The Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)

The text is beautifully translated. Read it aloud.The "Commentary and Notes" provide depth and perspective to the work that could, otherwise, be read without understanding or appreciation.

This book is a classic of medieval literature. It demonstrates European thought during the 13th century, and also demonstrates a timeless human perspective. Dante was well read in the science of his time, the great literature, the metaphysics of his day, and all this reflects in his work. This translation is great! I found myself passing through the circles of hell, up a mountain on my way to paradise, and engulfed in a great light, all with great enjoyment, and even with a reverence. It took me one month to finish it, but I finished a few other books during that month as well. I recommend this as an essential book for anyone wanting to round out their soul.

Definitely worth the read more people should know about this seminal work and its lasting impact on global literature.

The book is a bit bulky as a paperback, with a third of the bulk being footnotes and extraneous writings. Why not go ahead and include etchings, too? I don't need that. I already have the books in separate with all the historical info I need, and if I hadn't, I have the library within a few minutes drive. I was looking for a compact version of the trilogy to carry around (I don't know why) or keep beside my bed. Anyway, the translation compared to others I've leafed through is superb. No nonsense and very straight-forward, but at the same time betraying a certain depth. You can choose to read between the lines or not. The translation warrants a 5-star rating, but the book's fuction as a paperback brings that rating down.

Fantastic book. I'm retired and have returned to school majoring in Creative Writing. This book is a ”good read” for anyone, but for a student of English and Literature, it's a ”must read.”

Translation is indeed “pleasantly plain”, paper and print quality is also great

It is good because it has all three, -- Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, in one book; it has lots of margins to write your own comments; and the paper quality is good. (though not as high as Japanese paperbacks, which are quite thin, but tough). All middle and higher school students should buy this book. I recommend paper than electronic form for classic books like this, to feel the volume of the writing in your hands, and absorb the contents to make it your own book by writing your memos in margins, sticking flags, coloring it, and such. Consume it. Eat it to its bone, kids!

This is my 6th or 7th time to read "The Devine Comedy" and this is the easiest version to read and understand that I've read. Very enjoyable and readable.

Love it the 3 line writing style is great and I wish more old books used it

A very interesting book to read I've been wanting to obtain a copy and read it since a long time

Excellent! Lucid and clear

Once I heard about The Divine Comedy, I was always intrigued by it's bold story and even more so after seeing Gustave Dore's illustrations for the poem. When I finally got round to reading it, I was surprised at it's more narrative based text and autobiographical, highly personal way of reading. It amazes me that such an imaginative, personal, emotional, metaphysical, innovative and controversial work could be written in this time (c.1308 - 1321), especially when concerning the political & social context and political rivals of his time that Dante implicates in the poem.With both the illustrations and the poem itself there is something very mystical, ethereal, surreal, dreamlike and yet realistic about the way it reads (which is a great credit to C. H. Sisson's translation & David Higgins notes, diagrams and maps in this edition). It's as if you as the reader has discovered or been given Dante's personal diary after his passing, which has been left, written from the spiritual world for you to find and be read as a guide and preparation for the afterlife in itself. The first line speaks to you immediately, with no introduction of who, where, how or why; just Dante's personal expression of waking up and finding himself lost in an unknown world, yet accepting of his own death.I have currently only finished reading Dante's Inferno, which was at times an intense read in itself and a lot to take in and understand at times when concerning the political subtext especially, but in this edition there is plenty of historical context, appendix and notes that help you to understand and appreciate the text more so. I also found it effective to read the poem alongside Gustave Dore's superlative illustrations for the poem, which seem to capture the atmosphere perfectly from the prose.I would highly recommend this Oxford World Classics edition to any newcomer; as Sisson's translation and Higgins notes help you to greatly understand and appreciate this epic poem for what it is; a metaphysical study, political / social commentary of it's time and literary, artistic masterpiece.

Great book, really pleased with the translation, quite complex, but easier to understand than most