The Purgatorio: A Reading & Commentary, Part II

Dr. White continues his discussion of The Purgatorio with a description of the role art and music play in Dante’s vision of purgatory. And though purgatory is, according to White, filled with song, the depictions of art that Dante explores as he travels through purgatory are instructive rather than entertaining. And unlike the loveless Inferno, souls in purgatory are taught the nature of love. Which brings Dante to a meeting with the lovely Beatrice –– the moment he had hoped for and the climax of the poem.

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