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The Purgatorio
In The Purgatorio, Dante describes his journey to the renunciation of sin, accepting his suffering in preparation for his coming into the presence of God. This brilliant translation of Dante?s canticle crystallizes the great poet?s immortal conception of the aspiring soul.
- GenresClassics
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published July 1, 2001
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About the author
Dante Alighieri
4,458 books6,211 followersDante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the comic story-teller, Boccaccio, and the poet, Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined, in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, that she was his guardian angel who alternately berated and encouraged him on his search for salvation.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
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January 8, 2026My favorite of the whole Comedy, and the most "this side of glory" of the three.
As with the whole Comedy, Dante's architectural mind is on full display. From the shores of ante-purgatory to the heights of Earthly Paradise, we follow Dante, Virgil, and for most of the climb, Statius, as they make their way through the cornices of the Mountain of Purgatory, each with its own Aristotelian whip and rein away from the sin of the cornice and toward its corresponding virtue. PEWSAGL will always help me remember the path they take (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust), and I particularly like the sub-structure Virgil explains to Dante, that the middle cornice, Sloth, is a deficiency of love. A failure to act. The cornices below it are misplaced (bad) loves while the cornices above are excessive loves for good things.
Light plays a great role in this middle book as well. The shifting of day to night and back and the inability to move at night add a layer to the whole poem. In Hell, there is only darkness. In Heaven, there is only light. Here, there is both, and the periods of light, which represents God's illumination, are the only time when souls may ascend.
Even the periods of Dante "showing off" are great. He so expertly establishes his framework that he gives himself tons of space to play with ideas and poetry in great ways. My favorite of these digressions (if they can properly be called that), is Statius's explanation of the generative power of procreation and how souls and bodies are formed.
T.S. Eliot said, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them." I won't make my choice between these two here, I'll simply agree when he concludes, "there is no third."
As with the whole Comedy, Dante's architectural mind is on full display. From the shores of ante-purgatory to the heights of Earthly Paradise, we follow Dante, Virgil, and for most of the climb, Statius, as they make their way through the cornices of the Mountain of Purgatory, each with its own Aristotelian whip and rein away from the sin of the cornice and toward its corresponding virtue. PEWSAGL will always help me remember the path they take (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust), and I particularly like the sub-structure Virgil explains to Dante, that the middle cornice, Sloth, is a deficiency of love. A failure to act. The cornices below it are misplaced (bad) loves while the cornices above are excessive loves for good things.
Light plays a great role in this middle book as well. The shifting of day to night and back and the inability to move at night add a layer to the whole poem. In Hell, there is only darkness. In Heaven, there is only light. Here, there is both, and the periods of light, which represents God's illumination, are the only time when souls may ascend.
Even the periods of Dante "showing off" are great. He so expertly establishes his framework that he gives himself tons of space to play with ideas and poetry in great ways. My favorite of these digressions (if they can properly be called that), is Statius's explanation of the generative power of procreation and how souls and bodies are formed.
T.S. Eliot said, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them." I won't make my choice between these two here, I'll simply agree when he concludes, "there is no third."
October 24, 2025
I really enjoyed the mental gymnastics that this book put me through. He speaks (often, not always) simply, but he has at least five different levels of meaning. Generally I thought it was great. Sometimes he annoyed the snot out of me. But great literature is supposed to engage the mind, and on this point Dante is truly a master.
The translator was an annoying combination of insufferably condescending to Dante’s thoughts and uniquely qualified. I tried to distance myself: both with another translation and an audiobook. But the version I am reviewing explained the poetry with a clarity that I was unable to duplicate in a kinder, gentler form.
The method that I finally settled on to get the most out of my study was to go over the translator’s notes, read the canto, read the footnotes, listen to the canto via audiobook (from Libby at the library), and then watch the corresponding Great Courses episode. His writing is so rich that even with all this, I don’t think I have come close to mining all that there is in his work.
The translator was an annoying combination of insufferably condescending to Dante’s thoughts and uniquely qualified. I tried to distance myself: both with another translation and an audiobook. But the version I am reviewing explained the poetry with a clarity that I was unable to duplicate in a kinder, gentler form.
The method that I finally settled on to get the most out of my study was to go over the translator’s notes, read the canto, read the footnotes, listen to the canto via audiobook (from Libby at the library), and then watch the corresponding Great Courses episode. His writing is so rich that even with all this, I don’t think I have come close to mining all that there is in his work.
August 24, 2025
Classic, right? This petty queen writes his enemies into hell and his friends, family, and heroes into heaven, all under a gauze of religiosity while accidentally creating a vision of hell some people take as gospel nowadays. He told you it was a comedy, guys.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews