--- product_id: 1695071 title: "The Inferno (Signet Classics)" price: "€ 13.19" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/1695071-the-inferno-signet-classics store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # The Inferno (Signet Classics) **Price:** € 13.19 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Inferno (Signet Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 13.19 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/1695071-the-inferno-signet-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Belonging in the immortal company of the works of Homer, Virgil, Milton, and Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece is a visionary journey that takes readers through the torment of Hell. The first part of Dante ’ s Divine Comedy is many things: a moving human drama, a supreme expression of the Middle Ages, a glorification of the ways of God, and a magnificent protest against the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan. One of the few literary works that has enjoyed a fame both immediate and enduring, The Inferno remains powerful after seven centuries. It confronts the most universal values—good and evil, free will and predestination—while remaining intensely personal and ferociously political, for it was born out of the anguish of a man who saw human life blighted by the injustice and corruption of his times. Translated by John Ciardi With an Introduction by Archibald T. MacAllister and an Afterword by Edward M. Cifelli Review: Nearly Perfect Work; Nearly perfect translation; Extremely poor OCR! - Rating: I gave this five stars only because it is the best translation of perhaps the finest literary achievement outside of the Bible. However, I MUST express my concerns as below: The original: TEN stars out of Five for it is unparalleled. The Translation by John Ciardi: FIVE stars out of FIVE for it is in itself a work of art! The OCR conversion: MINUS TEN out of FIVE; for numerous, glaring, disconcerting and inexcusable OCR errors!! I have been a dedicated fan of John Ciardi's inspired translation of Dante's Commedia for many years. The original work; The Commedia, by Dante is perhaps the closest thing to perfection outside of the Bible (which, I believe firmly was God-Authored, so, it would not be fair to compare any Man's work to that too closely). The appellation of 'Divine' to Dante's extraordinary allegory is a statement to its almost perfect quality. Now, the problem for me is that it is written in Italian. I speak English. So, I cannot read this work in its original form. The next best thing is to read a translation into English. Again, no matter the quality of the original, the translation can provide an experience near to that which the author intended, or it can mar the work beyond recognition. For this work, Dante's Commedia; the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, there exist several translations into English. For my dollar, John Ciardi's is the best. Others may disagree on this count, but there is no arguing that his translation is masterful. The added bonus is his short prose summaries of each canto (chapter) and his extensive footnotes for illumination of the text. Added together, John Ciardi and Dante Alighieri present, in this translation, a reading experience of scintillating excellence. Each and every reading from the first to the thousandth is wonderful, rich and even fresh. Now along comes the Kindle. Being an extreme bibliophile, I never thought I would like the ebook experience. Suffice it to say that I was quite wrong on that count. However, this is not a review of the Kindle or any e-reader. So, naturally, loving this translation and work like I do, I purchased the Kindle version without blinking. To my utter dismay, the text is sorely corrupted by errors. The OCR output does not seem to have been reviewed, edited or otherwise corrected at all. Having read this work as many times as I have, each canto, each stanza, each verse, and every word are precious and like old friends. (I re-read it for the same reasons one keeps returning to their favorite ice cream flavor, or their favorite song). But, in this case, the amount of error contained in this electronic copy is jarring and unpleasant and all too frequently encountered. So, if the nice folks at Penguin publishing should happen to read this review; I can only say: You have a gem on your hands, so why smear it with mud? Please, Please, correct the text errors, which are legion and most disconcerting, and restore this literary diamond to its original and deserved luster and brilliance and re-publish the work as it should have been done from the start. Review: Best to Read One Chapter A Day To Get The Most Out Of This Book - I really enjoyed this edition. I felt like the detail shared behind the people in Dante's Inferno taught me a lot of History and Greek mythology and I love Dante's quest to be true and virtuous and avoid the sins of others. It gave me a respect for some things today people take for granted that could be sins and reminded me to be ever mindful of my actions. It was so interesting how he portrays hell as different levels with different punishments based on how grievous the sin was. It gave me a lot to ponder. I also liked how its divided into chapters explaining in detail before you read the actual translation and then after are foot notes explaining all the references. That makes it easy to enjoy, understand and get a lot out of each passage. I suggest reading one chapter each day - takes 5 - 15 minutes . I started this as a full read - and got 3/4 of the way through and stopped, then picked it back up and read one chapter each day from the beginning again and I enjoyed it much more reading 1 chapter a day and thinking about what I read and the meaning. This isn't a book you should "speed read" or skim but savor. This book shows you there is nothing new in this world - and if we would all learn more history (me included) - perhaps we can stop the continuous cycle mankind is always in (wars and rumors of wars)... ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #13,551 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Italian Poetry (Books) #12 in Medieval Poetry #14 in Renaissance Literary Criticism (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,325 Reviews | ## Images ![The Inferno (Signet Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71v2g16SlFL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nearly Perfect Work; Nearly perfect translation; Extremely poor OCR! *by J***Y on March 1, 2012* Rating: I gave this five stars only because it is the best translation of perhaps the finest literary achievement outside of the Bible. However, I MUST express my concerns as below: The original: TEN stars out of Five for it is unparalleled. The Translation by John Ciardi: FIVE stars out of FIVE for it is in itself a work of art! The OCR conversion: MINUS TEN out of FIVE; for numerous, glaring, disconcerting and inexcusable OCR errors!! I have been a dedicated fan of John Ciardi's inspired translation of Dante's Commedia for many years. The original work; The Commedia, by Dante is perhaps the closest thing to perfection outside of the Bible (which, I believe firmly was God-Authored, so, it would not be fair to compare any Man's work to that too closely). The appellation of 'Divine' to Dante's extraordinary allegory is a statement to its almost perfect quality. Now, the problem for me is that it is written in Italian. I speak English. So, I cannot read this work in its original form. The next best thing is to read a translation into English. Again, no matter the quality of the original, the translation can provide an experience near to that which the author intended, or it can mar the work beyond recognition. For this work, Dante's Commedia; the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, there exist several translations into English. For my dollar, John Ciardi's is the best. Others may disagree on this count, but there is no arguing that his translation is masterful. The added bonus is his short prose summaries of each canto (chapter) and his extensive footnotes for illumination of the text. Added together, John Ciardi and Dante Alighieri present, in this translation, a reading experience of scintillating excellence. Each and every reading from the first to the thousandth is wonderful, rich and even fresh. Now along comes the Kindle. Being an extreme bibliophile, I never thought I would like the ebook experience. Suffice it to say that I was quite wrong on that count. However, this is not a review of the Kindle or any e-reader. So, naturally, loving this translation and work like I do, I purchased the Kindle version without blinking. To my utter dismay, the text is sorely corrupted by errors. The OCR output does not seem to have been reviewed, edited or otherwise corrected at all. Having read this work as many times as I have, each canto, each stanza, each verse, and every word are precious and like old friends. (I re-read it for the same reasons one keeps returning to their favorite ice cream flavor, or their favorite song). But, in this case, the amount of error contained in this electronic copy is jarring and unpleasant and all too frequently encountered. So, if the nice folks at Penguin publishing should happen to read this review; I can only say: You have a gem on your hands, so why smear it with mud? Please, Please, correct the text errors, which are legion and most disconcerting, and restore this literary diamond to its original and deserved luster and brilliance and re-publish the work as it should have been done from the start. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best to Read One Chapter A Day To Get The Most Out Of This Book *by A***R on June 12, 2024* I really enjoyed this edition. I felt like the detail shared behind the people in Dante's Inferno taught me a lot of History and Greek mythology and I love Dante's quest to be true and virtuous and avoid the sins of others. It gave me a respect for some things today people take for granted that could be sins and reminded me to be ever mindful of my actions. It was so interesting how he portrays hell as different levels with different punishments based on how grievous the sin was. It gave me a lot to ponder. I also liked how its divided into chapters explaining in detail before you read the actual translation and then after are foot notes explaining all the references. That makes it easy to enjoy, understand and get a lot out of each passage. I suggest reading one chapter each day - takes 5 - 15 minutes . I started this as a full read - and got 3/4 of the way through and stopped, then picked it back up and read one chapter each day from the beginning again and I enjoyed it much more reading 1 chapter a day and thinking about what I read and the meaning. This isn't a book you should "speed read" or skim but savor. This book shows you there is nothing new in this world - and if we would all learn more history (me included) - perhaps we can stop the continuous cycle mankind is always in (wars and rumors of wars)... ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The 13th Century Speaks *by N***2 on June 16, 2014* How does one review the Great Dante? He is one of those pivotal authors in western history who influenced everything that followed him. Not only was he the greatest author his day, he also is responsible for the literary coming of age for the Italian language. Any major work before him was written in Latin. Dante changed that, he set authors free to speak in their own tongues, and this is the book in which he did it. The greatest challenge in reading him in English translation is that he cannot be done proper justice outside of Italian. His original text is exquisite in both sound and substance, and the best editions are those in which his prose is offered in both languages. You may be pleasantly surprised to read the Italian, only checking the English for comprehension. I know this happened with me. With that caveat in mind, the text offered here is adequate to the story, if not the substance. (I cannot recommend Dante's original prose highly enough.) The story is amazing, Dante finds himself lost in the middle of his life and finds that he cannot find his way back through the symbolic challenges that confront him. He is met by his literary mentor, Virgil, who informs him that he must face the path which leads through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. This book deals with the first leg of the journey; which takes him to the very depths of Hell Itself. As he goes, he is exposed to the various punishments doled out against sinners, based on the severity and content of their sins. His imagination is amazing. I won't attempt to describe the nature of his Divine Justice, but the journey is one of the strangest and most memorable in literature. In the course of this story you will also get a real sense of the 13th Century mind. Do not expect to enjoy or agree with it's attitudes, but you can learn a lot about how Western Culture got to where it is, and isn't today by experiencing it. Truly a book for the ages, this is a must-read for any student of History, Culture, Religion, and, most of all, Literature. Dante is truly one of those authors who dwells in the Pantheon with Shakespeare, Cervantes, Voltaire and Dostoyevsky, and he is oldest of them all. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Inferno (Signet Classics) - The Aeneid (Vintage Classics) - Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/1695071-the-inferno-signet-classics](https://www.desertcart.at/products/1695071-the-inferno-signet-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-10-12*