The Inferno of Dante

by Maxine L. Margolis, Lacy Lockert (Translator)

Overview

Translated into English terza rima verse with introduction and notes by Lacy Lockert.

Originally published in 1931.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691627861
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	12/08/2015
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #1934
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

• Frontmatter, pg. i
• Translator's Preface, pg. vii
• Introduction, pg. 1
• Preliminary Note, pg. 35
• Canto I, pg. 37
• Canto II, pg. 44
• Canto III, pg. 50
• Canto IV, pg. 56
• Canto V, pg. 63
• Canto VI, pg. 70
• Canto VII, pg. 75
• Canto VIII, pg. 80
• Canto IX, pg. 86
• Canto X, pg. 92
• Canto XI, pg. 98
• Canto XII, pg. 103
• Canto XIII, pg. 110
• Canto XIV, pg. 116
• Canto XV, pg. 122
• Canto XVI, pg. 128
• Canto XVII, pg. 134
• Canto XVIII, pg. 140
• Canto XIX, pg. 147
• Canto XX, pg. 153
• Canto XXI, pg. 159
• Canto XXII, pg. 166
• Canto XXIII, pg. 172
• Canto XXIV, pg. 179
• Canto XXV, pg. 186
• Canto XXVI, pg. 193
• Canto XXVII, pg. 199
• Canto XXVIII, pg. 205
• Canto XXIX, pg. 212
• Canto XXX, pg. 218
• Canto XXXI, pg. 225
• Canto XXXII, pg. 232
• Canto XXXIII, pg. 239
• Canto XXXIV, pg. 246

Editorial Reviews

Though transforming Dante's terza rima into readable English has bogged down many a distinguished translator, Pinsky (The Want Bone) more than meets the challenge. His rendering has an efficient feel; the lines seem slimmer and less unwieldy than most contemporary verse translations. Each one of the cantos features a good number of stanzas dominated by monosyllables-his answer, along with intriguing patterns of assonance, to approximating the splendor of Dante's profusion of rhymes, which are impossible to replicate in English. The coherent narration of the translation is also welcome, as it keeps a harness on the sometimes meandering diction of the original. Pinsky's voice is nearly irresistible when rounding out the grotesqueries of Dante's Hell: his versions of the ninth and final circle bring the bizarre terror of the fiery pit to life. Plainspoken yet elegant, this Inferno sustains a tactile succession of images over 34 cantos, and lends itself to being read aloud. Illustrations not seen by PW.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Since Charles Rogers published the first complete translation of the Inferno in 1782, nearly 80 versions of Dante's masterpiece have appeared in English. Poet Pinsky (English, Boston Coll.) offers another. This book includes the Italian version at the end of the book, notes on textual allusions, a foreword by scholar John Freccero, and illustrations by Michael Mazur. Unlike other modern verse translations, notably those of Dorothy Sayers, John Ciardi, and Allen Mandelbaum, Pinsky's attempts to capture Dante's terza rima, the interlocking rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, etc., which is difficult to sustain in English. A good poet, Pinsky is fluent if less literal than Ciardi and Mandelbaum, flattening Dante's diction. His version is a pleasure to read, but ultimately it does not supersede Ciardi's or Mandelbaum's.-T.L. Cooksey

Library Journal