Purgatorio
by Dante Alighieri · Purgatorio
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 1314-1316
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Epic poetry
- Language
- Italian
- Length
- Medium · 300 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendPurgatorio, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean HollanderAnchor, 2004Matches the Hollander Inferno, with the Italian facing and full notes.
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The second canticle of the Divine Comedy. Emerging from Hell at dawn on Easter Sunday, Dante and Virgil climb the mountain of Purgatory, where repentant souls are purged in turn of pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony and lust before entering the Earthly Paradise at the summit. Along the way Dante meets the poets Sordello, Statius, Guido Guinizelli and Arnaut Daniel, and Virgil explains how love is the root of every virtue and vice. At the top Virgil vanishes and Beatrice appears to rebuke Dante and lead him on.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Purgatorio are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
