The Divine Comedy

'already my desire and my will
Were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed,
By the love which moves the sun and other stars.'
Paradiso

Described variously as the greatest poem of the European Middle Ages and, because of Dante's evangelical purpose, the 'fifth Gospel', the Divine Comedy is central to Western culture.The poem is a spiritual autobiography in journey form — the poet travels from the dark circles of the Inferno, up the mountain of Purgatory, where Virgil, his guide, leaves him to encounter Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise. Dante conceived the poem as the new epic of Christendom, and he creates a world in which reason and faith have transformed moral and social chaos into order.

Charles Sisson's blank verse translation is remarkable for its lucidity and vigour, and the introduction, maps, and notes by David Higgins provide the reader with invaluable guidance.

'The pleasingly plain, readable English well reflects Dante's original eloquence.'


The Times