{"product_id":"dante-the-essential-commedia-9781324096207","title":"Dante: The Essential Commedia","description":"The \u003cem\u003eCommedia\u003c\/em\u003e, Dante's epic story of one man's journey from the darkness and terror of hell to the revelation of divine light in heaven, is one of the greatest works of Western literature, but it can seem daunting to the English-speaking reader. College courses often cherry-pick the most arresting passages from Inferno and barely glance at the equally compelling \u003cem\u003ePurgatorio\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eParadiso\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003cem\u003eThe Essential \"Commedia,\"\u003c\/em\u003e Prue Shaw, a renowned Dante scholar, expertly guides the reader on an enthralling tour through all three realms of the afterlife. Extensive passages of the work's greatest poetry--about one third of the whole--are astutely excerpted and presented in English translation alongside the original Italian. A linking commentary summarizes the elided sections, distilling the epic into a series of vivid vignettes while preserving its narrative continuity and cosmic sweep.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A notable feature of this book is its exceptional readability. The translations into modern idiomatic English avoid archaism, padding, and syntactic contortion. A thrilling but difficult text is made wholly accessible by a scholar whose expertise enables her to highlight and contextualize the essential aspects of the poem: the imaginative power of the drama; the poetic brilliance of the language; the intellectual excitement as we grapple with fundamental questions about the meaning and value of human lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As Shaw deftly guides us through the afterlife, we discover that the issues Dante's poem engages with remain utterly modern: power, corruption, and the thirst for wealth; honesty, integrity, and courage. The human condition has not changed in seven hundred years. Shaw's timeless translation is a perfect point of entry for anyone interested in exploring this foundational text of Western literature, a supreme achievement of the human spirit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlighieri, Dante:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eDante Alighieri\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in 1265 in Florence to a family of minor nobility. He entered into Florentine politics in 1295, but he and his party were forced into exile in a hostile political climate in 1301. Taking asylum in Ravenna late in life, Dante completed his Divine Commedia, considered one of the most important works of Western literature, before his death in 1321.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShaw, Prue:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003ePrue Shaw \u003c\/strong\u003eis an emeritus reader in Italian at University College London. She is the editor of the \u003cem\u003eedizione nazionale \u003c\/em\u003eof Dante's medieval Latin treatise \u003cem\u003eMonarchia\u003c\/em\u003e and of a groundbreaking digital edition of the \u003cem\u003eCommedia\u003c\/em\u003e (freely accessible at www.dantecommedia.it). She lives in Cambridge, England.","brand":"Liveright Publishing Corporation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51623974437138,"sku":"9781324096207","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bf15097f-e5a6-41b6-a44d-785701e32f08.jpg?v=1758650541","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/dante-the-essential-commedia-9781324096207","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}