Review (PDF) The Divine Comedy, Part 2: Purgatory (Penguin Classics) (v. 2)
The second volume of Dante's Divine ComedyBeginning with Dante's liberation from Hell, Purgatory relates his ascent, accompanied by Virgil, of the Mount of Purgatory - a mountain of nine levels, formed from rock forced upwards when God threw Satan into depths of the earth. As he travels through the first seven levels, Dante observes the sinners who are waiting for their release into Paradise, and through these encounters he is himself transformed into a stronger and better man. For it is only when he has learned from each of these levels that he can ascend to the gateway to Heaven: the Garden of Eden. The second part of one of the greatest epic poems, Purgatory is an enthralling Christian allegory of sin, redemption and ultimate enlightenment.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (August 30, 1955)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140440461
ISBN-13: 978-0140440461
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #478,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #42 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > Italian #107 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval > Medieval #447 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval > Ancient & Classical
This review relates to the volume 1 of Dante Alighieri's-The Divine Comedy-, Hell; Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers,Penguin Classics, 1949. 346 pp.Other reviewers have spoken to the perceived weaknessesand problems with this particular translation andvolume, with Ms. Sayers' "Introduction" and "Notes."Perhaps one should be warned before entering its portals,as constructed by Ms. Sayers, that this is not an "easy"Hell to assimilate.Yet, at the beginning of her "Introduction," she presentsthe offering in an inviting fashion: "The ideal way ofreading -The Divine Comedy- would be to start at the firstline and go straight through to the end, surrendering tothe vigour of the story-telling and the swift movementof the verse, and not bothering about any historicalallusions or theological explanatios which do not occurin the text itself. That is how Dante himself tackleshis subject."Some readers may not find Ms. Sayers' translation to beone that lends itself to "swift movement of the verse."The value here, however, is the wealth of informationprovided in both the "Introduction", the Notes, andin the map drawings which clearly help the mind's eyeunderstand the "lay-out" of Hell as depicted by Dante.The value of Ms. Sayer's "Introduction" is its clearpresentation of HER view of Dante, his work, his value,his meaning, and his emphases.She concentrates on the Images of Hell and on the Christiandoctrine implicit in the work.
Let's begin with Dante. Called "the divine poet" (hence the adjective attached to his humbly titled Commedia), it is a difficult moniker to argue with, not because Dante is writing of heaven but because his imagery, his imagination, and his humility are true imitations of the creative activity of God. Dante is a sublime "sub-creator" to use the coinage of JRR Tolkien. If you can read the Commedia and not be moved to tears, one is tempted to doubt your humanity for Dante portrays the race in all its beauty and putridness and denies neither. He neither celebrates mankind's faculties and achievements beyond their due nor fears to recognize the vileness of which humans are capable.And it is Canticle II, the poet's ascent through Purgatory, which stirs so deeply the soul and inspires the very penitence and hope of purgation which Dante describes there. One need not be a Roman Catholic or ascribe to Purgatory as doctrine in order to recognize and appreciate what Dante has done in describing the landscape of repentance and hope. (Being a Christian may help, but even on this point one suspects that the divine poet may well perform the function of evangelist, as well as exegete, and lead the searching soul to beatific vision of its own.) Clearly his purpose is not merely to describe what sinners of the past are doing in the afterlife to purify their souls for Paradise, but also to inspire his contemporary readers (who are, of course, yet living when the poem is published in 1321) to examine themselves just as the joyful penitents do on the cornices of Mount Purgatory. It is refreshing--a sort of glorious wound, the healing of which leaves one stronger and more whole than he had been before the hurt.But what of the translation?
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