Inferno: Reader’s Guide

by Joe Carlson

The Divine Comedy is one of the greatest works of art ever produced.
It is also one of the most difficult to understand. Let Joe Carlson, poet and translator of the Inferno, guide you through the rough spots, giving you a grasp of the basic structure, content, and flow of the first canticle of Dante’s great poem. With this Reader’s Guide in hand, you will build a familiarity that will inform and reward future readings as well as fan into flame a delight in the story of this magnificent poem.

Stepping out of the modern, secular era and into a medieval Christian one is akin to stepping down from a dock into the middle of a little boat. If you are not careful, and don’t keep your wits about you, it would be easy to fall into the water and become discouraged from ever trying to get back into the boat again. But giving up the boat means giving up the water, the voyage, the experience, and the beauty. In this volume, Carlson comes alongside and helps you into the boat, and points out the sights along the journey. Its goal is not only to help you understand and love Dante, but to read the Divine Comedy as he intended it to be read: as a window through which to see and know and enjoy the Triune God that much more.
This Reader’s Guide walks through the entire Inferno, canto by canto, and includes for each: a list of the characters; the location of the action; a summary of the canto; notes on the text, including allusions, translation comments, context, and information on the main characters; an analysis of each canto; and discussion questions for students.

Genres: Classics

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023: As a novice reader of the Divine Comedy it was so helpful to read Joe Carlson’s Reader’s Guide along side his translation of Inferno.
2025: 2nd time through

[Clint Lum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving this five stars for what it is: a great review and guide. Clearly, it is not on par with the Comedy.

I highly recommend this to anyone making their way though Dante (which you should). Carlson’s comments will help you enjoy the poem much more and also avail to you much edification.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Carlson’s Inferno: Reader’s Guide—along with the other two volumes in the series—has been quite helpful to me as I prepared class discussions for my high school students. The guide offers clear explanations and thoughtful insights that make Dante’s Purgatorio more accessible and engaging. It’s a valuable resource for anyone teaching or studying this challenging work.

[Danielle Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Carlson has produced an excellent guide for your walk with Dante. The book is really well done with great summaries, details, and questions for each Canto, but the notes and analysis knocked it out of the park. I found the notes and the analysis sections for each Canto were a wealth of information for me to be able to grasp Dante's meaning better.

[JR Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful commentary on the Inferno. Carlson does a great job of summary coupled with analysis. For what it's worth, he describes himself as "a son of the reformation" (I assume this means an evangelical? reformed?). He's not afraid to critique some of the theology in the inferno, although a critique is not the point of his book. He especially does a good job handling the moral landscape in the Inferno when it comes to the problem of pity, and Dante's responses to sinners over the course of the poem.

[Bill Stutzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable. I tend to enjoy more footnotes or endnotes, but once I got into the rhythm of using this companion guide, I found it quite valuable. It is particularly useful for teachers. Carlson did a very nice job of synthesizing scholarship from others and offering his own insights and theological commentary.

[Joshua Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study and discussion guide for book one of the divine comedy. Joe Carlson picks out the depth of what Dante wrote, and helps us analyze it. Something very helpful as I work through it.