Penguin Classics Divine Comedy #1 Hell [Paperback]

 

 

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First of all, a warning: the "Comedy" is a complex work, and we are constantly updating our understanding of it. However, once one has finished whatever annotated and/or translated version is currently at the apex of knowledge, it is well worth going back to Sayers. I would dare to say that this is one of the classic translations, one of the best from that phase of Dante studies (for example, though she is obviously tempted towards a Freudian reading, she actually tries to resist its more absurd results). Its funny how many Danteans still do not get beyond the Inferno...

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 weaknesses
and problems with this particular translation and
volume, 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 presents
the offering in an inviting fashion: "The ideal way of
reading -The Divine Comedy- would be to start at the first
line and go straight through to the end, surrendering to
the vigour of the story-telling and the swift movement
of the verse, and not bothering about any historical
allusions or theological explanatios which do not occur
in the text itself. That is how Dante himself tackles
his subject."
Some readers may not find Ms. Sayers' translation to be
one that lends itself to "swift movement of the verse."
The value here, however, is the wealth of information
provided in both the "Introduction", the Notes, and
in the map drawings which clearly help the mind's eye
understand the "lay-out" of Hell as depicted by Dante.
The value of Ms. Sayer's "Introduction" is its clear
presentation of HER view of Dante, his work, his value,
his meaning, and his emphases.
She concentrates on the Images of Hell and on the Christian
doctrine implicit in the work. This translation is in
keeping with that emphasis, for it is structured,
somewhat restricted, and presents "Dante's" voice
as more attuned to the didactic and lecturing. Even the
voices of the denizens of Hell have the tones of
stern lesson-learning rather than evoking pity for
their failed virtue and blind human proclivities.
The problem with some readers, and some viewers of
Christianity, is trying to reconcile the idea of
stern, unrelenting, eternal Judgment and damnation
for sins with the idea of God's eternal Love, or as
Ms. Sayers translates the second tercet of Dante's
*terza rima* on the lintel of the entrance to Hell:
Justice Moved My Great Maker; God Eternal
Wrought Me: The Power, And The Unsearchably
High Wisdom, And The Primal Love Supernal.
Ms. Sayers will have no human shilly-shallying with
Dante's intent or the purpose of Hell. And that,
though it may appall some readers, is to the good;
for it forces the reader to confront whether or not
he or she accepts or does not the Christian doctrinal
views -- and helps the reader to understand the
serious nature of choosing one's faith and one's
religion, or not.
After each Canto, Ms. Sayers uses the same very
helpful devices for explaining the preceding Canto:
first, she discusses the main Images to be found in
that particular Canto in a very clear, full, doctrinal
way -- and then, she has the numbered notes which
explain allusions and phrases which Dante uses in
the work.
For instance, after Canto I, we find: "The Images.
-The Dark Wood- is the image of Sin or Error -- not so
much of any specific act of sin or intellectual perversion
as of that spiritual condition called "hardness of heart",
in which sinfulness has so taken possession of the soul as
to render it incapable of turning to God, or even knowing
which way to turn." Similarly, after Canto III, we find
this note concerning the phrase "the good of intellect":
"In the -Convivio- Dante quotes Aristotle as saying:
'truth is the good of the intellect'. What the lost souls
have lost is not the intellect itself, which still functions
mechanically, but the -good- of the intellect: i.e., the
knowledge of God, who is Truth."
This is an excellent edition for the scope of Ms. Sayers'
medieval scholarship and doctrinal insights. Though it
may be hard sledding for the tender-hearted. There
have always been several ways of seeing the road to
Hell -- in this version, once one strays from the
straight and narrow, there is only the crooked and
pit-full, not pitiful.
-- Robert Kilgore.

Well,I just had to write this since reading Hell and Purgatory.I used 3 versions.I read both books using the Sayers and Mandellbaum version.The sayers version is the BEST of all version,especially the notes.The Sayers notes and her commentary is the finest,and trying to view this book from a christian point-of-view,her notes are essential to any reader.Now,I will say this,the Mandellbaum version is not as beautiful as Sayers,but it is more literal.You get a better view of what is happening.So...I would reccomend reading the book from sayers and mandellbaum together.Or get some Cliff notes,to get a literal version.But...you absolutley need the sayers book,at the very least for the commentary and notes,or you'll never know what truley is happening in the book.Yes!...the sayers version is christian,and non-compromising,....but what do you expect?Its a christian book!If you want a humanist secular view get any other version.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A stint in Purgatory
"And I shall sing about that second realm/where man's soul goes to purify itself/and become worthy to ascend to heaven... Read more

Published 13 months ago by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant Guide
A warning: this is by now an rather old translation, and theres always more to explore in Dante. That being said, it has many insights newer translations lack, and its a brilliant... Read more

Published on April 11 2004 by Ian Dall

2.0 out of 5 stars A poor translation
Penguin is a great company, but they've allowed their greatest vice (outdated translations) to effect their edition of no less a figure than Dante. Read more

Published on Oct 28 2003

3.0 out of 5 stars A readable translation with helpful notes and introduction
Having wanted to read Inferno for a long time, I was glad to find Dorothy Sayers' translation since I value her own writing. Read more

Published on Jan 4 2002 by Paul M. Dubuc

2.0 out of 5 stars A very outdated translation
Dorothy Sayers was a fine mystery author and a knowledgable scholar of medieval literature. And once upon a time, this *was* one of the best available translations in English... Read more

Published on April 9 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection
If Shakespeare's moral is love, Dante's is also. We must not read Divine Comedy with simplicity, even the episode of the sodomites (homosexuals) is ambiguous: Dante praises his... Read more

Published on Mar 5 2001 by Jaques Jesus

5.0 out of 5 stars Feel Purgatory
It was always hard for the majority of readers to feel purgatory just like the inferno. That the own Dante knew, he wrote about this in "Purgatory" because here,... Read more

Published on Feb 28 2001 by Jaques Jesus

5.0 out of 5 stars A very profound novel!
Contrary to the previous reviewer, I think that part II of The Divine Comedy is very thought provoking and I would definitely never say that it lacks the fervor of the Inferno. Read more

Published on Jun 7 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars A vastly more readable translation.
I'm going to rate this based on its value as nonfiction, as a work to study, instead of on its value as fiction. Read more

Published on July 29 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Translation of a great work with really sorry notes.
Dorothy Sayers produced a wonderful translation of this work. I confess I do not read Italian, but her translation is fashioned in wonderful verse attempting to recreate the... Read more

Published on July 20 1999

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