rno, this translation is the most fluent, grippingly readable version of the famous poem yet, and--with all the consummate technical skill that is the hallmark of Sean O'Brien's own poetry--manages the near-impossible task of preserving the subtle power and lyric nuance of the Italian original, while seeking out an entirely natural English music. No other version has so vividly expressed the horror, cruelty, beauty, and outrageous imaginative flight of Dante's original vision.