Inferno - Paperback

by Dante Alighieri (Author), Anthony Esolen (Translator), Gustave Dore (Illustrator)

This dual-language edition of Dante's classic poem chronicles the poet's descent through the nine circles of Hell, stunningly translated by and featuring an introduction and notes from renowned professor Anthony Esolen, plus haunting illustrations by Gustave Doré.

"Professor Esolen's translation of Dante's Inferno is the best one I have seen."--A. Kent Hieatt, translator of The Canterbury Tales

The Inferno, the first and most famous part of Dante's Divine Comedy, describes in unforgettable detail Dante's harrowing journey to the very bottom of the underworld. Guided by the poet Virgil, he travels through the nine concentric circles of Hell, each more cruel and sinister than the last.

At once universal and personal, Dante's Inferno is an epic poem filled with politics and philosophy, humor and horror. This sublime translation brings Dante's masterpiece to vivid life and includes a substantive introduction, extensive notes, and detailed appendices that reproduce Dante's key sources and influences to provide the most comprehensive version of this classic poem.

Front Jacket

A groundbreaking bilingual edition of Dante's masterpiece that includes a substantive Introduction, extensive notes, and appendixes that reproduce Dante's key sources and influences.

Author Biography

Anthony Esolen is a published poet and professor of English at Providence College who has written extensively on Renaissance and medieval literature. His translations include the three volumes of The Divine Comedy--Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise--Lucretius's De rerum natura, and Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata.