Divine Comedy | Essays and Criticism

  • The Pilgrim's Journey through Hell

    In the following essay, Terkla traces the Pilgrim's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, focusing on one primary image in each of the poem's main sections to demonstrate that the Pilgrim attains wisdom (and that the reader may also do so).

  • The Relation of Speech to Sin in the Inferno

    In the following excerpt, Ferrante notes the relationship between human speech and sin in the Inferno. She notes in particular how the power of speech is distorted or entirely taken from some of the sinners who are suffering in Hell.

  • An Introduction to Dante: The Divine Comedy

    In the following excerpt from an introduction written in 1948 and first published in 1949, Sayers mentions some of the factors that can make understanding The Divine Comedy difficult for a modern reader, and offers some pointers for understanding the work.