What do you think?
The Divine Comedy (Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions) by Dante Alighieri (26-Feb-2013) Paperback
Unknown Binding
About the author
Dante Alighieri
4,398 books6,518 followersDante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the story-teller, Boccaccio, and the poet, Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined, in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, that she was his guardian angel who alternately berated and encouraged him on his search for salvation.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 14, 2025
This poetic work by Dante is considered to be one of the greatest works in Western literature. Composed in the 14th century, it describes an experience where Dante travelled through hell (Inferno), then ascended into purgatory (Purgatorio), and finally reached heaven (Paradiso). Treated as an allegory, it describes a conversion experience where a person recognizes and rejects the sin in the world and their life (Inferno), becomes a Christian and lives a Christian life (Purgatorio), and finally ascends to heaven (Paradiso).
My only exposure to this poem was probably reading excerpts from the Inferno portion of this poem in high school. The description of hell in Inferno is probably the most well known part of this, but it was meant to be read as a complete work. So that is what I endeavored to do. I read the whole work over the course of a week without reading the introduction or any notes associated with the text. And that was a good thing because I would never have gotten through it if I was constantly referring to the notes as I read. After I powered through it, then I read the fine introduction found in this edition.
For me, the difficulty had to do with all the references to Italian people and politics from the 14th century. It also contains references to medieval philosophy and theology. Dante's notion of heaven and hell at times seemed overly precise for something we only get glimpses of in the Bible. But I suppose this should be expected for someone like Dante who had a strong faith in reason as a method to figure these things out.
I think this is an impressive literary work with an interesting theological bent. But I personally give it 3 stars because I had to force my way through it. I'm glad I took the speed reading approach to start with because I now have an overall idea of what the poem is about. In the future, when the time is right, I might try to read this again, more slowly, paying attention to the notes, to give me a better understanding of the ideas that Dante is trying to express.
FWIW, I think this particular edition is a good one. I found the introduction to be pretty good and the translation was pretty readable. YMMV
My only exposure to this poem was probably reading excerpts from the Inferno portion of this poem in high school. The description of hell in Inferno is probably the most well known part of this, but it was meant to be read as a complete work. So that is what I endeavored to do. I read the whole work over the course of a week without reading the introduction or any notes associated with the text. And that was a good thing because I would never have gotten through it if I was constantly referring to the notes as I read. After I powered through it, then I read the fine introduction found in this edition.
For me, the difficulty had to do with all the references to Italian people and politics from the 14th century. It also contains references to medieval philosophy and theology. Dante's notion of heaven and hell at times seemed overly precise for something we only get glimpses of in the Bible. But I suppose this should be expected for someone like Dante who had a strong faith in reason as a method to figure these things out.
I think this is an impressive literary work with an interesting theological bent. But I personally give it 3 stars because I had to force my way through it. I'm glad I took the speed reading approach to start with because I now have an overall idea of what the poem is about. In the future, when the time is right, I might try to read this again, more slowly, paying attention to the notes, to give me a better understanding of the ideas that Dante is trying to express.
FWIW, I think this particular edition is a good one. I found the introduction to be pretty good and the translation was pretty readable. YMMV
August 17, 2026
While I am originally inclined to rate this a couple stars less than I have, I feel inclined to take the work as the masterful piece of literature that it is. While the book contains a rather sumptuous load of secular facts and details from the 13th century that flew above my head and through it, I cannot help but see even the boring elements of this book (for the 21st century reader) to be components of the overall messaging. There are layered allegories in this book from the assent to heaven capturing the secular world first (Inferno) and then phasing this out in Purgatorio and then finally focusing on biblical narratives and godly topics in Paradisio. This assent is an interesting narrative. I was naturally drawn to the theological components of this text and found the work increasingly easy to read as I got through it. Looking back, however, the layers of insight imagery and lore in this is hard to say no to; so while I think it may not be the most enjoyable read ever, I would nonetheless recommend that it be read. Some parts of this are more beautiful than nearly anything else I've ever engaged with and for that, I recommend it all.
June 25, 2026
I did it!!! A historical Mt Everest. The allusions were bonkers and Dante was really something else for creating this. It took a good deal of grit to make it through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Proud of myself!!!
Read
January 2, 2024I DNFed this book. I really did try to read it, but life is too short for boring books.
March 2, 2024
Final Year research paper project. Roasted the hell out of Dante but mildly interesting (aside from Dante)
June 24, 2024
eye popping-ly long.
April 14, 2026
It's beautifully done, and while it's long and sometimes a touch boring, it's entirely worth it for the end. Dante did a fantastic job.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews