Poetry Alighieri, Dante: Divine Comedy Vol 2 - Purgatory (Illustrated). v1. 30 Dec 2013

[HarryT]

"Purgatory" is the second part of Dante Alighieri's 14th century epic poem, "The Divine Comedy" (the other two parts being "The Inferno" and "Paradise"). This is the 1814 blank verse translation by H. F. Cary, and has the complete set of 42 woodblock illustrations by Gustave Doré, which were originally published in 1866.

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"Purgatory" is an allegory telling of the climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil, except for the last four cantos at which point Beatrice takes over as Dante's guide. In the poem, Purgatory is depicted as a mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, consisting of a bottom section (Ante-Purgatory), seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth (associated with the seven deadly sins), and finally the Earthly Paradise at the top. Allegorically, the poem represents the Christian life, and in describing the climb Dante discusses the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, and moral issues in politics and in the Church. The poem outlines a theory that all sin arises from love – either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or deficient love, or the disordered love of good things.

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