Inferno: the Divine Comedy I

Depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. In this title, the author encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Dante''s Inferno describes his descent into Hell midway through his life with the Roman Virgil as his guide, and is unparalleled in its depiction of the tragedy of sin. It is a work inspired by a profound confidence in human nature, yet also expresses Dante''s horror at the way individuals can destroy themselves and each other, creating Hell on Earth. A response to the violent society of thirteenth-century Italy, the Inferno reveals the eternal punishment reserved for sins such as greed, self-deception, political double-dealing and treachery. Portraying a huge diversity of characters culminating in a horrific vision of Satan, it broke new ground in the vigour of its language and its storytelling. It has had a particular influence on Modernist writers and their successors throughout the world. Robin Kirkpatrick''s new translation pays exceptional attention to the originality and force of Dante''s narrative. Printed in English with facing pages in Dante''s Italian, this edition also offers an introduction, along with commentaries and notes on each Canto by the translator, which identify the historical, cultural and philosophical issues behind the poem.