In the early 1300s, Dante Alighieri set out to write the three volumes which make the up
The Divine Comedy. Purgatorio is the second volume in this set and opens with Dante the poet picturing Dante the pilgrim coming out of the pit of hell. Similar to the
Inferno (34 cantos), this volume is divided into 33 cantos, written in tercets (groups of 3 lines). The English prose is arranged in tercets to facilitate easy correspondence to the verse form of the Italian on the facing page, enabling the reader to follow both languages line by line. In an effort to capture the peculiarities of Dante's original language, this translation strives toward the literal and sheds new light on the shape of the poem. Again the text of
Purgatorio follows Petrocchi's
La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata, but the editor has departed from Petrocchi's readings in a number of cases, somewhat larger than in the previous
Inferno, not without consideration of recent critical readings of the
Comedy by scholars such as Lanza (1995, 1997) and Sanguineti (2001). As before, Petrocchi's punctuation has been lightened and American norms have been followed. However, without any pretensions to being "critical", the text presented here is electic and being not persuaded of the exclusive authority of any manuscript, the editor has felt free to adopt readings from various branches of the stemma. One major addition to this second volume is in the notes, where is found the
Intercantica - a section for each canto that discusses its relation to the
Inferno and which will make it easier for the reader to relate the different parts of the
Comedy as a whole.
This book title, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (Volume 2: Purgatorio), ISBN: 9780195087451, by Robert M. Durling, Robert M. Durling, Ronald L. Martinez, published by Oxford University Press (April 8, 2004) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
Unlike Amazon and other retailers who may also offer The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (Volume 2: Purgatorio) books on their website, we specialize in large quantities and provide personal service, from trusted, experienced, friendly people in Portland, Oregon. We offer a Price Match Guarantee, and QuickQuote form, to make purchasing quick and easy.
Prefer to work with a human being when you order The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (Volume 2: Purgatorio) books in bulk? Our Book Specialists are standing by Monday-Friday 8-5 PST, ready to help!
