&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RThe Inferno&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RDante
Alighieri&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble
Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality
editions at affordable prices to the student and the general
reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages
of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable
features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&R
* New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and
scholars
* Biographies of the authors
* Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and
cultural events
* Footnotes and endnotes
* Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books,
plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the
work
* Comments by other famous authors
* Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and
expectations
* Bibliographies for further reading
* Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior
specifications; some include illustrations of historical
interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a
constellation of influences―biographical, historical, and
literary―to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring
works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&R&&L/I&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RThe
Inferno&&L/I&&R remains literature’s most hallowed and graphic
vision of Hell. Dante plunges readers into this unforgettable
world with a deceptively simple―and now
legendary―tercet:&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RMidway upon the journey of our
life&&LBR&&RI found myself within a forest dark&&LBR&&RFor the
straightforward pathway had been lost.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RWith these
words, Dante plunges readers into the unforgettable world of the
Inferno―one of the most graphic visions of Hell ever created. In
this first part of the epic &&LI&&RThe Divine Comedy&&L/I&&R,
Dante is led by the poet Virgil down into the nine circles of
Hell, where he travels through nightmare landscapes of fetid
cesspools, viper pits, frozen lakes, and boiling rivers of blood
and witnesses sinners being beaten, burned, eaten, defecated
upon, and torn to pieces by demons. Along the way he meets the
most fascinating characters known to the classical and medieval
world―the silver-tongued Ulysses, lustful Francesca da Rimini,
the heretical Farinata degli Uberti, and scores of other
intriguing and notorious figures.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RThis edition of
the &&LI&&RInferno&&L/I&&R revives the famous Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow translation, which first introduced Dante’s literary
genius to a broad American audience. “Opening the book we stand
face to face with the poet,” wrote William Dean Howells of
Longfellow’s Dante, “and when his voice ceases we may marvel if
he has not sung to us in his own Tuscan.” Lyrically graceful and
brimming with startlingly vivid images, Dante’s Inferno is a
perpetually engrossing classic that ranks with the greatest works
of Homer and Shakespeare.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&R&&LB&&RFeatures a of
Hell and illustrations by Gustave
Doré.&&L/B&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LSTRONG&&R&&L/B&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LP
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LSTRONG&&RPeter
Bondanella&&L/B&&R&&L/B&&R is Distinguished Professor of
Comparative Literature and Italian at Indiana University and a
past president of the American Association for Italian Studies.
His publications include a number of translations of Italian
classics, books on Italian Renaissance literature and Italian
cinema, and a dictionary of Italian literature.
&&L/P&&R&&L/DIV&&R