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Summary: A masterpiece full of vivid language and a great plot.
Review: Dante's classic epic is a beautifully written poem that has lasted for centuries. Besides the fact that it is a wonderful story, you can also read "between the lines" to find a deep examination of the soul. Regaurdless of your religious or spirtual preference, you will find the psychological questions and answers the book raises to be thought provoking. Many will find the language is complicated and "old fashioned" but once you get a good hold on it, this will only add to the beauty of it.
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Summary: One of the greatest works of literature ever written
Review: This is, by far, the best work of literature that I have ever read. Dante offers a superb view of what lies beyond death. It is simply wonderful.
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Summary: L`amor che move il sole il`atre stelle.
Review: In his COMMOEDIA, Dante summarized the medieval thinking, much of the human history and his own general knowledge , beyound throwing his principal criticized people (for their behaviours and decissions) on the supplicies of the Hell. Infantile opinnion will it be to judge the FLORENTINII NASCENTI NOR MORIBUS just for his heavenly poetry. In the COMMOEDIA, as in any literary work, the need is to feel the pleasure as trying to understand what we`re reading, for occult, science and moralism are among the songs of immortality. For us, readers, is the work to delight the glory of Dante`s travel and discern his immense intolerence. May Virgilii, the human reason, lead us. So that we labour our fate, beyound the power of the BELLE STELLE. DIXIT.
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Summary: Wonderful, and truly one of the greatest book ever.
Review: In the Divine Comedy, Dante gives a chilling and perhaps even frightenly accurate of human nature. Throughout the Inferno, Dante is contiunally meeting figures of the past, contemporaries, even popes. His insight into the reason for their torture contains very deep meanings into human nature. In Purgatory, Dante again explains the human condition by his meetings with people of the past. In Paradise, Dante shows that although he has met people who are being punished for their Earthly sins, that there is a place for the just to come, and even the seeminly hopeless also. An excellent book.
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Summary: Best book ever written
Review: Best book ever written in human history. Period.
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Summary: Inventing Hell
Review: Dante's great epic poem comprises three parts: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradisio. It is a moral allegory of spiritual growth, following Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In each of these places he witnesses (successively) the tortures and ecstasies of actual people, both historical figures and people still living in Dante's own time. The Inferno is the most entertaining of the three. It is said that Dante "invented Hell," being the first man to describe it in detail as a place of fire and brimstone where devils torture their victims in accordance with their sins. The fact that he described the tortures of several former Popes did not leave him in the good graces of the Catholic church. I recommend a translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Ciardi, or Lawrence Grant White. I strongly recommend against the rhymed couplet translation by Dorothy Sayers, in which the rhyme most often overcomes the reason.
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Summary: read it if you must
Review: possibly the most overrated work of literature in the western cannon. Dante in his writings emerge as a provincial moralist. The tale is tedious at best, the Inferno being the most readable of the three parts.
Read this work if you feel morally and culturally obligated, but not for enjoyment.
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Summary: Galleotto fu il libro, e chi lo scrisse
Review: Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate
Rating: 
Summary: one word- SICK
Review: this book is the reason that books like Da vinci's code and Mists of Avalon exists. this book offends non-christian people because it's message is only this: If you are not a Christian, no matter how great a person you are or of what reason you are not a Christian, YOU GO TO HELL!
not to mention how incredibly self-centered Dante is. And he calls himself " the Humble servant of God???" Dante is nothing but prejudice. He thinks that he and all the people he like will go to heaven, everybody else will go to Hell. Like he's guide is Virgil- VIRGIL the guy who wrote the Aeneid???? He's anything but Christian but Dante juss goes like: " because I like him I'll make an exception" And also the part where he scorns one the damned like a dog ( I forgot what his name was). I thought that he was a really bad person but when I read the reading guide I found out that he was just a political enemy of Dante!!!! Dante doesn't even give everybody a fair judgement but wholly based on his like or dislike of the person.
so okay, I'll just read this book as an Adventure book and forget about all the religious issues and forgive Dante since it does take place 700 years ago. but Dante should really use his gifted imagination on something else ( I mean, how could ANYBODY thought of details that are sooo SICK???) I'll give him credit for such imagination of Hell. But when I got to the end where Satan appears. I was getting excited to see what will Satan do to him. But guess what???- NOTHING- What a big disappointment!!! all of his journey little characters like Medussa ( who shouldn't exist if Dante doesn't believe in the Greek religion) block his way and gives him trouble, but when you get to the King of Hell, NOTHING!!! the King of Hell just stands there and suffers and does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Dante just passes Satan and looks apon him like he's visiting a museum! What a terrible ending! You can't even read this book for a sick entertainment!
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Summary: A review of this edition, not the masterpiece
Review: I won't bother to review Dante's "Divine Comedy". The fact that it has withstood the test of time, and its depicitions of heaven and hell have become ingrained into our mythology, reveal far more than anything I could say.This translation, however, was simply too difficult to read. It was too full of "thees" and "thous", and quite frankly did not flow at all. Reading it was a real struggle for me. The annotation and Canto introductions, however, were very helpful, and gave me a better picture of what Dante was saying than the actual text itself. The book also has the advantage of being compact (all three parts in one average-sized book), and reasonably priced. However, I would recommend searching for a translation written in a more modern style, so that Dante's message isn't obscured in a linguistic haze. What he said was too important to be lost in a struggle with the langauge.
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