Dante’s Divine Comedy

Dante’s Divine Comedy provides a grand education in the proper order of the human soul and the order of the cosmos. Through his account of the afterlife, Dante reveals universal truths about character and choice, the nature of God and man, and the path to freedom and happiness.

The Divine Comedy begins on Good Friday with Dante lost in a dark wood. Unable to save himself, Dante is rescued by the poet Virgil and begins his education by encountering the hopeless souls of the Inferno.

As Dante descends into the Inferno, he discovers the true state of his own heart through the people he meets. In order to return to the path of the “straight and true,” Dante must properly order his desires for classical wisdom, love, politics, and the intellectual life.

As he approaches the bottom of the Inferno, Dante’s reaction to the lost souls he encounters suggests an improvement in the state of his heart. This growth culminates in the great turning point of Inferno, when Dante recoils from the monstrous Satan and thus begins the upward trajectory of The Divine Comedy. 

Dante and Virgil arrive on the shores of Mount Purgatorio on Easter Sunday. Before he embarks on his ascent, Cato and the late-repentants teach Dante lessons on the importance of right desire and the nature of God’s mercy.  

The seven terraces of Purgatorio teach Dante how to love himself, others, and God properly. On each terrace, Dante works to purify himself of one of the seven deadly sins and therefore acquire the corresponding virtue.  

At the top of Mount Purgatorio Dante passes through a wall of fire and emerges into the Earthly Paradise. Here he is reunited with Beatrice, who challenges Dante to make a true confession and prepares him to enter Paradiso.

Glory is the central theme of Paradiso, which opens with praise for “The glory of the One who moves all things.” Piccarda, the first soul Dante meets in Paradiso, provides a beautiful lesson on God’s glory and the joy and peace of heaven.

As Dante approaches the top of Paradiso, the holy men and women of Heaven provide lessons on the providence of God, prayer, and divine justice. His education concludes with a final examination on the theological virtues—faith, hope, and love—conducted by apostles Peter, James, and John.

Dante enters the Empyrean, the heaven of heavens, which appears as a celestial rose that unites the souls of Paradiso. Conquered by God, Dante concludes: “Already were all my will and my desires turned—as a wheel in equal balance—by The Love that moves the sun and the other stars.”