Larkin and more …

… Nigeness: It's That Man Again.

For the record, I maintain that the best way to read Dante is in an edition with the original on one side and an accurate prose translation on the other (as in the old Temple Classics). That way you keep the unique, unEnglishable beauty of the verse – and learn a little Italian along the way.

I quite agree. I still remember the light coming through the window of the place we rented in BarberinoVal  d’Elsa as I finished reading Paradiso in just that way.