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The Divine Comedy
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Summary
Expertly translated here by the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dante's masterpiece leaps vividly to life in this production.
Philosophically, the poem is based on the theological works of St. Thomas Aquinas. The Divine Comedy is essentially an allegory of the progress of the human soul toward God and the progress of mankind toward peace on earth. Many of the characters involved are drawn from ancient Roman history and from Dante's contemporaries, making the work a realistic picture of Italian life in the early 14th century. As well, it is an intensely developed analysis of human affairs. In structure the poem appears to be a description of the afterlife. But it is in essence, a compassionate, oral evaluation of humanity and a mystical vision of the Absolute toward which mankind struggles. The Divine Comedy endures today because of the universality of its drama and the lyric quality of the poetry, and not as the result of any doctrinal content.
What listeners say about The Divine Comedy
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- LM C
- 16-04-18
Beautifully done!
Would you consider the audio edition of The Divine Comedy to be better than the print version?
I like to think of it as a different experience. It's one of those masterpieces where you should definitely try both versions!
2 people found this helpful
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- Harry Leeming
- 27-12-20
Impenetrable translation
The translation is obnoxiously Archaic. I’m not just talking about a few thous here and there. It reaches pre-shakespearean levels which actually makes an already difficult (if rewarding) text inaccessible and ruins the read. Listen to the translation by Robert Kirkpatrick instead.
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- Person
- 18-07-20
I have no idea why anyone is impressed by this
The poem consists of no conversations, no descriptions and essentially no details whatsoever. It is a series of very brief summaries such as: “then Dante met Vergil who guided him through hell” (not an actual line but is the kind in this poem). So we have no details about why Dante decided to follow Virgil, what kind of person Virgil is and whether they got on well or not.
This was a complete waste of money.
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- Dan Stepnens
- 16-08-19
maybe it is the translation...
maybe it was the translation, but I found the poem exceedingly boring - the summary was more informative
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- Random Spawn
- 21-04-19
meh, disappointing.
this is not worth its cost, you get a woefully long start of what dante was doing before the poem with no explanation and it tells of things only a historian would know, and then be annoyed at how fast its recounted. it's drags on for what seems like an age. then you get a brief explanation of each part if the poem, this is good if you're a student.
1 person found this helpful
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- David
- 13-06-14
Dull!
I've given this two stars because it's famous, but that's it. I actually couldn't finish it. The imagery in inferno is interesting, but well known, but I was losing the will to live a few hours into the Paradiso. No wonder most people only read the first book! Nothing wrong with it as an audio book, I just blame Dante! So much of it is parochial politics, people Dante knew at the time which might be quite interesting if you knew who they were but without a lifetime of study, which I'm not prepared to do, I just couldn't get into it. Read the York notes instead!
14 people found this helpful
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- Rose
- 05-10-19
york notes version of the divine comedy
This is a truly terrible translation of the divine comedy. yes its unabridged but it's pretty much the bullet points of each canto. dont buy it!!
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- Adam Sheridan
- 14-04-17
I was completely lost
Not audibles fault but i hadn't a clue what was going on in the story
2 people found this helpful
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- Tbaley
- 27-05-15
Divine Comedy
The epic of all epics. Carlton Griffin is magnificent. His pronunciation and intonation made it so much more reachable.
22 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-05-19
What a Masterpiece!
This is a truly great tool for reading Dante's masterpiece. This, to my knowledge, is the only quality audiobook of The Divine Comedy, and it does not disappoint. I had to read it multiple times in order to get a familiarity with the narrative in order to do research for and write my undergraduate thesis. The translation of Dante's Commedia in this audio recording is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's English translation, a literary masterpiece by its own right. Its lyrical verse helps bring the epic poem to life for the English reader, and it made it easier for me to memorize large portions of the text by replaying it over and over again on this recording. I don't think I could have completed my thesis without this excellent, audio edition of one of the Western Canon's greatest texts. I actually first subscribed to Audible just to get this audiobook, and this alone has been worth the subscription. Couldn't recommend it more!
14 people found this helpful
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- Craig E. Campell
- 14-07-15
Timeless poetry
This is a decent translation of the Comedy, though perhaps not my favorite. Griffin's narration moved the story along nicely without getting in the way, and the sound effects at the beginning of each canto contributed to the otherworldly atmosphere of the book.
27 people found this helpful
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- Tracy
- 03-05-17
Wonderful read
First off, I may not have made it through this book had it not been for the performance. It added a deep rich layer to this story. I think I got lost in the beauty of the narrator's voice as much as I did the beauty of the words.
Now, because it is written in poetic form you have to pay attention to the words. It isn't a book you can drift off in as easily as you can with any other book. Of course, that is why I made the comment above. It took focus on every word.
I was amazed at the imagination and detail of the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven that was painted. That was my second most favorite part.
12 people found this helpful
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- T Dennison
- 26-02-18
Outstanding!
So great. The only thing I'd change is that the synopses should immediately follow their given cantos. Having them all together at the beginning makes them hard to follow alongside the cantos. Other than that, a beautiful audiobook!
5 people found this helpful
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- Domenik Davis
- 21-04-17
A thoroughly entertaining performance
The book is a classic and while interesting, the story is a bit sluggish. However, the performance was absolutely phenomenal, making even the most mundane prose engaging and impactful. Absolutely worthwhile.
4 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan Wells
- 27-09-16
Wonderful Performance
The narration was great and I especially liked the background noises at the beginning of each canto. It was a little difficult to follow in places, being poetry, but that was more a deficiency in the listener than the performance. I would heartily recommend it.
3 people found this helpful
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- Larry
- 13-03-11
Not for listening.
Longfellow was a wonderful poet, but the linguistic hoops he jumps through to preserve the form of the cantos leaves comprehension in the dust for the listener. Charlton Griffin can't save this muddle. It is almost incomprehensible at times. Almost everything in Italian rhymes, not so with English. One thing that is missing is comprehensive footnotes on the political background and personalities that Dante meets. Still, the language is beautiful, just don't expect to follow it in your car.
42 people found this helpful
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- Bob the Marley
- 15-04-16
better on paper
the content does not lend itself well to audio format. great work of literature, but is enjoyment is found in slower contemplation and review of passages.
8 people found this helpful
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- daniel hoffelder
- 12-03-14
My first digital book
Where does The Divine Comedy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Second only to the Bible
What did you like best about this story?
The final balancing of justice
What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?
Very strong voice
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Several, mainly in hell.
Any additional comments?
It is a little tough being in King James English...just push on thru and it will raise your mental view on life.
11 people found this helpful