Along the path to salvation, Dante must purge himself of his own sinful nature, which will eventually include the repudiation of his own self. This journey begins in Hell where Dante witnesses the stories and the suffering of many sinners, some of which he empathizes with, and most of which he pities.
Tag Archives: love
Dante and the Ladder
Plato argued that philosophical knowledge is far superior that the mere imitative nature of art. Dante, in his Divine Comedy, seems to also climb the ladder of love literally, metaphorically, and contextually to achieve the supreme artistic expression, Platonically speaking.
The Visitor
Down the hill, in the field of sweet alfalfa, they’re freezing each other, the children playing tag and I’m up at the house, I’min the picture window, thinand distant like the glimpse of a surfacing fish. What dark watersthe house is, behind me, settlinginto evening. Dusk and there are, of course, fireflies. Tell me,what was [...]
Longing
Come to me in my dreams, and thenBy day I shall be well again!For so the night will more than payThe hopeless longing of the day. Come, as thou cam’st a thousand times,A messenger from radiant climes,And smile on thy new world, and beAs kind to others as to me! Or, as thou never cam’st [...]
O Mistress Mine
O Mistress mine, where are you roaming? O, stay and hear; your true love’s coming, That can sing both high and low: Trip no further, pretty sweeting; Journeys end in lovers meeting, Every wise man’s son doth know. What is love? ‘Tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What’s to come is still unsure: [...]
