The Inferno of Dante (trans. Robert Pinsky)

Dante's Inferno is definitely a classic of world literature. And since I'd never read it, I felt compelled to give it a try. I found it worth the time. This verse translation by Robert Pinsky makes it manageable and enjoyable reading. He has preserved a poetic tone and given it a vivid imagery that makes this spiraling journey an almost cinematic experience.

In the Inferno, the first book of Dante's Divine Comedy, Dante is led by the poet Virgil through the nine circles of Hell. Dante is led, the only "weighty" living soul among the shades of the dead, down into the depths of the earth. He passes through the great gate of Hell, into the realm of lost hope and eternal punishment. The first group he ecounters is the unbaptized, those like the ancient poets (of whom Virgil is one) who died ignorant of the gospel. From there, he continues to spiral down through the circles of Hell, encountering the lustful, the gluttons, the spenders, and the heretics. At each level, sinners receive a punishment that fits their crimes. For instance, as Dante reaches one of the lowest portions of hell, the ninth pouch of the eighth circle of Hell, he encounters the Schismatics, those who sought to divide the faith, and their punishment for such a crime is to be forever split open by the sword, as they march around the ring of Hell.

Along his journey, Dante encounters figures from the Greek epics and myths, such as Narcissus and Ulysses, major figures from history, such as Brutus and Cassius (who reside in the lowest pit of Hell), and quite a number of people from thirteenth-century Italy. As he encuounters sinners doomed to punishment, he often speaks with them of their crimes.

Dante has a flare for brutal punishments. He describes sinners variously imprisioned in boiling tar and picked at by vultures, buried upside down with only feet protruding above ground, or forever bombarded by a rain of fire. And in many circles, tormenters, whether demons or giants or beasts, dole out added suffering at their whim. Hell certainly isn't an inviting place.

As Virgil and Dante reach the center of the earth, the very pit of Hell, they find the betrayers, those who have betrayed family, country, or benefactors. Here Lucifer himself resides, an aweful giant creature with three faces and grotesque teeth. And in his mouth he holds the three most vile betrayers, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius (who betrayed Julius Caesar, and apparently, to Dante's mind, therefore betrayed civilzation and also the church). These sinners are forever gnawed at by Satan's vile teeth, and scratched at by his razor-sharp claws, tormented eternally for the greatest of sins.

As Virgil and Dante pass through this pit of hell, they climb down Satan's body, and when the reach his midsection, they turn 180 degrees while still going in the same direction, and begin climbing. That is, they reach the center of the earth, the point where all gravity is centered, so their journey goes from a descent to an ascent, and the hour becomes twelve hourse earlier. They then resume their journey, climbing out of the center of the earth and emerge in the Southern Hemisphere. (It is hard to imagine a clearer image to combat the myth that Columbus was the first to really believe the Earth was round. This idea had been around a lot longer, and here, almost two hundered years before Columbus's voyages, Dante pictures a journey through the core of the planet.)

Dante's classic portrayal of Hell pictures a world of extreme punishments and eternal torment. He devises a heierarchy of sins, layering the mildest offenders near the top and relegating those most severe to the very pit of Hell itself. It is a great picture of the Medieval conception of the world and morality. I'm glad to have read it, so I'm not so much in the dark now when people make reference to this important work.

This edition is beautifully illustrated by Michael Mazur. The haunting illustrations convey the mood and setting in an effective way, without giving too much detail to detract from the imagination. Here you can see an image from the eight ring of Hell, where one lier gnaws on another. The book also includes helpful annotations and commentary in the backmatter, to give valuable insight into the many literary and historical allusions that would otherwise be opaque to modern readers.