Rating: 
Summary: Flowing, Lucid Translation and Notes
Review: About twenty years ago I read Dorothy Sayers's translation of Dante's "Divine Comedy" with great pleasure, finding an awesome grandeur in Dante's progression from Hell through Purgatory to Heaven. When I decided to re-read the work, I found the poetry tortured and the references obscure. So I went comparison shopping, settling on Mark Musa's version. He created an excellent, free-flowing, poetic, and easily understandable translation of the three canticles of Dante's "Divine Comedy" for Penguin Classics.In addition to the direct translation, Musa provides an introductory summary to each canto, detailed notes following each canto, a glossary of names in the back of each volume, and an introductory essay for each volume. The introduction to "Volume 1: Inferno" gives a thorough introduction to Dante and to his other works as well as to the Inferno. Following the introduction is a translator's note. The introductions to "Purgatory" and "Paradise" do not go over the extra information presented in "Inferno". It is useful to read all three of Dante's canticles in the Musa translation to get a complete, consistent presentation of the work. Musa does make reference in his notes to one volume to ideas or people presented in the others. The notes are vital for almost everyone. The references to Biblical, classical, and medieval personalities, myths, time systems, theology, and events come frequently. Few people are up on the ins and outs of Guelf vs. Ghibelline in medieval Italian politics. Musa makes it all as clear as it needs to be. Musa's version of "Inferno" italicizes the introductory summary before each canticle and retains the detailed, interesting mappings of Hell used in the Sayers edition. Dante's poem is central to Western civilization. Allowing for some poetic necessities, it pulls classical and medieval history into the framework of Christian theology to show how God's love powers the universe, how people can exercise free will, and how God can help and reward those who trust in Him. It is very easy for the reader to ask how he or she would fare in the afterlife and how to go about finding a better outcome. Some sins are punished severely [like traitors frozen near Lucifer in the ice of the Cocytus lake], and some sins have varying outcomes [E.g., there are some sodomites running on the burning sand of Lower Hell forever and some having their sins burned way in the last stage of Purgatory before going to Paradise.]. Some loves are more blessed than others too. There is much to reflect on. Dante the Pilgrim, drawn by his love for Beatrice gets the full experience. Reading "The Divine Comedy" is valuable in any translation; Musa's flies along, bringing his audience along with understanding. This review for "Inferno" applies to "Purgatory" and "Paradise" as well, since the productions are so comparable.
Rating:
Summary: Flowing, Lucid Translation and Notes
Review: About twenty years ago I read Dorothy Sayers's translation of Dante's "Divine Comedy" with great pleasure, finding an awesome grandeur in Dante's progression from Hell through Purgatory to Heaven. When I decided to re-read the work, I found the poetry tortured and the references obscure. So I went comparison shopping, settling on Mark Musa's version. He created an excellent, free-flowing, poetic, and easily understandable translation of the three canticles of Dante's "Divine Comedy" for Penguin Classics. In addition to the direct translation, Musa provides an introductory summary to each canto, detailed notes following each canto, a glossary of names in the back of each volume, and an introductory essay for each volume. The introduction to "Volume 1: Inferno" gives a thorough introduction to Dante and to his other works as well as to the Inferno. Following the introduction is a translator's note. The introductions to "Purgatory" and "Paradise" do not go over the extra information presented in "Inferno". It is useful to read all three of Dante's canticles in the Musa translation to get a complete, consistent presentation of the work. Musa does make reference in his notes to one volume to ideas or people presented in the others. The notes are vital for almost everyone. The references to Biblical, classical, and medieval personalities, myths, time systems, theology, and events come frequently. Few people are up on the ins and outs of Guelf vs. Ghibelline in medieval Italian politics. Musa makes it all as clear as it needs to be. Musa's version of "Inferno" italicizes the introductory summary before each canticle and retains the detailed, interesting mappings of Hell used in the Sayers edition. Dante's poem is central to Western civilization. Allowing for some poetic necessities, it pulls classical and medieval history into the framework of Christian theology to show how God's love powers the universe, how people can exercise free will, and how God can help and reward those who trust in Him. It is very easy for the reader to ask how he or she would fare in the afterlife and how to go about finding a better outcome. Some sins are punished severely [like traitors frozen near Lucifer in the ice of the Cocytus lake], and some sins have varying outcomes [E.g., there are some sodomites running on the burning sand of Lower Hell forever and some having their sins burned way in the last stage of Purgatory before going to Paradise.]. Some loves are more blessed than others too. There is much to reflect on. Dante the Pilgrim, drawn by his love for Beatrice gets the full experience. Reading "The Divine Comedy" is valuable in any translation; Musa's flies along, bringing his audience along with understanding. This review for "Inferno" applies to "Purgatory" and "Paradise" as well, since the productions are so comparable.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Even if you do not believe in the afterlife this book is well worth your time. Dante is simply a master poet and you will spend the rest of your life carrying the images of hell that he paints in your mind.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Even if you do not believe in the afterlife this book is well worth your time. Dante is simply a master poet and you will spend the rest of your life carrying the images of hell that he paints in your mind.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better translations
Review: I didn't know a lot about Dante's Divine Comedy before I decided to read this. I paged through several different translations and decided on Mark Musa's work. Most of the translations are laborious to follow. If you are looking for a version of the Inferno that is direct and easy to understand, this is the version for you. Musa begins each canto (chapter) with an introduction and provides, at the end of each canto, a further explanation of many of the items in the book. Dante makes continuous references to people, events, and other literature that nobody except scholars that pour over this book will get. Musa fills in these gaps and, in several cases, provides the different interpretations that translators over time have thought. The book itself was a little less enjoyable than I expected (at times, I felt that Dante wrote it to put all of his political enemies in a literary hell), but Musa deserves much praise for his translation.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better translations
Review: I didn't know a lot about Dante's Divine Comedy before I decided to read this. I paged through several different translations and decided on Mark Musa's work. Most of the translations are laborious to follow. If you are looking for a version of the Inferno that is direct and easy to understand, this is the version for you. Musa begins each canto (chapter) with an introduction and provides, at the end of each canto, a further explanation of many of the items in the book. Dante makes continuous references to people, events, and other literature that nobody except scholars that pour over this book will get. Musa fills in these gaps and, in several cases, provides the different interpretations that translators over time have thought. The book itself was a little less enjoyable than I expected (at times, I felt that Dante wrote it to put all of his political enemies in a literary hell), but Musa deserves much praise for his translation.
Rating:
Summary: Musa's translation is the best
Review: I love Dante so much I cannot find words to explain it. His epic (all three parts, not just Inferno) leaves one gasping for adjectives. It's mind-boggling that he even TRIED to write such a thing. The fact that he actually succeeded at what he attempted to do is totally amazing. And I have read many translations: Ciardi, Mandelbaum, Binyan, Sayers, etc. Some of them are quite good. But Mark Musa's is the only one where the translator has actually managed to accomplish something so wonderful that it is actually worthy of his great model. In fact, I would go so far as to say that, if an English translation is necessary, Paradiso almost HAS to be read in Musa's. Inferno and Purgatorio are both a bit more down-to-earth and accessible. But Paradiso - which is a GREAT poem - is almost unreadable in any other English translation I've seen. But not in this one. His commentary also proves that even after 700 years, there are still great and strong insights to be gained into this greatest of epics. Great job, Mr. Musa. I almost wished I lived in Indiana, so I could attend your courses at Indiana State University. Great, great job.
Rating:
Summary: Adds dimension that others fail to give...
Review: I've read the Mandelbaum translation as well. Mandelbaum's phrasing is a bit more appealing to me, but his notes are lacking. Musa's notes are in-depth, analytical, and truly probe the work. The reader learns the "why" and not just simply historical facts behind the characters, and begins to appreciate what this tremendous work.
This is true of Musa's Purgatorio as well, although not to the same degree. As we enter Paradise, the notes become a tad drier. I mention this, as I'm sure that one usually would continue with the work to the end using the same translator. The startling insights do tend to dissipate as we climb higher.
Still, I would recommend this version highly.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best translations in print
Review: Let me just say this first of all, if you haven't read this poem please do! You don't know what you're missing! So why use this translation rather than another? one of the things that makes this translation better than the rest is all the helpful notes Musa includes. It would be very difficult to read this poem without notes and Musa's stand out as some of the best. About the translation itself, what can I say? It is simply superb. Musa uses modern day English making the poem easily read by today's English readers consequently.
Rating: 
Summary: Smooth but not fully satisfying
Review: Mark Musa has done a fine job in translating Dante's three part epic of a man's way of finding God. If his translation is all you read, you will get the gist of it. What makes it attractiive are his summaries at the head of the cantos and his same page notes at the bottom. But I believe in reading a rival translation along with it. And so I am also going through Robert Durling's prose translation. What the difference is between this and Musa's "free verse" rendition I really don't understand. Durling offers a skimpy summary at the top of cantos and and rather academic notes at the back of the canto.I find this quite awkward and I am suggesting to him that in his Purgatorio and Paradise rendering, he beef up his skimp introductions to cantos and place the notes on the same page while making them a little less abstruse. Durling notes go further than Musa who occasionally leaves the reader in the dark about allusions. I also suggestyou buy the Durling's paper back because it is easier to hold than its hardcover version and as easy to read. Clearly, there can be no totally satisfying translation; a translator is torn between being scrupulously faithful to Dante and thus risking obscure renderings; or, being ardently lucid and thus providing a wrong translation. What the Musa and Durling translations lack is that drive and immediacy of understanding of Robert Fagles' riveting rendition of the Iliad. The latter represents translation of classic at its finest. What to do? 1. I would start with John Sinclair's 1939 prose translation to grasp the fundamentals of the story. 2. I would read Musa and Durling together. 3. I would look at the the latest "free verse" renderings by the wife and husband team, the Hollanders. 4. To really get it, I would learn Italian. Finally, understand, that as with all great work, you must read it several times to truly appreciate it. And, just to make sure you do, buy the abridged reading of the epic on a CD from Naxos on your webstite.
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