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What Dante Teaches Us About Suffering in the ‘Divine Comedy’

Suffering takes on a new meaning when seen in the light of the souls in ‘Purgatorio.’
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What Dante Teaches Us About Suffering in the ‘Divine Comedy’
“Dante Running From the Three Beasts,” by William Blake. In 1824, artist John Linnell commissioned Blake to illustrate Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” Public Domain
Walker Larson
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What could a 700-year-old medieval poem possibly have to say to us about the nature of suffering that would be relevant in the year 2025? Quite a lot, as it turns out.
“The Divine Comedy,” written by Dante Alighieri in the early 14th century, tells of the pilgrim’s spiritual journey through the realms of the afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Dante’s towering poem plunges to the harrowing depths of Hell and surges to the luminous pinnacles of Heaven, encompassing the full range of human emotion and experience, encapsulating the entirety of the human and divine drama. 
Walker Larson
Walker Larson
Author
Prior to becoming a freelance journalist and culture writer, Walker Larson taught literature and history at a private academy in Wisconsin, where he resides with his wife and daughter. He holds a master's in English literature and language, and his writing has appeared in The Hemingway Review, Intellectual Takeout, and his Substack, The Hazelnut. He is also the author of two novels, "Hologram" and "Song of Spheres."