The Paradiso PDF
Preview The Paradiso
Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction CANTO I CANTO II CANTO III CANTO IV CANTO V CANTO VI CANTO VII CANTO VIII CANTO IX CANTO X CANTO XI CANTO XII CANTO XIII CANTO XIV CANTO XV CANTO XVI CANTO XVII CANTO XVIII CANTO XIX CANTO XX CANTO XXI CANTO XXII CANTO XXIII CANTO XXIV CANTO XXV CANTO XXVI CANTO XXVII CANTO XXVIII CANTO XXIX CANTO XXX CANTO XXXI CANTO XXXII CANTO XXXIII Classic Literature with Biblical Inspiration DANTE ALIGHTERI was born in 1265. Considered Italy’s greatest poet, this scion of a Florentine family mastered the art of lyric poetry at an early age. His first major work, La Vita Nuova (1292), was a tribute to Beatrice Portinari, the great love of his life. Dante’s political activism resulted in his being exiled from Florence, and he eventually settled in Ravenna. It is believed that The Divine Comedy—comprising three canticles, The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso—was written between 1308 and 1320. Dante Alighieri died in 1321. JOHN CIARDI was a distinguished poet and professor, having taught at Harvard and Rutgers universities, and a poetry editor of The Saturday Review. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1955, he won the Harriet Monroe Memorial Award, and in 1956, the Prix de Rome. He died in 1986. SIGNET CLASSIC Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4V 3B2, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Published by Signet Classic, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in a Mentor edition. Canto I was first published in The Italian Quarterly, 1965. Canto VIII was first published in Arbor, 1961. Canto XXI was first published in Hartwick Review, 1967. Canto XXXIII was first published in The Rarer Action Essays in Honor of Francis Fergusson, ed. Alan Cheuse and Richard Koffler, 1970. First Signet Classic Printing, August Copyright © John Ciardi, 1961, 1965, 1970 All rights reserved EGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA The Library of Congress has catalogued the Mentor edition of this title as follows: 87-072888. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. eISBN : 978-1-10112734-6 http://us.penguingroup.com For Connie— as all things draw to what they most are. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I must thank Professor Mark Musa and especially Professor John Freccero for reading and commenting on this version of The Paradiso. I am not a Dante scholar; I have undertaken what I hope is poet’s work. The learning of these good men has saved me from some of the gaps in my own. At times I have not followed their suggestions, feeling that the points raised, though important to scholars, might interfere with the pleasure of a beginning student reading in translation. If I have been wrong in so deciding, the responsibility is mine. Their suggestions have been invaluable, and I owe them a most grateful thanks, gladly offered.
The list of books you might like
