Rating: 
Summary: the very best Inferno since Dante Alighieri's original?
Review: Robert Pinsky brilliantly translates into terza rima, the difficult rhyme scheme Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in, & does it with such grace, such linguistic precision & genius that the reader almost doesn't feel like it was difficult at all. This is something I don't know of any other translations that have been able to do in this work that's notoriously very difficult to translate. This amalgamation of the great timeless & inspired genius of Dante & the brilliance & severe dedication to poetic mastery of Robert Pinsky is far & away my favorite translation of the Inferno. Pinsky makes it so much more fun to read than other translations I know! Pinsky's version is great poetry, rife with perfect rhythms & mellifluous music.
Rating:
Summary: the very best Inferno since Dante Alighieri's original?
Review: Robert Pinsky brilliantly translates into terza rima, the difficult rhyme scheme Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in, & does it with such grace, such linguistic precision & genius that the reader almost doesn't feel like it was difficult at all. This is something I don't know of any other translations that have been able to do in this work that's notoriously very difficult to translate. This amalgamation of the great timeless & inspired genius of Dante & the brilliance & severe dedication to poetic mastery of Robert Pinsky is far & away my favorite translation of the Inferno. Pinsky makes it so much more fun to read than other translations I know! Pinsky's version is great poetry, rife with perfect rhythms & mellifluous music.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Translation of a Great Work
Review: Robert Pinsky offers a powerful translation of Dante's masterpiece. He found a way to convey a sense of Dante's rhyming scheme to the English speaker -- and he certainly captured Dante's vivid imagery.Dante's powerful work is a masterful expression both of the world of his day and the cosmos as understood in Medieval times. But fear not -- it is also a spiritual journey, and that is timeless. The work has endless layers of depth and complexity -- but even on the surface Dante's vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory is gripping. In addition to the power of the translation, Pinsky's edition offers valuable commentary by Pinsky and John Freccero. Pinsky's wife, Nicole, compiled the notes that are necessary for a modern reader to catch Dante's references. Unfortunately, we only have Pinsky's translation of Inferno. To fully appreciate Dante's vision, you should go on to read Purgatorio and Paradiso. The second two parts of the work alter how one understands and relates to the first part. It's true that Inferno is more accessible to the modern reader; but the work demands to be read as a whole. For those who find themselves drawn to Dante, I also recommend reading Sinclair's prose translation. The translations that attempt to preserve the poetry invariably alter the meaning of the work as written. To get the best perspective on Dante (short of reading the work in Italian!) it's helpful to read both a prose and a poetic translation. For the poetic half of the equation, it's hard to imagine a better version than this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Translation of a Great Work
Review: Robert Pinsky offers a powerful translation of Dante's masterpiece. He found a way to convey a sense of Dante's rhyming scheme to the English speaker -- and he certainly captured Dante's vivid imagery. Dante's powerful work is a masterful expression both of the world of his day and the cosmos as understood in Medieval times. But fear not -- it is also a spiritual journey, and that is timeless. The work has endless layers of depth and complexity -- but even on the surface Dante's vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory is gripping. In addition to the power of the translation, Pinsky's edition offers valuable commentary by Pinsky and John Freccero. Pinsky's wife, Nicole, compiled the notes that are necessary for a modern reader to catch Dante's references. Unfortunately, we only have Pinsky's translation of Inferno. To fully appreciate Dante's vision, you should go on to read Purgatorio and Paradiso. The second two parts of the work alter how one understands and relates to the first part. It's true that Inferno is more accessible to the modern reader; but the work demands to be read as a whole. For those who find themselves drawn to Dante, I also recommend reading Sinclair's prose translation. The translations that attempt to preserve the poetry invariably alter the meaning of the work as written. To get the best perspective on Dante (short of reading the work in Italian!) it's helpful to read both a prose and a poetic translation. For the poetic half of the equation, it's hard to imagine a better version than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Do not abandon hope all ye...
Review: The Inferno is by far the most interesting of the three books which make up Dante's Divine Comedy, and Robert Pinsky's translation is by far the best I've ever read. The Inferno is the story of Dante's journey through hell on the night before Good Friday in 1300. He moves through the nine circles, until he meets Satan in the middle. Each circle holds souls who committed various sins, each catagorised by their sins and punishments. All of Dante's sinners receive retribution, ironically based on their respective sins. He also fills hell with famous sinners, making it easier to determine what sins belong to which circle of hell. The nine circles are also catagorised by regions: the first five are the sins of incontinence, the next three are the sins of violence, the next is the sins of fraud, and the last and most terrible circle is the sins of betrayal. One of the most notable things about The Inferno is that Dante's theme is not that of Christian forgiveness, but instead it is justice. All sinners in hell deserve their punishments, and they will suffer them forever. This is illustrated by the case of the sinful love of Francesca da Rimini. Pinsky's gift to the readers of this version of The Inferno is twofold: the first is his ability to write so well in English, and the second is the way he chose to present the English with regard to the Italian. The Inferno is written in terza rima, which Dante invented for the Divine Comedy. This involves a rhyming scheme, and many translators restrict themselves to it when publishing The Inferno. However, Pinsky keeps the three line stanzas of terza rima while writing in plain verse instead of rhymed, letting him mirror Dante's phrasing and flow without restriction. Pinsky's version of The Inferno is also bilingual - Italian on the left page and English on the right. This allows even the most casual Italian scholar to follow the translation, and see the logic of it, which is a thoughtful and useful bonus. The notes on each canto are superb, and necessary to catch all of Dante's in-jokes. This version of The Inferno is perfect for anybody who really wants to read and understand Dante's classic. I recommend it as a gift, to others and to yourself.
Rating:
Summary: let 'em rot
Review: There is a certain, rather delicate, aspect of the modern liberal sensibility that rebels against Dante's Inferno. In his account of returning to Columbia to restudy Western Civilization, David Denby is surprised not to like Dante much : I could not rid myself of the notion that Dante had entered into complicity with torture. In some way, he believed in torture; he justified it. . . . My reading of Dante was a failure, and of the most direct sort: I didn't enjoy it And in his introduction to this translation by Robert Pinsky, John Freccero says that : In spite of Dante's reputation as the greatest of Christian poets, there is no sign of Christian forgiveness in the Inferno. The dominant theme is not mercy but justice, dispensed with the severity of the ancient law of retribution. ... Justice in Hell is meant to be objective, measured out by a bureaucratic monster in proportion to the specific gravity of the sin. Such a mechanical administration of punishment leaves no room for judicial error or caprice. Few of Dante's readers have derived much satisfaction from the triumph of this somewhat anonymous justice. These sentiments, with which I could not disagree more strongly, reflect the curious point we've reached in Western history. On the one hand, the intelligentsia find torture, capital punishment, virtually any civil rights imposition, to be unacceptable when it comes to actual evil doers, but blithely advocates abortion, euthanasia, and the like, for genuine innocents. Human beings in this world view are judged by their physical condition, rather than by their moral standing. And yet, it is Dante who is adjudged to be brutal. Personally, I find something comforting in the idea that, in a world where so much evil exists, those who are evil might face eternal perdition. Particularly satisfying is the presence of the great romantic lovers in Hell--Tristan and Iseult, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, etc.. I've always found disturbing the literature which celebrates love which must perforce be so shallow as these great affairs--it's nice to think of them getting their comeuppance. As a rule though, it seems likely that readers' reactions to the rather severe treatment of the souls in Hell will track their own political leanings. If you are someone who wishes that justice were objective, you're unlikely to be offended. If you tend to wring your hands in agony at the prospect of someone being held accountable for their actions, you won't feel comfortable with the fate Dante forecasts. In either case, the poem itself is truly great and in Robert Pinsky's translation, it's reasonably easy to follow. You will want to refer to the notes frequently and a study guide of some kind can't hurt. I also recommend the recorded version : hearing it read aloud adds to the experience greatly. GRADE : A+
Rating: 
Summary: A rare and Clever version of The Inferno
Review: This book is one which should be owned by all dante collectors. Unlike some other versions, the translator has transposed the italian almost word for word to english to convey Dante's true thoughts. If you don't know already, All the left pages of the book are italian, with the english translations on the right pages. This is a good buy and a wonderful classic peice of literature.
Rating: 
Summary: You've read the book; stay clear of the cassette
Review: This cassette makes you want to pull out the old Dylan Thomas recordings for reassurance that all writers are not dull and indifferent when reading poetry aloud. This production drives another nail in the coffin of poetry as a spoken art form. Flat, unexpressive performances (though there are some bright moments with Seamus Heaney), which is remarkable considering that the poem is about a descent in to Hell! This is an Underworld whose tortures consist principally of long, unmitigated stretches of boredom.
Rating:
Summary: Great Terza Rima!
Review: This is the best translation of the Inferno that I have read to this date. Pinsky does great justice to Dante's incredible Divine Comedy. If you are going to buy a copy of the Inferno and are not sure which translation to get, buy this one. Robert Pinsky does great work in attempting to replicate the terza rima style used by Dante in the original Italian. A great buy!
Rating:
Summary: Hell Exists Only In The Details
Review: This is, by far, the finest English translation of Dante's immortal epic, The Inferno. Several other translations are littered with inaccuracies, stilted sentences, and inept metaphors, all because the translator was set on strictly maintaining Dante's original terza rima structure. Perhaps this is a matter of taste, but personally I prefer to read a translation that rigorously attempts to recreate the nuances of Dante's tale rather than a translation that attempts to recreate his rhyme scheme (invariably at the expense of the story itself). Pinsky's translation is as flawless and artful as is humanly possible, recreating the story's approachability... an approachability that was of prime importance to Dante but was not to most of his translators over the years. Nicole Pinsky also deserves a great deal of credit for the book's outstanding notes.
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