Inferno: The Definitive Illustrated Edition

Description

Just as Dante is hailed as the best of Italy's poets, The Divine Comedy is considered the greatest work of Italian literature. Inferno, the three-part epic's first and most popular section, chronicles the poet's journey through the underworld. This definitive edition - translated by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - features stunning engravings by the eminent 19th-century illustrator Gustave Dore.

Florentine poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is best known for The Divine Comedy, a three-part epic poem that progresses from Hell (Inferno) to Purgatory to Paradise. Written in the vernacular, rather than Latin or Greek, Dante's masterpiece immediately found a wide audience; it is considered the greatest work of Italian literature and its author is regarded as the father of modern Italian. French illustrator Gustave Dore (1833-1883) began his prolific career at the age of 15, and his dramatic engravings have exercised an incalculable influence over latter-day artists. His remarkable scope includes scenes from Milton, Dante, Rabelais, Shakespeare, and the Bible, as well as street scenes of 19th-century London. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), author of The Song of Hiawatha and other beloved poems, was Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard University.