john ciardi

mandelbaum

>>7862927
there is no best translation because it is impossible to translate optimally while maintaining terza rima - the english language just doesn't rhyme well.

Best you can do is read a good terza rima translation and a good prose translation. Read each canto one at a time in both translations and you'll get the best feel for what Dante intended.

So lucky you, ya posted a prose translation and a terza rima. Read both. I am also partial to ciardi even though his terza rima is imperfect, he bends the rules a bit to be more true to the original so a kinda best of both worlds.

I'm currently reading Hollander's translation, it's pretty great

But I feel I'm too stupid for it at this point, sometimes I can't even tell what's going on ;_;

>>7864343
So which has the best notes? I read a fairly bare translation a few years ago from my school library, I'm thinking it was Ciardi, but I'd like to give it another go with more notes

>>7864566
sorry, when I say best I mean a good mid-point between the scholarly Singleton notes and more basic notes which don't assume too much prior knowledge

>>7864566
I read Durling / Martinez and it has an extensive amount of notes and a few essays. Singleton is probably even more thorough according to the chart.

Just learn Italian

>book is called the Divine Comedy
>isn't funny

>>7864735
>gays forced to eternally wander the burnings sands
>fat people submerged in a river of meat slop
its pretty fucking funny