The Divine Comedy: Volume 2: The Purgatorio (Paperback)

by Dante Alighieri (Author), John Ciardi (Translator) "The Poets emerge from Hell just before dawn of Easter Sunday (April 10, 1300), and Dante revels in the sight of the rediscovered heavens..." (more)
Key Phrases: see inferno, sweet new style, possible intellect, Earthly Paradise, Four Cardinal Virtues, Hugh Capet (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"In the years of my reading Dante, after the first overwhelming, reverberating spell of the Inferno, which I think never leaves one afterward, it was the Purgatorio that I had found myself returning to with a different, deepening attachment, until I reached a point when it was never far from me . . . Of the three sections of [The Divine Comedy], only Purgatory happens on the earth, as our lives do, with our feet on the ground, crossing a beach, climbing a mountain. All three parts of the poem are images of our lives, but there is an intimacy peculiar to the Purgatorio. Here the times of day recur with all the sensations and associations that the hours bring with them, the hours of the world we are living in as we read the poem."         --from the Foreword -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"In the years of my reading Dante, after the first overwhelming, reverberating spell of the Inferno, which I think never leaves one afterward, it was the Purgatorio that I had found myself returning to with a different, deepening attachment, until I reached a point when it was never far from me . . . Of the three sections of [The Divine Comedy], only Purgatory happens on the earth, as our lives do, with our feet on the ground, crossing a beach, climbing a mountain. All three parts of the poem are images of our lives, but there is an intimacy peculiar to the Purgatorio. Here the times of day recur with all the sensations and associations that the hours bring with them, the hours of the world we are living in as we read the poem."         --from the Foreword --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Signet (November 1, 1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451627148
• ISBN-13: 978-0451627148
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,527,167 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DEEP AND MOVING, December 29, 2002

By	EMAN NEP - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Purgatorio (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

When I read "Inferno" I read the John Ciardi translation, so it only made sense that I read "Purgatorio" by the same translator. As I like poetry I definitely like the fact that his translations rhyme even if several liberties have to be taken with the original text. Sometimes, though, it seems as if the translator is more concerned about rhyming than getting the point across. However, as Ciardi points out, Dante is very deep and challenging. Translating is difficult. Translating the "Divine Comedy" and making it rhyme while still making sense is harder still but Ciardi does an admirable job. There are quite a few tercets that are absolutely wonderful to read.

The Purgatorio details the journey of Virgil and Dante as they go up Purgatory. If there is one thing that I like about Dante, it is in the way he thinks, which appears very logical. In Purgatory, one sees that one starts at the very bottom, which shows humility. This of course, makes perfect sense, since these souls are approaching God. I particularly liked Dante's reasoning behind "The Proud". In life, they walked around with their noses held high, thinking highly of themselves. In Purgatory, they crawl under the crushing weight of huge boulders, making them humble and bringing them "back down to earth."

Each Canto starts with a very helpful synopsis of what follows. After that is the Canto and after that are the footnotes. It is extremely beneficial to know some mythology and Italian history beforehand, but the footnotes at the end will fill in the many gaps for you, that is, if you have the patience to read them. If you're still confused about what all has gone on, the section at the very end entitled "How to Read Dante" is very helpful, a nice way to finish the book.

This book, like its predecessor, can be very challenging and tedious. But, as Virgil and Dante find, though the road is rough so are the riches that much greater when they finally come to journey's end.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest of the Three, February 13, 2001

By	"wealhtheow" (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Although Inferno is the most well-known and Paradiso is the most challenging (for this reader, at least), Purgatorio has long been my favorite book of the Comedy. Luminous in its portrayal of the soul's suffering, Dante is at his most human here. A teacher once told me that you can't understand Inferno until you've read Purgatorio. Although the punishments for sin are just as grotesque as in Inferno, the souls in Purgatory endure their trials gracefully. Dante continues to develop the character of his narrator, who becomes more humble with each terrace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reading Dante is sort of like being in purgatory, June 17, 2003

By	Brett (South Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Purgatorio (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

I read the Mendelbaum (I apologize for what may be an awful misspelling) version of _Inferno_ quite some time back, but I always wanted to finish the series. They didn't have the Mendelbaum translation at my local bookstore, so I went with this instead. I'd say that Ciardi did an admiral job with the rhyme. I was able to accept the compromise between actual terza rima and a straight translation, given the scarcity of rhymes in English. I felt that most of the work was understandable, though there were some moments of distinct confusion. The notes are very in-depth and keep a sense of humor about them, something that is vital when reading Dante. They provide a refreshing sense of perspective when one starts to become too bogged down in Dante's poem. There is certainly a lot to be gained from reading Dante, despite the effort required. I thought this edition enhanced by enjoyment of the poem considerably. I'd recommend it, with the caveat that it is probably more imprecise than other translations, due to the need to rhyme.