Purgatorio- Canto 12

Summary

In this Canto, Dante follows closely behind his guide Virgil who are both now walking through the first level of purgatory. On the floor of this level carved is many biblical and mythical scenes which each illustrate the dangers of pride. Astonished at the distinctness of the carvings, Dante warns his readers against repeating the grim example of these prideful names. An angel dressed in white robes appeared and gestures the two travellers to an upward slope, whilst invisible voices sing "Beati pauperes" which is translated to "Blessed are the poor [in spirit]" which is a bible verse from Matthew 5:3. Brushing Dante's brow with their wing, the angel removes one of the seven Ps etched there in Canto 9.

Analysis

In this canto, Dante writes in Acrostic format by repeating the same letters multiple times to make a word. Originally the first four Stanzas repeated the word "Vedea", another four repeated the word "O" and the final four stanzas begin with the letters to make the word "Mostrava" which in Italian means something along the lines of man. In the translated edition of the text which was translated by Robert Kirkpatrick, the beginning of each stanza starts with "Mark this" followed by "Ah!" and finally "Now...shown" which in the English version spells the name "man".