Translated by C. H. Sisson With an Introduction and Notes by David Higgins
'already my desire and my will Were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed, By the love which moves the sun and other stars.' Paradiso
The poem is a spiritual autobiography in journey form—the poet travels from the dark circles of the Inferno, up the mountain of Purgatory, where Virgil, his guide, leaves him to encounter Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise. Dante conceived the poem as the new epic of Christendom, and he creates a world in which reason and faith have transformed moral and social chaos into order.
Charles Sisson's blank verse translation is remarkable for its lucidity and vigour, and the introduction, diagrams, maps, and notes by David Higgins provide the reader with invaluable guidance.