This is the second book of a trilogy. Click on the links below to view the other two volumes of the trilogy. LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Inferno LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Paradiso

Continuing the paperback edition of Charles S. Singleton's translation of The Divine Comedy, this work provides the English-speaking reader with everything he needs to read and understand the Purgatorio. This volume consists of the prose translation of Giorgio Petrocchi's Italian text (which faces the translation on each page); its companion volume of commentary is a masterpiece of erudition, offering a wide range of information on such subjects as Dante's vocabulary, his characters, and the historical sources of incidents in the poem. Professor Singleton provides a clear and profound analysis of the poem's basic allegory, and the illustrations, diagrams, and map clarify points that have previously confused readers of The Divine Comedy.

This new critical volume, the second to appear in the three-volume Lectura Dantis, contains expert, focused commentary on the Purgatorio by thirty-three international scholars, each of whom presents to the nonspecialist reader one of the cantos of the transitional middle cantica of Dante's unique Christian epic. The cast of characters is as colorful as before, although this time most of them are headed for salvation. The canto-by-canto commentary allows each contributor his or her individual voice and results in a deeper, richer awareness of Dante's timeless aspirations and achievements.

The guiding principle of this volume is the concept of the artes liberales, the trivium and quadrivium, as branches of learning that are rooted in Dante Alighieri’s mind. The present volume contains essays by leading international scholars on the various scientific and artistic disciplines which form the background, sources, and presence in Dante’s opus.

This is the first book of a trilogy. Click on the links below to view the other two volumes of the trilogy. LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Purgatorio LA DIVINA COMMEDIA (THE DIVINE COMEDY) : Paradiso

Clearly written, this incisive critical study opens a new analytic window not only to the rhetoric of medieval Italian poetry but also to a richer understanding of one of the most important strands of medieval European culture.