The Divine Comedy\Die Göttliche Komödie, engl. Ausgabe
This single volume, blank verse translation of The Divine Comedy
includes an introduction, maps of Dante's Italy, Hell,
Purgatory, Geocentric Universe, and political panorama of the
thirteenth and early fourteenth century, diagrams and notes
providing the reader with invaluable guidance. Described as the
"fifth gospel" because of its evangelical purpose, this
spiritual autobiography creates a world in which reason and faith
have transformed moral and social chaos into order. It is one of
the most important works in the literature of Western Europe and is
considered the greatest poem of the European Middle Ages.
Described variously as the greatest poem of the European Middle
Ages and, because of the author's evangelical purpose, the
`fifth Gospel', the Divine Comedy is central to the culture of
the west. The poem is a spiritual autobiography in the form of a
journey - 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, diagrams, maps, and
notes by David Higgins provide the reader with invaluable
guidance.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics
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Dante Alighieri, geb. 1265 in Florenz, gest. 1321 in Ravenna, sah mit neun Jahren erstmals Beatrice, die er später in seinem Werk verklärt. Sein Engagement im Kampf um die Unabhängigkeit von Florenz führte 1302 zu einem Gerichtsprozess und schließlich zu lebenslänglicher Verbannung. Dante, der seitdem als vogelfrei galt, hielt sich danach vor allem in Verona auf und reiste von dort aus in viele oberitalienische Städte und Landschaften. Ab etwa 1316 ließ Dante sich in Ravenna nieder, znächst am Hofe des Cangrande della Scala, später als fürstlicher Sekretär und Lehrer für Poetik und Rhetorik.
