Buy new:
-53% $9.79
FREE delivery Saturday, May 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$9.79 with 53 percent savings
List Price: $21.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Saturday, May 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 9. Order within 9 hrs 47 mins
In Stock
$$9.79 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$9.79
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$5.17
Cover wear. The cover has curled corners. Pages are in good condition with no markings. Ships out within one business day. Any photos shown are stock photos, not photos of the actual item. Goodwill of the Great Plains serves as an advocate for economic self-sufficiency through employment and education. Cover wear. The cover has curled corners. Pages are in good condition with no markings. Ships out within one business day. Any photos shown are stock photos, not photos of the actual item. Goodwill of the Great Plains serves as an advocate for economic self-sufficiency through employment and education. See less
$3.99 delivery May 13 - 14. Details
Or fastest delivery May 7 - 13. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$9.79 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$9.79
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by GoodwillGreatPlainsSC.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Dante Alighieri
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso) Paperback – May 27, 2003

by Dante Alighieri (Author), John Ciardi (Translator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,215 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Italian Poetry
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$9.79","priceAmount":9.79,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"79","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"gK%2BiPyicqUf%2Fux07oinNTbSyQ4vScahaI%2FbJu9%2BDIxthsI0moxWxdt9PQ99RRQgL%2BjfGOMP9QpKT339dnUEH1x11VidllLjF3r46FZirskYuh7ds3y218qzv5Ut6eWoKdlrRqp4eyIg%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$5.17","priceAmount":5.17,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"5","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"17","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"gK%2BiPyicqUf%2Fux07oinNTbSyQ4vScahaGqbmRY2eYB10f%2BKB6XoaqIb7r9RSLkxtdOGUzn%2BIcMxlhOT%2FT3ep%2BHaAQZMi%2Bo%2FFDNr3Q7XqDqpjF1QoTIzTmFKjkjbUlfAyWitGnO9WsH0BaZUMSgRMz%2FlbES9Zi56h1X9G2uQ8bvng9msy%2FgI2yA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The authoritative translations of The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso—together in one volume.

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise—the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation.

Now, for the first time, John Ciardi’s brilliant and authoritative translations of Dante’s three soaring canticles—The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso—have been gathered together in a single volume. Crystallizing the power and beauty inherent in the great poet’s immortal conception of the aspiring soul, The Divine Comedy is a dazzling work of sublime truth and mystical intensity.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    928 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Berkley
  4. Publication date
    May 27, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.54 x 8.95 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0451208633
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0451208637
  8. Lexile measure
    1220L
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso)
$9.79
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)
$8.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Dante's Inferno
$5.95
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them—there is no third.”—T.S. Eliot

“Ciardi has given us...a credible, passionate persona of the poet, stripped of the customary gauds of rhetoric and false decoration, strong and noble in utterance.”—Dudley Fitts
 
“A sensitive and perceptive translation…a spectacular achievement.”—Archibald MacLeish

“I think [Ciardi’s] version of Dante will be in many respects the best we have seen.”—John Crowe Ransom



About the Author

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265. Considered Italy’s greatest poet, this scion of a Florentine family mastered the art of lyric poetry at an early age. He is the author of the three canticles, The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso. Politically active in Florence, he was banished to Italy in 1302. In 1274, he met the great love of his life, Beatrice, whom he immortalized in La Vita Nuova (1292) and The Divine Comedy. He died in 1321.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (May 27, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 928 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451208633
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451208637
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1220L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.54 x 8.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,215 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence. His family, of minor nobility, was not wealthy nor especially distinguished; his mother died when he was a child, his father before 1283. At about the age of 20 he married Gemma Donati, by whom he had three children. Little is known of Dante's formal education-it is likely to have included study with the Dominicans, the Augustinians, and the Franciscans in Florence, and at the university in Bologna. In 1295 he entered Florentine politics and in the summer of 1300 he became one of the six governing Priors of Florence. In 1301, the political situation forced Dante and his party into exile. For the rest of his life he wandered through Italy, perhaps studied at Paris, while depending for refuge on the generosity of various nobles. He continued to write and at some point late in life he took asylum in Ravenna where he completed the Divine Commedia and died, much honoured, in 1321.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
3,215 global ratings
Great book, but Extremely Fragile
5 Stars
Great book, but Extremely Fragile
The packaging was perfect and received the book in immaculate condition. The only gripe I have with this book is how fragile it is. The paper cover is thin and the pages are in similar thickness to a Bible's pages, or at least the ones I have handled. To combat this, I taped the edges and made a plastic cover for the book. Still, this book is amazing, so don't hold off on it.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Sotto voce
5.0 out of 5 stars Great rendition for the detail curious reader
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2012
Verified Purchase
So we think we mostly know the story but rarely does one know the whole story without muscling your way through the read. This is dense, long term, situational reading. The whole story includes the ubiquitous `Inferno' plus the far less known `Pugatorio' and `Paradiso'. Ciardi's deeply footnoted version, I'm certain, to a 100% probability, must contain at least 1 error of some relevance to some reader, but it's certainly adequate and far more curious than my previous reads.

Every reader draws his own conclusions and opinions and they are probably all correct. In the context of John Ciardi's translation, it cannot be overstated how meticulous this translation actually is. The Divine Comedy is the `first of its kind' exposition of the Tuscan dialect that much later emerges as the consolidated `Italian' language. Dante's syntax, meanings and nearly everything linguistic are 21st century translationally imputed into this `first of its kind'. The debates for perfection can never be ended.

So, opinions? ... here's mine ...

The `Divine Comedy' is a relentless satirical, pseudo-theological exposition of super-epic length. Context and setting are everything. The 14th Century was perhaps the single most catastrophic century for historical Western humankind and so Dante relates his world as an observer to the human cataclysm erupting all around him day after stinking day. A first-time read of Dante ... without some historical perspective on time and place, will leave the reader confused and inevitably horribly bored. That Dante skewers his living `enemies' in some level of damnation's treadmill is the `commedia'. I might suggest this historical pre-read  A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

Some imagine there's theology here. Some even imagine Christianity might be defined here. That notion is unfortunately absurd and very unfortunately plays into some readers mind as `Christian' to confuse scriptural vs the imaginings of Dante's fantasy. Is Christianity defined by Tom Hanks in the DaVinci Code? Of course not. Dante's epic here is nightmare scary stuff intended to keep people awake at night ... an afterlife of eternally walking the treadmill to 'paradiso' is grim indeed. A chance error of Dante's perception of sin here or there and the treadmill of damnation-to-paradise is right there to snatch you. It's fun but it's not Christianity.

John Ciardi's annotation makes this translation entertaining. You will wear out Wikipedia searching for the story of the devilishly tormented and transitionally divine characters. These are generally obscure folks of no otherwise historical note then to be mentioned by Dante. Hypocrisy reigns supreme and the fundamental answers to the great 'unknowns' of the faith are dreamed up by Dante Alighieri and rendered here by Ciardi.

Enjoy the show!
74 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
GENE BERNACKI
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Excellent textbook in conjunction with an online course.
Helpful
 Report
Terry Westbrook Lienert
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
Clear crisp translation with good notes, not to mention the entire Divine Comedy in one volume.
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great translation and notes
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is THE edition to get. Great translation and the notes are comprehensive and very, very useful.
15 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
William
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
It is a good book
Helpful
 Report
M.R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful translation
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
Ciardi's translation is a work of literary art itself. He translates Dante's magnum opus in beautiful, 3 stanza verse. He has an intimate familiarity with the Italian language and the social and political history informing Dante's writing. The result is the most skilled translation of any classical literary work I have ever come across. Each Canto (chapter) has an introduction at the beginning and reference notes at the end elucidating the context and clarifying the historical peculiarities of Dante's13th C Florence. Each Cantica (i.e., each book part, Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) is also accompanied by another expert's introduction). Bravo! This is a must in any home library!
17 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Got it quickly
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Got it quickly in good condition
Helpful
 Report
Amy
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
Shipped with no damage
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Ivan
4.0 out of 5 stars Llego con ligeros golpes en las esquinas
Reviewed in Mexico on December 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
Cuando recibi el paquete, llego un poco maltrado de las esquinas, pero tener los libros en perfecto estado no es algo que sea algo signifivatico, no lo regrese.
Además lo compre en inglés para practicar.
Report
Ishan Attri
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
Reviewed in India on December 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Nice packaging, good condition great price
Customer image
Ishan Attri
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
Reviewed in India on December 16, 2023
Nice packaging, good condition great price
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer image
Report
Paulo Leite
5.0 out of 5 stars Bela versão escrita em versos fáceis de serem compreendidos.
Reviewed in Brazil on October 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Em inglês, três são as versões da “Divina Comédia” que me agradam. A primeira, de John D. Sinclair, escrita em prosa e fácil de ser compreendida, com notas explicativas no final de cada canto. Costumo utiliza-la em consultas rápidas. A segunda, de John Ciardi, escrita em versos fáceis de serem compreendidos, com notas explicativas no final de cada canto. E, por fim, a refinada versão de Henry W. Longfellow, escritas em versos, inglês arcaico, bela na apresentação, com figuras ilustrativas em branco e preto, porém sem notas explicativas. Digo que as três versões são diferentes e não excludentes; na verdade se completam.

Sinopse: A vida de Dante assemelha-se a um poema atribulado, mais próximo ao “Inferno” do que ao “Purgatório” criados pelo poeta, e bem distante do Paraíso. Dante era um florentino, obsessivamente, e foi exilado de sua cidade natal durante os últimos 19 dos 56 anos em que viveu. “Inferno”, uma paródia de cidade, é a primeira e mais célebre parte da ‘Divina Comédia’. “Inferno” é o estado da alma após a morte, mas é também o estado do mundo visto por um peregrino cujas experiências o ensinam a não confiar nos valores mundanos.
A descida ao “Inferno” simboliza o tormento que Dante deve ter passado no exílio. Em pouco tempo ele percebeu que o sofrimento foi uma passagem necessária para sua transformação espiritual. A notoriedade perene do ‘Inferno’, no entanto, não obscurece a eloquência dramática do “Purgatório”, o único que se localiza na Terra, assim como as nossas vidas, pés no chão, caminhando pela praia, escalando uma montanha. Até chegarmos ao cimo do monte, a esperança confunde-se com a dor, o que torna a experiência do “Purgatório” ainda mais próxima ao nosso presente. Em contraste, “Paraíso” é um livro imensamente difícil de ler, mas essa dificuldade representa o que há de mais indiscutível no gênio de Dante. Em certo sentido, “Paraíso” mostra a transformação do peregrino em poeta; como ele chegou lá; de que forma a história foi contada. A figura de Beatriz, sua musa, funde-se a obra da vida de Dante; em um sentido crucial, ela é a Divina Comédia, e não pode ser compreendida fora do poema.

Dante a apresenta como a verdade, conquanto não deva ser confundida com o Cristo, que é o caminho, a luz. Paradoxalmente, Beatriz enquanto vivia, pouco reconhecia o amante que a idealizava; depois de morta, demonstra uma preocupação cosmológica com a sua salvação. Em síntese, Dante é uma inspiração para qualquer um que que está do poço e desesperadamente espera por uma chance de fazer tudo certo de novo. Dante nos ensina que, com a sabedoria de Virgílio, a graça do céu, e com atos de coragem, é possível voltar do inferno. Ao ler o poema lembre-se que se trata de uma visão. Talvez, depois disso, o universo de Dante não fique tão estranho assim para você.
28 people found this helpful
 Report
Mike W
5.0 out of 5 stars For the Missus
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
Bought this for the Missus as she had always wanted to read The Divine Comedy. I got this copy as everyone recommended it as a more realistic translation as opposed to others that are translated literally from the original language it was written in. Having spoken to her indoors, it would appear that the reviews were correct and this is indeed a much better translation to read and makes quite a bit more sense than others.
6 people found this helpful
 Report
Bebenne
5.0 out of 5 stars Un classique
Reviewed in France on September 13, 2009
Verified Purchase
Ce livre est un classique qui normalement ne se lit pas simplement en un jour, les textes sont bien complexes et très réfléchis. Pour les fans qui aiment décortiquer les mots, les phrases et les métaphores complexes ceci est ce que vous cherchez!
2 people found this helpful
 Report