Synopses & Reviews
A brilliant new translation of the centerpiece of The Divine ComedyPurgatory, the mountain that straightens souls made crooked by the world, is Dantes single most conceptually brilliant creation. Anthony Esolens vivid and innovative new rendering unearths Dantes own voice with unprecedented vigor, accuracy, and a masterly use of English meter. It will set the standard for years to come.
Esolens Introduction incisively explores Dantes theological universe: the nature of Purgatory, how Dante came to invent it, and how Purgatory is finally about restoration, liberation, and friendship. Special features, from an appendix that reproduces key sources to extensive explanatory notes, make this a particularly illuminating edition for both expert and newcomer.
About the Author
Anthony Esolen is a professor of English at Providence College. He is a published poet who has written numerous scholarly articles on Renaissance and medieval literature. He is the author of
Peppers, a book of poetry, and his translations include Lucretiuss
De rerum natura and Torquato Tassos
Gerusalemme liberata, along with Dantes
Inferno, published by the Modern Library.
Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet whose masterpiece The Divine Comedy has exerted a profound influence on Western thought, was born in Florence in May 1265. He entered public life in 1295, later becoming one of the six governing magistrates of Florence. He repeatedly opposed the machinations of Pope Boniface VIII, who was attempting to place all of Tuscany under Papal control, and in 1301 was banished from Florence on trumped-up charges. Dante would never enter his native city again, spending his remaining years with a series of patrons in various courts in Italy. He completed The Divine Comedy shortly before his death in September 1321.
Table of Contents
Purgatory -- Thomas Aquinas, from the Summa theologiae -- Thomas Aquinas, from the Summa contra gentiles -- Lyric poetry of the Middle Ages -- Selections from the church fathers on purgatory -- Songs and prayers.