Dante's epic 'Comedy' triggers reflection, memories

'Dante Club,' works influenced by 'Divine Comedy' inspire fan to re-read, praise

Ever since finishing Matthew Pearl's "The Dante Club" while lounging in a midday sun, feet nestled in the cool sands of Myrtle Beach, S.C., over Spring Break, I've found myself in the middle of a dark wood of sorts. The straight way isn't lost so much as there's been a slight pause in the journey while I take the time to indulge in all things Dante.

It's hard to imagine that a work of historical fiction would reignite a literary interest that has remained dormant since more than a year after completing a special topics course on the Italian poet's famous epic, "The Divine Comedy."

But, the story doesn't begin there. Instead, we're going to have to flash back once again, this time to that unforgettable time in everyone's lives — the first year of high school. It was then when my first encounter with Dante began, and it's hard to imagine life without being aware of the man's name or his work.

For English class, everyone had to bring in a book to read for a half-hour (one of those sustained, silent reading deals that translated for most as "nap time") and the book my teacher read was Robert Pinsky's 1994 verse translation of Dante's "Inferno."

Who wouldn't be curious about a book on hell? Especially when, according to my teacher, the book took its sweet time detailing the visceral punishments of sinners. She then proceeded to tell me (at the time) some nonsense about poetry and Italian history. Forget that — bring on the pain, I thought. The next stop was the library to secure a paperback copy, never realizing until I finished the book that what I had borrowed was the second canticle, "Purgatorio" (dealing with the punishments of purgatory) instead of the much more promising "Inferno."

Despite such a blunder, the fervor continued out of order and ended, as it does for most readers, with the opening chapters of "Paradiso" (you guessed — paradise). This last portion of Dante's comedy is always the most challenging to read for the simple fact that it doesn't cater to the thrills and chills of hell or purgatory. It took a college course to get me to finally finish what had begun years ago.

Thus we return — safely, as promised — to the present, with a reinvigorated and reinspired reader searching to reread "The Divine Comedy," this time in verse translation. While the full-text translations by John Sinclair work well as primers for those taking their first steps with Dante through hell, purgatory and paradise, for the seasoned reader, there is much to be gained from reading a verse translation — the only problem is finding the most fitting English translation.

I prefer bilingual translations that have Dante's original Italian verse on one page and the author's translation on the opposite page. Sure, the Italian side won't see much usage, but it's always nice to reference back to the source work, if only to listen to how the romantic language sounds and subsequently mourn over the dullness of modern English.

Annotations are a must as well; reading these works without some sort of guide is like trying to survive on a medieval battlefield with a cocktail napkin as a weapon.

Whatever your poison, it's almost a guarantee that these three books of epic poetry — well, at least the first two — will provide unforgettable reading.