Subject Area
Section 4: Dante and the Dead
Abstract
In Dante's Purgatorio, the penitent souls reform themselves through physical penance and constant prayer. Dante depicts the power of sincere, repentant prayer, as God is more merciful than the earthly institution of the Church, and participates equally with the sinner in the soul's salvation. The efforts of souls in Purgatorio are like our own lives; we too ought to engage in the holy sacrifice of constant, repentant prayer. Further, in Paradise Lost, Milton demonstrates how honest prayer is imperative to salvation.
