Meditations on the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri

These meditations on Dante’s Divine Comedy provide a canto-by-canto commentary on the ideas and intentions behind Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece. Readers are guided step by step through the complexities of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Aimed not just at the student but also at those who, impressed by the poetry and beauty of the Commedia, simply wish to delve deeper into the meaning and structure of the work, it brings together concepts, factual information, and careful interpretation, to highlight the ideas Dante pursued in creating his masterpiece.

The approach throughout is a modern secular one, in that the Meditations focus on Dante’s role as poet, individual, and ethical thinker, rather than on his religious or doctrinal significance to Christian readers. This neutral stance allows consideration of Dante’s significance to the secular as well as the Christian world, stressing his continuing importance to both, while allowing the wide spectrum of potential readers to bring their own ideas and beliefs to bear on Dante’s great achievement.