Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy - Volume 3: Paradise

What does it mean to ascend toward the vision of God? Dante Alighieri's Paradise (Paradiso), the third and final volume of The Divine Comedy, presents one of the greatest mystical visions in Western literature—the soul's journey through the celestial spheres toward the beatific vision of divine love. Dante (1265-1321) wrote his Comedy in colloquial Italian rather than Latin, wanting it to be a poem for the common reader. He combined the story of a vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise with the story of a lover who braves the Underworld to find his lost lady, creating a great allegory of the soul's search for God, lavishing upon it all his learning, wit, tenderness, humor, and poetry.

In Paradise, Dante journeys with his beloved Beatrice through the nine encircling spheres of heaven—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile—toward the Empyrean and the ultimate vision of God. Each sphere reveals deeper truths about divine love, grace, justice, and the nature of the blessed. The poem culminates in one of literature's most sublime moments: Dante's vision of the Trinity and the mystery of the Incarnation, expressed in verse of extraordinary beauty and theological depth. This Penguin Classics edition features Dorothy L. Sayers's acclaimed translation, completed by Barbara Reynolds after Sayers's death.

For contemplative readers, Dante's Paradise offers profound meditation on divine love, grace, the beatific vision, and the soul's ascent to God. The poem asks: What is the nature of divine love? How does the soul ascend to God? What is the beatific vision? Dante's verse becomes a companion for spiritual seeking—teaching the soul's capacity for divine vision, the primacy of love in the universe, and the conviction that all creation moves toward union with the divine source.

What You'll Discover
Dante's Paradiso, the mystical conclusion of The Divine Comedy
Penguin Classics edition with Dorothy L. Sayers translation
Journey through nine celestial spheres to the vision of God
Medieval Christian mysticism of extraordinary poetic beauty
Theological insights on divine love, grace, and the beatific vision
14th-century Italian poetry accessible to the common reader

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was born in Florence and became Italy's greatest poet. His first major work, La Vita Nuova (1292), was a tribute to Beatrice Portinari, the great love of his life who guides him through Paradise. Political activism resulted in his exile from Florence, and he eventually settled in Ravenna. The Divine Comedy—comprising Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso—was written between 1308 and 1320 and stands as one of the supreme achievements of world literature, influencing Western culture for over 700 years.

Perfect for: Readers of mystical and spiritual poetry, students of Dante and medieval literature, contemplative readers exploring Christian mysticism, those interested in the beatific vision and divine love, anyone drawn to allegorical poetry and theological verse, readers of Italian literature and The Divine Comedy, students of medieval Christian thought, admirers of poetry that ascends from earth to heaven in search of God.

Paperback edition. Dante's Paradise—offering contemplative wisdom on divine love, grace, and the soul's ascent through the sublime, mystical verse of medieval Christianity's greatest poetic vision.