Editors Reads Verdict
Many readers who find Inferno spectacular find Purgatorio the most moving — the souls here are not damned but hopeful, not fixed but changing, and the encounters are correspondingly more tender. The meeting with Casella in Canto II and the climax at the Earthly Paradise are among the poem's most beautiful passages.
What We Loved
- The sustained lyric tenderness — souls who are suffering but hopeful — produces a different emotional register than Inferno
- The theory of Purgatory as a place of moral education rather than punishment is Dante's most original theological contribution
- Virgil's authority begins to wane as Dante approaches the Earthly Paradise — the handoff from reason to faith is beautifully managed
Minor Drawbacks
- The theology of the seven terraces requires some familiarity with Scholastic moral framework
- Less dramatically vivid than Inferno — the souls are not memorable in the same way as Francesca or Ugolino
Key Takeaways
- → Purgatory in Dante is not merely a waiting room but a place of genuine moral transformation — the souls are becoming different people
- → The encounter with Beatrice at the Earthly Paradise, where she confronts Dante about his unfaithfulness, is the poem's emotional climax before the ascent to Paradise
- → The Purgatorio enacts the idea that art and beauty are aids to virtue — the carved reliefs on the mountain walls, the music, are all morally educative
| Author | Dante Alighieri |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Pages | 352 |
| Published | January 1, 1321 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Classic, Poetry, Literary Fiction |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Readers who have completed Inferno — the second canticle rewards the investment in the first, and sets up the transcendence of the third. |
The Mountain
After Inferno’s descent through the circles of Hell, the Purgatorio ascends. Dante and Virgil emerge on the shore of a mountain island in the Southern Hemisphere — the mountain of Purgatory, its terraces corresponding to the seven deadly sins. The souls here suffer but are not damned: they are atoning, becoming, approaching.
The difference in atmosphere from Inferno is immediate. The souls in Purgatory are capable of gratitude, of affection, of genuine conversation. The meeting in Canto II with the musician Casella — Dante’s friend, who sings a love song so beautifully that all the souls stop their climbing to listen, until Cato rebukes them — establishes the canticle’s tone of longing and beauty.
The Handoff
Purgatorio manages one of the poem’s structural and emotional masterstrokes: Virgil’s gradual ceding of authority. In Inferno, Virgil knows everything. On the mountain, he begins to defer — to other souls, to Dante’s own growing understanding, and finally, at the Earthly Paradise, to Beatrice herself, who takes over as guide for Paradise.
Our rating: 4.4/5 — The most human of the three canticles — souls in the process of becoming, rendered with tenderness and lyric beauty.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Purgatorio" about?
The second canticle of The Divine Comedy — Dante and Virgil climb the mountain of Purgatory, where souls atone for the seven deadly sins and prepare for Paradise. The most human and most hopeful of the three canticles, written with greater lyric tenderness than Inferno.
Who should read "Purgatorio"?
Readers who have completed Inferno — the second canticle rewards the investment in the first, and sets up the transcendence of the third.
What are the key takeaways from "Purgatorio"?
Purgatory in Dante is not merely a waiting room but a place of genuine moral transformation — the souls are becoming different people The encounter with Beatrice at the Earthly Paradise, where she confronts Dante about his unfaithfulness, is the poem's emotional climax before the ascent to Paradise The Purgatorio enacts the idea that art and beauty are aids to virtue — the carved reliefs on the mountain walls, the music, are all morally educative
Is "Purgatorio" worth reading?
Many readers who find Inferno spectacular find Purgatorio the most moving — the souls here are not damned but hopeful, not fixed but changing, and the encounters are correspondingly more tender. The meeting with Casella in Canto II and the climax at the Earthly Paradise are among the poem's most beautiful passages.
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