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The Divine Comedy: Purgatorio
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 13, 2025
86 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Dante Alighieri
4,552 books6,306 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 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 6, 2026
I was surprised by how much I loved this. Beautiful imagining of what Purgatory could be, with such rich reminders of God's infinite love and mercy. My favorite part, the part I tell everyone about when I say I've just read Purgatorio, is when Dante runs into a man who led a particularly horrible life but has somehow managed to escape eternal punishment. He explains in the third canto:
"After my body was doubly broken
by mortal wounds, in tears, I gave
myself to Him who pardons generously.
They were horrible, those sins of mine,
but infinite goodness has such encompassing arms,
it will embrace whoever comes back to it.
...
Even under a curse like mine, no one's ever
so lost that eternal love cannot come back,
as long as hope has any sprouts of green."
Again and again this message of hope appears throughout the work, and again and again, you encounter poor souls begging Dante to remember them back on earth, to tell everyone they knew and everyone he knows to pray for them by name so they can reach their final reward.
There's so much to pull out of a work like this, but for my first read, I really just honed in on the element of God's mercy; it is inexhaustible, unfathomable, deeper than the greatest deep. Perfect read for Lent. Thank you, WRM!
Edited to add: The Jason Baxter translation is worth checking out for the introduction alone. Golden.
"After my body was doubly broken
by mortal wounds, in tears, I gave
myself to Him who pardons generously.
They were horrible, those sins of mine,
but infinite goodness has such encompassing arms,
it will embrace whoever comes back to it.
...
Even under a curse like mine, no one's ever
so lost that eternal love cannot come back,
as long as hope has any sprouts of green."
Again and again this message of hope appears throughout the work, and again and again, you encounter poor souls begging Dante to remember them back on earth, to tell everyone they knew and everyone he knows to pray for them by name so they can reach their final reward.
There's so much to pull out of a work like this, but for my first read, I really just honed in on the element of God's mercy; it is inexhaustible, unfathomable, deeper than the greatest deep. Perfect read for Lent. Thank you, WRM!
Edited to add: The Jason Baxter translation is worth checking out for the introduction alone. Golden.
March 31, 2026
I’m surprised by how much I loved this! I was a bit intimidated and didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but the poetic prose was such an unexpected treat. Lots to chew on regarding purification and all that jazz, a perfect Lenten read! This particular translation was super helpful.
March 17, 2026
This was my first time reading this classic, and I really appreciated the footnotes and context that Jason Baxter provided along the way.
Did not finish
March 3, 2026This book is one that was on my book club list, but I really don’t think this is a good choice for the format of a book club. Particularly because I’m Catholic, I strongly feel that this book cannot just be read but needs to be STUDIED very intentionally. And if you’re working and have kids, you just can’t do that in the timeframe of a month. SO with that said, I have no thoughts on it yet. I read through to Canto 9 and came to the conclusion that this book requires more respect than I’m giving it and because of this, I will be jumping back into Inferno, studying that and then I’ll start studying Purgatorio.
March 30, 2026
I almost took off a star because I don’t care about all the people he knew in Italian history, but I decided that’s not Dante’s fault. I thought I’d hate this book, but there were so many parts to reflect on. It’s the best book I’ve read in a long time. I’ll never look at purgatory, confession, virtues/vices, and being completely dependent on God’s grace the same. The vivid imagery will stay with me.
Read
March 28, 2026I’m not sure I can give Purgatorio a fair review. I do wonder if I would have benefited from a different translation. As one of the great works of Western literature, it deserves more time and attention than I was able to give it within the context of Well-Read Mom. There is simply so much here that is missed by having one discussion at the end rather than reading and reflecting canto by canto. I did appreciate the structure in which Dante presents virtue first, followed by contrapasso and vice, and I especially admired his consistent use of Marian examples to illuminate the virtues. It has been over twenty years since I read Inferno, but I remember enjoying it much more…perhaps that says more about my attachment to sin and its allure than anything else. Ha. Yikes.
March 22, 2026
It feels wrong to rate a classic of western literature. I average 3 stars of enjoyment with 5 stars of “one of the most famous and influential works ever written.”
March 30, 2026
Rating the translation not the book
March 13, 2026
Liked reading it, loved thinking about it and so enjoyed discussing it!
March 14, 2026
“As long as love is focused on the primal love and follows secondary goods with measure, it cannot be the cause of wicked pleasure.” Canto 17
If the Inferno is the beginning of wisdom in that it instills the Fear of the Lord, then Purgatorio is the purging of all wickedness, a sanctification, a refiners fire to prepare you for holiness. Purgatorio is the inferno in reverse. Dante enters purgatory at the bottom of inferno. But there is an inversion as if he’s come through the bottom of the world and out so when he comes out he can begin his ascent up Mount Purgatory. Purgatory, in the medieval mindset, is where those who’ve been saved before death go to face and purge themselves of the sins that they neglected to discipline themselves against in life. The seven deadly sins make up the seven terraces of the mountain and they are directly in line with the levels already faced in inferno. Pride, envy, wrathful, slothful, avarice, gluttony, lust. But the differences here are many. For instance, upon entering each new level there is a song of hope not a lament. At each terrace the saved learn to lean in to the discipline which purifies them until they learn to WANT it! Once they reach this point the mountain shakes, and the angels proclaim “Glory to God in the Highest!” and that soul is released from purgatory, able to ascend unhindered to the gates of paradise. The disciplines are similar to what we saw in inferno- equal to the sins committed and shown on the outside what was always on the inside. Those who were greedy for earthly gain in life are forced to lie down with their faces to the ground, because they neglected looking up to the heavens when they lived. Those who were slothful, are forced to run with spirit around the mountain all the while cheering each other on. Those who were lustful are forced to stand in the burning fire. But they don’t suffer like those who have no hope. They know this is temporary. In inferno they are stuck there forever, but here they know their home is heaven and they WILL get there whether through the purging of their souls or when the trumpet blasts and the Lord returns. In which case they get an automatic free ride to heaven. And they are also receive grace at each terrace by an angel when needed. Another thing to note, in Inferno they isolated themselves, here they are forced to be reunited into community and bear with one another and encourage one another as they go through their trial. Where they blamed others for their sins in inferno, here they take full responsibility for their sins.
This journey of the soul for Dante is about regaining something he’s lost. A retuning of his soul to that of the music of the heavens. With Virgil as his guide and Beatrice up ahead, he passes through the fire of the lustful and enters into a garden of Eden purified, and retuned. “All the powers of his soul are now working in accord- but also in tune with the created world and thus can ‘hear’ the hymn which creation longs to sing. In this way, the pilgrim is like Adam waking up in the Garden of Eden for the first time. And now the poet must try to recreate the sweetness and perfection of mankind’s original home within his language.” Canto 28
If the Inferno is the beginning of wisdom in that it instills the Fear of the Lord, then Purgatorio is the purging of all wickedness, a sanctification, a refiners fire to prepare you for holiness. Purgatorio is the inferno in reverse. Dante enters purgatory at the bottom of inferno. But there is an inversion as if he’s come through the bottom of the world and out so when he comes out he can begin his ascent up Mount Purgatory. Purgatory, in the medieval mindset, is where those who’ve been saved before death go to face and purge themselves of the sins that they neglected to discipline themselves against in life. The seven deadly sins make up the seven terraces of the mountain and they are directly in line with the levels already faced in inferno. Pride, envy, wrathful, slothful, avarice, gluttony, lust. But the differences here are many. For instance, upon entering each new level there is a song of hope not a lament. At each terrace the saved learn to lean in to the discipline which purifies them until they learn to WANT it! Once they reach this point the mountain shakes, and the angels proclaim “Glory to God in the Highest!” and that soul is released from purgatory, able to ascend unhindered to the gates of paradise. The disciplines are similar to what we saw in inferno- equal to the sins committed and shown on the outside what was always on the inside. Those who were greedy for earthly gain in life are forced to lie down with their faces to the ground, because they neglected looking up to the heavens when they lived. Those who were slothful, are forced to run with spirit around the mountain all the while cheering each other on. Those who were lustful are forced to stand in the burning fire. But they don’t suffer like those who have no hope. They know this is temporary. In inferno they are stuck there forever, but here they know their home is heaven and they WILL get there whether through the purging of their souls or when the trumpet blasts and the Lord returns. In which case they get an automatic free ride to heaven. And they are also receive grace at each terrace by an angel when needed. Another thing to note, in Inferno they isolated themselves, here they are forced to be reunited into community and bear with one another and encourage one another as they go through their trial. Where they blamed others for their sins in inferno, here they take full responsibility for their sins.
This journey of the soul for Dante is about regaining something he’s lost. A retuning of his soul to that of the music of the heavens. With Virgil as his guide and Beatrice up ahead, he passes through the fire of the lustful and enters into a garden of Eden purified, and retuned. “All the powers of his soul are now working in accord- but also in tune with the created world and thus can ‘hear’ the hymn which creation longs to sing. In this way, the pilgrim is like Adam waking up in the Garden of Eden for the first time. And now the poet must try to recreate the sweetness and perfection of mankind’s original home within his language.” Canto 28
March 18, 2026
I read this for WRM and, after starting with Baxter’s version, I was hit or miss with following the poem. I needed to have another translation (Hollander) in my hand to finish it. Baxter’s introduction was engaging, and the deep dive WRM audio was helpful to know more about how he approached the translation, but in reading Purgatorio for the first time, I wanted more context/ more footnotes to fill in the gaps in my understanding. For the last half, I read the Hollanders’ 2 page outline of each canto, referring back to the outline as I read, looked at one or two of their many footnotes, then skimmed the Baxter version of the canto to “hear” how he translated it. It was easier than me losing the thread reading only the Baxter version.
March 30, 2026
Sadly, I couldn’t make this month’s WRM meeting because of other commitments, but I was looking forward to being the sole non-Catholic for the discussion 😅 (although seriously I need someone to explain purgatory to me like I’m 5. I tried so hard and can kinda see the scriptural support but I still think it misses the point. Probably does not help that my Lenten reading project is The Book of Concord where it’s all Sola all the time) I read the Jason Baxter translation for the actual story, and the Anthony Esolen translation for its footnotes and appendices, which are purported to be the most useful for those with a limited understanding of the concept of Purgatory. The Baxter translation is incredibly readable and clear with excellent notes.
March 6, 2026
Five stars for Baxter’s introduction, but barely three for Purgatorio itself. The story just makes no sense, all the flourish overwrought. Thank goodness for Baxter’s footnotes because all of the allusions are obscure and there is nothing intuitive about the metaphors.
Purgatorio is worth the read simply to know what it’s all about, and Baxter is the way to go. I love his work with the very gritty language.
Purgatorio is worth the read simply to know what it’s all about, and Baxter is the way to go. I love his work with the very gritty language.
March 1, 2026
First, I’m sure this translation is great but I just didn’t love this. This seemed like the opposite of timeless as it required so much specific knowledge of the history of Italy, Greek mythology, and Biblical context.
I’m hoping the WRM interviews and audios and our meeting will help me get more out of this. Maybe I’ll come back and edit my rating based on that.
I’m hoping the WRM interviews and audios and our meeting will help me get more out of this. Maybe I’ll come back and edit my rating based on that.
March 11, 2026
I listened to the audiobook so I could multitask and I really know better than to listen to audiobooks of poetry. (I am normally an avid listener and retain information well that way, if it’s prose.) I just really needed to read this one with my eyes. I hope to revisit the Divine Comedy this summer with reading rather than listening.
March 27, 2026
My first ever Dante...and what a TREAT! This translation made Purgatorio easily accessible, and I was blown away time and again by the beautiful passages in the cantos that show God's mercy as well as justice. Perfect read for Lent. Adding Baxter's Inferno to my Easter basket and eagerly looking forward to Paradisio!
April 2, 2026
I much preferred this translation to the Longfellow translation. For starters it had footnotes (which helps for people like me who haven’t read any Virgil or Homer). It was very clearly, carefully translated so that it preserved the beauty and poetry of the work while also conveying the relevant meaning in our vernacular.
March 22, 2026
I really loved this translation. The summaries before the chapters helped tremendously when reading. In my book club, several used other translations or audio and were completely lost. If you want to get the big ideas, this is the ideal book.
November 16, 2025
This was great. The end was unexpectedly strange.
I love Dr. Baxter’s translation and notes. I’m sad Paradiso isn’t published yet.
I love Dr. Baxter’s translation and notes. I’m sad Paradiso isn’t published yet.
February 18, 2026
Beautiful translation of the fascinating classic poem depicting purgatory. The movement of the text made it a quick read and rendered Dante quite accessible.
February 27, 2026
I think this is my favorite translation of Purgatorio yet, having now read four different translations. It is both readable and beautiful. Sayers has my favorite notes, so pairing them works well.
Want to read
March 5, 2026DNF
March 7, 2026
I read this book for The Well Read Mom book club. I would never have read it on my own. Baxter's translation is very well done.
March 7, 2026
While the poem itself was not great (probably because I’m not a fan of poetry) I liked this edition giving me an overview of what was going to happen, so it seems the story lines actually good.
March 9, 2026
I think Purgatorio is my favorite (odd as a Happy Protestant I know).
March 11, 2026
Beautiful translation, fascinating book. I look forward to reading more of Jason Baxter's work.
March 13, 2026
I liked the first half... so much packed into poetry that I am sure 75% went over my head. If I was smarter, I'd probably love it!
Reading synopsis of each chapter online helps :)
Reading synopsis of each chapter online helps :)
March 17, 2026
I know I would have gotten more out of this if I knew my ancient history and mythology.
March 18, 2026
Dante is difficult! Not sure if this is the best translation, but it made Dante a bit more accessible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews