
Culture writer Megan Hughes reviews Charles Singleton’s translation of Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’, praising its accessibility and innovative illustrations
The Divine Comedy is a work widely referenced within popular culture and, with such an intriguing title, how could it not be? A product of the 14th century, Dante Alighieri’s work is speculated to have taken over a decade to compose. The level of detail within the novel makes this easy to believe. The Divine Comedy is at its heart, a journey, both metaphysically and geographically. We follow Dante himself across the afterlife along with figures both real and mythical, such as Virgil. Princeton’s 2024 release of the classic combines Charles Singleton’s three (previously separated) translations of the Inferno into one beautiful hardback. Accompanied by illustrations and a scholarly introduction, this edition is fit for any collector’s library.
Simone Marchesi introduces the book, drawing attention to its historical and religious contexts. Whilst literary, The Divine Comedy is both a poem and a work of personal theology written by an (at the time of writing) disgraced politician, Dante. Marchesi finds the geographical element of Dante’s work particularly interesting, elaborating on the book’s complex use of physical space. Each of the books three sections – hell, purgatory, and heaven – have their own unique locality (despite being what we may think of as metaphysical) described in depth by the author to an extent his original audience would not have been familiar with. Indeed, even those who think themselves well versed in Christianity or the mythology of the afterlife will find several surprises in the way that Dante puts a unique twist on the literature and ideas of his predecessors to create a masterpiece that was undoubtedly his. As Marchesi says in the introduction of the translation, Dante’s “unorthodoxies” are sprinkled within the poem with all the delight of a mischievous magpie hoarding its shiny treasures.
Marchesis finds the geographical element of Dante’s work particularly interesting
Regardless of whether it was intentional (although given the lovingly created illustrations, I can only imagine it was), the tripartite colour scheme – red, black and white – invokes the three distinct journeys of Dante. Red for hell, black/grey for purgatory (that most ambiguous in-between) and white for heaven, the end of the journey that signals the completion of Dante’s spiritual transformation. The images accompanying the text are abstract in style and appeared to me to be a manifestation of Dante as both author and main character. Rather than recreating scenes as they are, the illustrator instead takes their essence and interprets it into his own artistic style. The illustrations are stark, consisting of charcoal like sketches on the white paper. No other colours are used. This simplicity of design perfectly compliments the accompanying text given the complex language that is used and the heavily intellectual topics touched upon.
Abstract in nature, I found myself looking forward not just to the next step on Dante’s journey but also how the illustrator would interpret it. Especially within Dante’s inferno, the at times surreal drawings have a haunting quality to them. They embody a possessed man battling demons which is an apt description of Dante as he walks through the different circles of hell. Artwork in this book also reflects the impact of Dante’s journey on his mental state. For example, near the end of the book (Paradise), the drawings are lighter in both colour and topic, with a more literal interpretation of the text. This effect is useful in indicating to the reader when Dante himself has become spiritually lighter,
removing the burdens of his earthly self. We ourselves thus undertake our own journey from the claustrophobic darkness of the first third of the book to the airy optimism of its finale.
I found myself looking forward not just to the next step on Dante’s journey but also how the illustrator would interpret it
The Divine Comedy, even in this lyrically compelling translation, is not an easy book to read. It will take several sittings and requires dedication from the reader. However, you will be more than rewarded for your patience with the satisfaction that ending your own journey hand-in-hand with Dante provides. Moreover, the provided glossary means that you do not need to be well versed in mythology or ancient
history/philosophy to extract meaning from the Comedy. Names and places are explained alongside the accompanying page number they are first mentioned on for ease of reference.
Take a step into the unknown. I promise you, it’s worth it.
Enjoyed this? Read more from Redbrick Culture here!
Comments