Dante's Purgatory: A Study on Part II of The Divine Comedy

Dante and Virgil continue their journey on the shores of Mount Purgatory, where the sweet sapphire of morning dawns, renewing joy in the soul.

Dante meets the late repenters who await entrance to Purgatory proper; he takes repose in the Valley of the Princes, and prays Vespers with those noble souls.

Dante enters the gates of Purgatory, and begins travelling through the terrace of pride where souls achieve true humility, encouraged by the example from the life of the Queen of Virtue, Mary.

Virgil and Dante continue upwards through the terraces of envy, where blinded souls must rely on each other, and wrath, which is filled with a choking smoke.

On the next terrace, Dante and Virgil witness souls atoning for sloth who run ceaselessly, driven by zeal for God. The souls in the terrace of avarice "cleave to the dust," repenting of their earthly greed.

Dante and Virgil are joined by a new companion, and continue into the terrace of gluttony whose boundary is marked by an angel, glowing as red as metal in a furnace.

Dante approaches the final terrace of lust, where souls are purified in the midst of searing flames. He must pass through this fire to arrive at the Earthly Paradise atop Mount Purgatory.

At the height of the mountain, Dante must bid farewell to noble Virgil; but blessed Beatrice appears to guide him upwards into the higher realm of the stars.