The Portable Dante

A classic, pure genuis from Dante and this - I have been told and after reading, I agree with - is the best English translation out there for the average reader who is reading for enjoyment. However, my advice is that only Inferno and Purgatory (the first and second part) are worth reading; Paradise (the third part) is long-winded, boring and just isn't as exciting as the first two. A lot of other people have told me this too, that they couldn't get through Paradise without falling asleep. It's amazing writing (althoughI wish I could read the orignial text in Italian!) but it somehow lacks the suspense and intrigue as Inferno.

Also, this really helped me get through the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy
I printed it out and show more kept it near me when I was reading the book to double-check I understood what was going on =) show less

Mark Musa's translation is straightforward, easy to follow, and in friendly blank verse. I only wish I had purchased the individual Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, because apparently they have many more notes. The notes are somewhat sporadic in this version (being portable, after all) and you get the feeling they were selected at random - some persons, referred-to events, and concepts are explained at length and others are not at all. But maybe I just don't know better.

A personal four stars, but it's a five-star translation in a handy little package and I can't really fault it for lacking footnotes.

Musa's translation captures an emotional poignancy notably lacking in other translations. He uses five-stressed lines to create a rhythm that carries the reader throughout the poem. For enjoyability, this is by far my favorite translation that I have read.

It was rather easy to see why Inferno gets all the praise and recognition from this collection - it was really the only memorable part. Purgatory and Heaven were awfully stale and boring.

Mine is the older Portable Dante with the Laurence Binyon translation. I have read another translation since but still prefer Binyon: as far as I can tell, he gets most things pretty well right and keeps the terza rima form. Great stuff, of course, but be sure to read the notes!

I really enjoyed this version. This is the entire Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova with notes to help you understand the historical background and characters.

483. The Portable Dante: The Divine Comedy translated by Laurence Binyon, La Vita Nuova translated by D. G. Rossetti, Excerpts from the Rhymes and the Latin Prose Works - Edited by Paolo Milano (read 11 Sept 1955) I did not read this as carefully as I should have, and had little interest in some parts.