About “The Purgatorio”
Purgatorio is the second part of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, written in the early 14th century. It follows the Inferno and precedes the Paradiso. The poem describes Dante's journey up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil, except for the last four cantos, where Beatrice takes over. Allegorically, Purgatorio represents the penitent Christian life. Dante explores the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, and moral issues in politics and the Church. The work presents the idea that all sins stem from love—either perverted love that harms others, deficient love, or disordered or excessive love of good things. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
Praise for “The Purgatorio”
“The English Dante of choice.”
“Exactly what we have waited for these years, a Dante with clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving depths.”
“Tough and supple, tender and violent . . . vigorous, vernacular . . . Mandelbaum's Dante will stand high among modern translations.”
Book details
- Latest edition
- 1983 · ISBN 9780553213447
- ISBN
- 9780553213447
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Purgatorio?
The Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri has 411 pages.
More by Dante Alighieri
Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Book descriptions, author biographies, award records and review quotes on this page are courtesy of Penguin Random House.