Dante Alighiere, Purgatorio, 1 of 3, Please Read Cantos 1 - 11

Session 1 of 3?

Next, we resolve the profound problem of not reading Dante beyond the beguiling Inferno by starting with Volume Two of The Divine Comedy, Purgatorio. At last, we will journey past hell on our way through limbo to heaven. Yes, after this cleansing volume, we'll reward ourselves with volume three, Paradiso.

Purgatorio uniquely emphasizes themes of redemption, constructive suffering, temporal progression, and psychological struggle. These elements create a distinct narrative that serves as a bridge between the despair found in Inferno and the blissful resolution in Paradiso.

Purgatorio is depicted as a towering mountain divided into seven rings, each representing one of the seven deadly sins. This physical ascent allows for a variety of landscapes and scenes, from the dark, somber shores where souls arrive to the lush, vibrant Garden of Eden at the summit. The mountain's structure facilitates a more diverse array of visual experiences compared to the more uniform celestial spheres of Paradiso. [Perplexity]

Pre-Reading for each session [or, shall we take a slower pace, e.g.: 5-6 per session?]:
Oct 20, 2024: Cantos 1 - 11
Nov 03, 2024: Cantos 12 - 22
Nov 17, 2024: Cantos 23 - 33

Recommended editions (available from libraries or online$)
Review this upload on Google Drive to help choose an edition.

Jean and Robert Hollander, 2003, Purgatorio. Anchor Books. ISBN: 9780385497008. [It/En, 844 pp.] Used: $12+

Robert Durling, 2003, Purgatorio. Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN: 9780195087451. [It/En, 720 pp.] Used: $11+

Outside sources are welcome if they help us understand the poems, here are three academic websites.
https://digitaldante.columbia.edu
http://dantelab.dartmouth.edu
https://dante.princeton.edu

ONLINE
Please RSVP, and then join via the Zoom link.

Our 2024-25 Schedule (subject to change):
Oct-Dec 2024: Dante, Purgatorio; Paradiso
2025 [tentative]: Norton Anthology of Poetry. Edited by Marilyn Ferguson, Tim Kendall, Mary Jo Salter
--Shorter Fifth Ed, 2005, pages: 1424. ISBN: 9780393979213, Used $6+
[Also tentative]: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism [Third Ed. 2018] Ed. by Cain, Leitch, et al. pp. 2848. ISBN: 9780393602951
--Second Edition, 2010, pp. 2758. ISBN: 9780393932928. Used: $10+
--First Edition, 2001, pp. 2624. ISBN: 9780393974294. Used: $7+

Here are links to the other book groups I host on Meetup:
Reading Proust's In Search of Lost Time in French and English:
www.meetup.com/proust/
Reading the most influential Non-Ficton works of the last 3K yrs:
www.meetup.com/history-of-ideas/