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The Divine Comedy
- Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso
- Narrated by: Blake Ritson, John Hurt, David Warner, Hattie Morahan, Full Cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
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The Divine Comedy
- Written by: Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - translator
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Dante's Divine Comedy is considered to be not only the most important epic poem in Italian literature, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. It consists of 100 cantos, and (after an introductory canto) they are divided into three sections. Each section is 33 cantos in length, and they describe how Dante and a guide travel through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
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Very well done
- By Jeff on 2020-07-07
Written by: Dante Alighieri, and others
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The Iliad of Homer
- Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Made the Iliad easy to understand
- By Goodlad on 2019-09-13
Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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Dante's Inferno
- A Study on Part I of The Divine Comedy
- Written by: Anthony Esolen PhD
- Narrated by: Anthony Esolen PhD
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
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With Professor Esolen you will enter the terrible gates of Hell and progress level by infernal level to its diabolical depths. Professor Esolen places a special emphasis on the drama of the poem, leading you through each canto in succession. Professor Esolen will more than satisfy your curiosity about Hell and the fate of the damned. He will reveal in all its starkness the horror of sin and awaken in your heart a longing for divine love.
Written by: Anthony Esolen PhD
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The Aeneid
- Written by: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
Written by: Virgil
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Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
- Written by: John Milton
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Paradise Lost, along with its companion piece, Paradise Regained, remain the most successful attempts at Greco-Roman style epic poetry in the English language. Remarkably enough, they were written near the end of John Milton's amazing life, a bold testimonial to his mental powers in old age. And, since he had gone completely blind in 1652, 15 years prior to Paradise Lost, he dictated it and all his other works to his daughter.
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Great insight
- By Edmund Reinhardt on 2020-08-08
Written by: John Milton
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The Poems of T. S. Eliot
- Read by Jeremy Irons
- Written by: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons, Dame Eileen Atkins
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
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Wasteland should be cat-free zone
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-04-11
Written by: T. S. Eliot
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The Divine Comedy
- Written by: Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - translator
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dante's Divine Comedy is considered to be not only the most important epic poem in Italian literature, but also one of the greatest poems ever written. It consists of 100 cantos, and (after an introductory canto) they are divided into three sections. Each section is 33 cantos in length, and they describe how Dante and a guide travel through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
-
-
Very well done
- By Jeff on 2020-07-07
Written by: Dante Alighieri, and others
-
The Iliad of Homer
- Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
-
-
Made the Iliad easy to understand
- By Goodlad on 2019-09-13
Written by: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
-
Dante's Inferno
- A Study on Part I of The Divine Comedy
- Written by: Anthony Esolen PhD
- Narrated by: Anthony Esolen PhD
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Professor Esolen you will enter the terrible gates of Hell and progress level by infernal level to its diabolical depths. Professor Esolen places a special emphasis on the drama of the poem, leading you through each canto in succession. Professor Esolen will more than satisfy your curiosity about Hell and the fate of the damned. He will reveal in all its starkness the horror of sin and awaken in your heart a longing for divine love.
Written by: Anthony Esolen PhD
-
The Aeneid
- Written by: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
Written by: Virgil
-
Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
- Written by: John Milton
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paradise Lost, along with its companion piece, Paradise Regained, remain the most successful attempts at Greco-Roman style epic poetry in the English language. Remarkably enough, they were written near the end of John Milton's amazing life, a bold testimonial to his mental powers in old age. And, since he had gone completely blind in 1652, 15 years prior to Paradise Lost, he dictated it and all his other works to his daughter.
-
-
Great insight
- By Edmund Reinhardt on 2020-08-08
Written by: John Milton
-
The Poems of T. S. Eliot
- Read by Jeremy Irons
- Written by: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons, Dame Eileen Atkins
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
-
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Wasteland should be cat-free zone
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-04-11
Written by: T. S. Eliot
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Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- Written by: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
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I mean... I got through it
- By Andrew Jones on 2020-06-19
Written by: Homer, and others
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Faust
- Written by: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Narrated by: Auriol Smith, Gunnar Cauthery, Stephen Critchlow, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
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Faust is one of the pillars of Western literature. This classic drama presents the story of the scholar Faust, tempted into a contract with the Devil in return for a life of sensuality and power. Enjoyment rules, until Faust’s emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, and the tragic outcome brings Part 1 to an end. Part 2, written much later in Goethe’s life, places his eponymous hero in a variety of unexpected circumstances, causing him to reflect on humanity and its attitudes to life and death.
Written by: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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The Old Man and the Sea
- Written by: Ernest Hemingway
- Narrated by: Donald Sutherland
- Length: 2 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal, a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss.
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Captivating beauty
- By Zara on 2023-01-29
Written by: Ernest Hemingway
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The Decameron
- Written by: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, and others
- Length: 28 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.
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I love this book. Seriously recommend.
- By Jen on 2021-04-15
Written by: Giovanni Boccaccio
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Asian Journals
- India and Japan (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)
- Written by: Joseph Campbell
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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At the beginning of his career, Joseph Campbell developed a lasting fascination with the cultures of the Far East, and explorations of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy later became recurring motifs in his vast body of work. However, Campbell had to wait until middle age to visit the lands that inspired him so deeply. In 1954, he took a sabbatical from his teaching position and embarked on a year-long voyage through India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally Japan.
Written by: Joseph Campbell
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Inferno: From The Divine Comedy
- Written by: Dante Alighieri, Benedict Flynn - translator
- Narrated by: Heathcote Williams
- Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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"Abandon all hope you who enter here." ( "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch’intrate.") Dante’s Hell is one of the most remarkable visions in Western literature. An allegory for his and future ages, it is, at the same time, an account of terrifying realism. Passing under a lintel emblazoned with these frightening words, the poet is led down into the depths by Virgil and shown those doomed to suffer eternal torment for vices exhibited and sins committed on earth.
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Great narrator; However
- By Anonymous User on 2020-03-06
Written by: Dante Alighieri, and others
Publisher's Summary
Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem.
Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.
Purgatorio: Dante is led up Mount Purgatory by his guide. They encounter numerous souls who have embarked on the same difficult journey - one that will eventually lead to their spiritual salvation.
Paradiso: Dante's journey comes to a glorious conclusion as he is led by Beatrice, through the spheres of Paradise and into the presence of God himself. As they ascend, they encounter a number of souls who have also achieved blessedness. Many years later, the older Dante reflects on the episodes from his life that have inspired his great poem.
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What listeners say about The Divine Comedy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Shelby R
- 2020-11-16
didn't enjoy the story
it was well done, but overall I struggled with the story and didn't enjoy it
1 person found this helpful
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- Paul H.
- 2022-04-19
Really Well Done
I was able to enjoy this on a drive. This was well done and enjoyed tge narrative greatly. This story is one that should listen. Very rarely do i praise the BBC, but they deserve credit for this. Well done.
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- Mohamed A.
- 2020-10-21
Dante inferno a cathartic listen.
Dante Inferno is a story that is riveting and is full of haunting pathos. While Purgatorio and Paradiso were good they do not compare to the despair that Dante shows while exploring hell. I wish they explored more of the depths of hell in the Inferno
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- Tyler
- 2020-05-02
Truly a beautiful tale
The story holds up in any day and age, truly a masterpiece of it's time! The voices all are amazing will listen to again and probably again.
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- Camren Sheppard
- 2019-07-28
Very well dramatized
My attention was kept the entire time, the voice acting is very well done. I wish more details from the Epic could've made it into this amazing dramatisaton
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- kirk
- 2019-04-23
a very fascinating look at the way people saw then
it's very interesting to see how the people back then saw death and sin. a few time it was quite funny like when they were in hell the payed a demon with exposure or pointed out some popes were in hell. very good story
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- Damon
- 2019-03-10
good overall
good overall, however I feel like parts of the book were cut out. clearly that was done to save time, I just like all the details
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- Adeliese Baumann
- 2016-10-21
Revisiting the land of the dead
My last year's reading has mostly been on things Italian and in the Italian language. Still, I regret to say I haven't picked up Dante in thirty years, so when I saw this title, I reacquainted myself with this incredible work of art.
Naturally, a radio broadcast can't cover the whole spectrum of the poem, and translations are apt to miss a few things, but as a dramatic production, it's first rate. All actors are superb --- David Warner in particular has an incredible voice and impeccable timing --- and the situations are beautifully rendered. I enjoyed every minute.
Listening to this inspired me to listen to Clive James' translation of the Divine Comedy, read by Edoardo Ballerini. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to investigate further. Ballerini's reading is particularly enchanting.
46 people found this helpful
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- Nicole
- 2014-11-08
A great introduction to The Divine Comedy
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This is a great way to get a gist of The Divine Comedy. It's beautifully narrated with different voices for different characters. When you add the sound effects and different cool effects you get a whole experience that really pulls you into the story. You don't think that the story is being told to you. Instead you feel like you are right there with Dante going through the same experiences that he is.
What did you like best about this story?
As it's The Divine Comedy, the story speaks for itself. What I liked the best was how you never knew what was going to happen but knew that it was going to affect you greatly. It feels real and you honestly fear for Dante's life even though you know that nothing bad is going to happen to him. This trilogy is very graphic and pulls on your emotions as it looks at major theological and philosophical questions. You never really get bored.
What about the narrators’s performance did you like?
It was a full cast which was great. You get that full on experience of living there. I loved that so much! It really honestly felt as if you were there because of that. Instead of one narrator doing different voices of characters. Even the older Dante is played by a different voice actor. I loved that older Dante was played by John Hurt but I didn't recognize who did the voice of the younger Dante. It has been stated that Dante was a symbol of the every man. So having it not be a recognizable actor, at least to me, added in its brilliance.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Experience the three realms of the afterlife like never before...in stunning 3D.
Any additional comments?
I do want to note that this is abridged from the source material. It's a dramatization and skips cantos. This can be annoying especially as there are cantos that I thought they would not skip. There was one spectacular action sequence from Infierno that they skipped that shocked me. It was one that should have been here. Even with that it's a great dramatization. This is a great thing to listen to if you want the main gist or read the whole comedy and want to hear it. I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in The Divine Comedy.
25 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-03-13
Completely skips 2 circles of hell
The narrator goes from circle IV (greed) and skips straight to circle VII (Violence) and doesn't cover at all Circles V and VI
22 people found this helpful
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- Eric Kitzmiller
- 2015-01-26
Awesome
I'm 14 and I loved this book. It met every expectation. I just loved it so much it was amazing
7 people found this helpful
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 2018-12-09
MASTERFUL TRANSLATION
Superb cast. Translation is always a concern but the essence of this classic seems well captured to this ignorant English only listener.
5 people found this helpful
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- Michael Melone
- 2016-05-27
a great synopsis of the Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy has always been one of my favorite book series. This audio recording does a fine job of summarizing the trilogy, but sadly lacks a lot of detail I enjoyed in the original works. Key points, like the Devil's three heads, people met throughout the books, and the like are missing. If you are considering reading the Divine Comedy this will serve as a fantastic introduction, but if you truly enjoy it I would highly suggest the original works.
5 people found this helpful
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- Jeffery
- 2019-11-12
Priceless Read for All Christians
As a Catholic, Dante has begun to have a profound effect on me as I study and embrace my renewed faith after years as a self aggrandizing atheist with a self-entitled sense of adept philosophy. I do wish Audible hosted more great Catholic works. But I look forward to when they do.
4 people found this helpful
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- thomas m.
- 2017-06-23
Great summary but not a good source for analysis.<br />
loved the acting but felt that it didn't grasp the entire comedy tone. Considerating the constraints of a dramatization, i got a good feeling for the plot, but not the fear and visuals that exist in the comedy. One should read those aswell to fully appreciate the comedy.
3 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Reader
- 2016-08-05
Amazing.
fantastic, always thought this poem would be boring and dry but it was entertaining, enlightening, and very well done. listen to it.
3 people found this helpful
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- j_avispa
- 2021-06-02
Abridged, darn!
I chose this version by accident. Thought it was an unabridged version. I still enjoyed the listening considering the bits left out. If you want a quick listen I’d recommend this abridged version as the performance of the readers did well.
2 people found this helpful