Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri
Random House Publishing Group
"The enjoyment of <b>The Divine Comedy</b> is a continuous process," observed T.S. Eliot. "It is not necessary to understand the meaning first to enjoy the poetry...our enjoyment of the poetry makes us want to understand the meaning." <br>Arguably the greatest single poem ever written, <b>The Divine Comedy</b> presents Dante Alighieri's all-encompassing vision of the three realms of Christian afterlife. In the <b>Purgatorio</b>, Dante struggles up the terraces of Mount Purgatory, still guided by Virgil, in continuation of his difficult ascent to purity.<br>"The clean force of the original comes through with astonishing success," said poet and translator Dudley Fitts in praise of John Ciardi's rendition of the <b>Purgatorio</b>. "Dante cannot speak in English, perhaps; but Ciardi has given us the next best thing&#8212;a credible, passionate <b>persona</b> of the poet, stripped of the customary guards of rhetoric and false decoration, strong and noble in utterance."</br></br>