biography in Hell, and Dante the Politician, Dante the Poet, as well as others.
Headnotes that precede each canto, and endnotes both by Anthony Oldcorn give superb and stylish guidance to readers of Dante s enthralling but highly allusive poem, one in which God and the Devil are both in the details.
