Dante the pilgrim has been alerted to figures coming around the bend of the first terrace of Purgatory proper. But neither he nor Virgil, his guide, is able to discern what’s what until Dante the poet interrupts the story and then the pilgrim uses art to understand what didn’t resemble people at all.
Read MoreDante the pilgrim is still gawking at the art in the marble of the first terrace of Purgatory when the first of the penitents round the bend. Virgil spots them . . . and then murmurs to the pilgrim. Murmurs? Like the Israelites in the wilderness? Or like an older poet when confronted with the exuberance of a younger poet?
Read MoreDante moves on to the third intaglio (or carving) in the marble of the first terrace of Purgatory proper. This time, he finds a scene (allegedly) from the life of the Roman emperor Trajan, a scene so real that the marble apparently comes to life and offers a dramatic dialogue between Trajan and a bereaved mother, as (carved) eagles soar overhead and knights tramp the ground.
Read MoreDante moves beyond his guide Virgil (or is prodded to move beyond him for curious reasons) to see the second intaglio or carving in the marble on the terrace of pride in PURGATORIO. Here, Dante continues his dangerous game, enhancing the realism of the art on the wall of Mount Purgatory with imagined details that offer the best “realism” in the scene.
Read MoreDante the pilgrim and (shockingly) Virgil arrive on the first deserted terrace of Purgatory proper to discover marvelous carvings in the white marble (although still no souls in sight). These first images of artistic production allow the poet to begin to develop his theory of art, one of the major achievements of his time on the terraces of Mount Purgatory.
Read MoreDante the pilgrim and Virgil, his guide, make it through the dramatic gate of Purgatory proper only to be met with silence: a hard climb to a deserted open spot that edges out toward the void. This passage from PURGATORIO, Canto X is an amazing bit of emotional drama: a Purgatorial letdown after we’ve finally gotten inside the world of the redeemed penitents.
Read MoreA read-through of PURGATORIO, Cantos X - XII, using my rough English translation. Dante the pilgrim and Virgil have come through the wildly dramatic gate of Purgatory and climbed to the first terrace of Purgatory proper, where those who are guilty of the sin of pride must unburden themselves in a most ironic fashion. Sit back and enjoy the plot of this first locale in Purgatory itself.
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