I’m looking for an edition that:
a) is easy to read for someone that hasn’t had a lot of literature classes. I still want it to have the poetry though.
b) has annotations to help the reader get the jokes and allusions.
The Dorothy Sayers translations have both good notes and the poetry comes accross well.
For old authors, you can always check out Project Gutenberg to see if there is a free version.
Wait until next year and get the video game retelling where Dante kicks Satan’s ass.
No, I’m not kidding.
Avoid the Mandelbaum translation, which is almost certain to turn you off Dante forever. Same with the Gutenberg, unless your priority is to get something for free.
My personal favorite poetry-wise is the Ciardi translation, which has the best and most accessible poetry (he discards the terza rima scheme (ABA BCB CDC etc.) for rhyming first and third lines only, which allows him greater latitude) and fairly good notes.
I also second Reepicheep’s rec of the Sayers translation, which was the first one I ever read and led me to fall totally in love with Dante. She keeps terza rima, which is quite cool (though occasionally makes the translation slightly hairier). I think that her notes are the best of any translation I know of for a first-time reader.
I’ll check out the Sayers translation. Thanks!
Third the Sayers version. Her education and erudition, combined with her experience as a novelist, make her translation one of the most readable ever created.
I enjoyed the Ciardi version as well. I’m not quite sure what I did with it either, but I think I passed it along to my sister. I’ll have to get it back from her, thanks for reminding me.
I like the Ciardi version as well. The poetry is pretty good, and doesn’t seem forced.
Get a copy of the Dore illustrations, too.
Michael Palma’s translation is the best, hands down- and it deserves to be better known. It’s the only one that reproduces the original’s poetry, musical-effects and tone, complete with full Terza Rima- without sounding forced.
I like to think it’s what Dorothy Sayers would have accomplished if she were more talented.