> Skip to content
Play sample
  • Published: 1 November 1986
  • ISBN: 9780140444438
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $39.99

The Divine Comedy




The final volume in this brilliant translation destined to take its place among the great English versions of The Divine Comedy.

The final volume in a brilliant translation destined to take its place among the great English versions of The Divine Comedy

In his translation of Paradise, Mark Musa exhibits the same sensitivity to language and knowledge of translation that enabled his versions of Inferno and Purgatory to capture the vibrant power and full dramatic force of Dante’s poetry. Dante relates his mystical interpretation of the heavens, and his moment of transcendent glory, as he journeys, first with Beatrice, then alone, toward the Trinity. Professor Musa’s extraordinary translation and his interpretive commentary, informative glossary, and bibliography clarify the theological themes and make Dante accessible to the English-speaking public.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

  • Published: 1 November 1986
  • ISBN: 9780140444438
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $39.99

Other books in the series

On Sparta
Love
Annals
Military Dispatches

About the author

Dante Alighieri

Date: 2013-08-06
Dante, or Durante deli Alighieri, was born in Florence, Italy, circa 1265. His family was connected with the Guelph political alliance, supporters of the Papacy. His mother died before Dante’s tenth birthday. Dante himself was betrothed to Gemma di Manetto Donati when he was aged only 12. The pair went on to marry, but Dante’s true love was for Beatrice Portinari, who would inspire much of his poetry. Dante and Gemma had several children.
Dante was a member of Florence’s Apothecaries’ Guild, though he did not practice as a pharmacist. Allied to the White Guelphs, with whom he fought against the vanquishing Black Guelphs, he was eventually condemned to perpetual exile from Florence. He went first to Verona and then to Liguria. There is speculation that he travelled more widely, including to Paris and Oxford, although this has not been verified.
During his time of exile Dante conceived and wrote the three poems which form The Divine Comedy. He died in 1321, aged 56, of suspected malaria. He was buried in Ravenna, Italy, where a tomb was later erected in his name.

Stephen Wyatt is a playwright and dramatist with extensive experience in stage, radio and television.

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 and belonged to a noble but impoverished family.  He followed a normal course of studies, possibly attending university in Bologna, and when he was about twenty he married Gemma Donati, by whom he had several children.  He had first met Bice Portinati, whom he called Beatrice, in 1274, and when she died in 1290, he sought distraction by studying philosophy and theology and by writing La Vita Nuova. 

During this time he became involved in the strife between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines; he became a prominent White Guelf, and when the Black Guelfs came to power in 1302, Dante, during an absence from Florence, was condemned to exile.  He took refuge first in Verona, and after wandering from place to place - as far as Paris and even, some have said, to Oxford - he settled in Ravenna.  While there he completed The Divine Comedy, which he began in about 1308.  Dante died in Ravenna in 1321.

Also by Dante Alighieri

See all