The Divine Comedy

Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso

By: Dante Alighieri, Stephen Wyatt

Narrated by: Blake Ritson, John Hurt, David Warner, Hattie Morahan, Full Cast

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

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.

©2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Excellent Overview

It's been a very long time since I read any of The Divine Comedy, and felt it was time to reacquaint myself with Dante. I heard part of this production on BBC Radio and just loved the narrators. Blake Ritson is the voice of young Dante and is a brilliant reader - he's on my list of favorites and I listen to anything he reads. John Hurt and David Warner are excellent as well. It's very helpful when the narrators make you want to keep listening!

This abridged version provides a good overview of the three parts highlighting enough of the poem to leave me wanting more. Why did I wait so long to delve more deeply into this amazing work?! After finishing this version, I added to my library the 3-part Naxos AudioBooks / Heathcote Williams version, the Clive James / Edoardo Ballerini version, and The Great Courses Dante's Divine Comedy (Ronald Herzman & William Cook). I know that narrators matter as well as translations and wanted to try multiple versions.

If I could influence Audible, I would really like Blake Ritson to narrate a full version.

Great listen

Very good dramatization. Actors voices are perfect and the music is also perfectly chosen. I listen it in a quite room trying to imagine all the scenes. Thanks for the great performance this was very easy for me to accomplish. I highly recommend it.

This dramatization gives "Dantes Inferno" life!

I have read the poem, Dantes Inferno, three times. This dramatization of the poem brought it to life. It is a great teacher, where you can learn about your own short comings and learn about ways you can better yourself. Fantastic audio book!!!

Classic, as always

Vivid images of possible paradise and gifts us with ideas of what MIGHT be when we die. Either in Damnation or in Salvation.

great book

I love this book I'm glad I finally had the time to read/listen to it. it was easy to picture in my mind what was happening though the whole narration.

Brought the story to life

Really enjoyed it. A production that brought the characters to life and skillfully wove together all the voices into the narrative without getting us confused. No small feat

"You are not a child anymore"

If you could sum up The Divine Comedy in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring, instructional, immersive

What did you like best about this story?

This encapsulates through a clever three part (!) layering the Tuscan verse of the original, the pilgrim Dante in deft translation, and the recollections of the poet Dante. It refreshes even for veteran readers key themes and characters, and it moves along with momentum.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The tender but firm teaching of Beatrice, the dignified guidance of Virgil, the plaints of the lost, and the praise of the purged and saved souls, all are given nuanced texture. The music is aptly chosen, the sound effects are convincing, and the scope of the otherworlds in this audio rendering are evoked dramatically, but soberly and sensibly, clear of unearned emotion

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The gasps as Dante sees Christ, his struggles to comprehend the Trinity, and the final scenes as his consciousness blurs with the Beatific Vision are portrayed convincingly. Not an easy feat, given the limitations inherent in even a BBC radio drama's compressed format.

Any additional comments?

The humanity of the quest and nimble explanations of how God's will is enacted in his creatures caught or liberated here by grace. love,and by choice earns respect. Whatever your own views on theodicy, this thoughtful presentation rewards reflection. A set of masterful and insightful performances allow us to enter into the mindset of eight hundred years ago.

An absurdly high-quality production

This abridged production of The Divine Comedy is preformed by A-list actors in amazing fashion. It is certainly a radio drama and certainly a great one. If you want Dante to come to life and jump off the page and surround you with incredible audiowork, this is the production. It's nice to see legendary literature so powerfully brought to life.

Dante's Insight

This is about the tenth time I have read this piece of written "Art." This was in a different format that I thoroughly enjoyed. The guy on the street version was much better than the poem itself. Everyone that believes in morality and in my case God, will find themselves in just about every chapter, and it surely reminds you how short you are in reaching eternity. Anybody that has not read the poem should start with this book, as in doing so you will understand the meat and potatoes version of this poem. Then go to the "as written format", and thats when you will understand the beauty of poetry, and of Dante himself. Its a hard road pleasing God, and this version will hit bedrock with every person that reads it, but you get so much more from it, in listening too the howls of Hell, and I especially recommend it to you that are presently trapped in Acedemia, as there's no shortage of these folks in a place called Hell, but never forget that the devil sniffles like a scared child in the "Face and Beauty of an All Knowing God". Only the weak and wicked will end up in this version of "Popish Hell." I thank God that John Paul 1 and 11 today sit with God, as it should be. Yes, Laugh at my review Acedemia, but the clock ticks for you also, and might I say, You still have time to find out that Apes, we never were, yet you have no problem teaching youth we came from a biological soup. Leading the young away from God, has to get His attention as never forget that, Hell is not as pleasant as Dante imagined it to be, as not even Dantes imagination could tread on that piece of ground. I personally will work harder with the years I have left, as no circle appeals to me, and this book reminded me how much work I have to carry out.

Great acting, music, and affects

it was great just wish it was more detailed but awesome experience. I would recommend