Italian Poetry, Epic Poetry, European Fiction & Literature Classics, Christian Poetry

Inferno

Name: Inferno
Author: Dante Alighieri, John Ciardi
ISBN: 9780679602095

by Dante Alighieri, John Ciardi

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Overview

"Midway in our life's journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood." So begins The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri's great narrative poem. This timeless Christian allegory has become the key with which Western civilization has sough to unlock the mystery of its own identity.

In the Inferno, the first of the Comedy's three parts, Dante is conducted by the spirit of the classical poet Virgil through the nine circles of Hell on the initial stage of his arduous journey toward God.

This Modern Library edition presents poet John Ciardi's acclaimed rendering of Dante's immortal conception of the aspiring soul. "Here is Dante for the first time translated into virile, tense American verse," said The New York Times Book Review. "A work of enormous erudition which (like its original) never forgets to be poetry."

About the Author, Dante Alighieri, John Ciardi

The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foundation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torch-bearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices.