The Gate of Hell in Six Translations: How One Inscription Becomes Six Different Warnings

The Gate of Hell in Six Translations: How One Inscription Becomes Six Different Warnings

I spent an entire weekend last fall comparing twelve different English translations of nine Italian lines. Nine lines! The Gate of Hell inscription from Dante’s Inferno, Canto III. Those nine lines broke my heart open in twelve different ways. What started as curiosity became obsession. Each translator made choices that fundamentally altered Hell’s entrance. Some … Read more