Resources for Reading Dante

When we read Dante together, we started with the Ciardi translation because it was readily available. But very soon the two high schoolers began to complain. I also had a copy of the Dorothy Sayers translation on the shelf, so I pulled it off and gave it to them. Was the issue with Dante or the translator? The kids immediately loved the Sayers. For us choosing a different translation made all the difference.

Sayers wanted to read Dante after reading The Figure of Beatrice by Charles Williams. But it was only during the World War II that she got around to it. She took the Comedy into the garden air raid shelter at her house in Witham. Sayers translation is written in terza rima, Dante’s rhyme scheme. While it may work in the Italian, it’s a stretch in English! The Ciardi translation is more approachable but sometimes that comes at a cost in beauty. The real treasure of the Sayers translation is in the footnotes. It’s a spiritual practice to read them.

We also used and loved Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation, a graphic novel by Seymour Chwast. I choose this book because it contained the entire Comedy, not just Inferno. It includes every canto, so some get only a short mention. But it’s funny and interesting to see how an author grapples with a text.

Sayers died before she completed translating Paradiso. Her goddaughter and Italian scholar, Barbara Reynolds completed the translation. She also wrote Dante: The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man–highly recommended! Sayers herself presented lectures on Dante that are full of wit and insight.

Dante has inspired many artists including Botticelli, Dore, and Blake. Seek out these artists! Dante is writing about things that we haven’t seen. It’s very helpful to dive into an artist’s rendering of Dante’s descriptions. Mark Vernon presents a series of lectures called Dante in 100 Images. It is a wonderful way to reflect on the text and well worth the investment ( subscriptions go on sale a few times a year!).

Purgatorio is full of singing! We started searching Youtube for the pieces mentioned. It is a wonderful addition to the reading to have such music in mind.

Reading Dante is well worth your time and attention.