Exploring Dante Alighieri's  epic poem the Divine Comedy  Post I

I went yesterday to an exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London, of Sandro Botticelli's series of drawings for Dante's the Divine Comedy.

The drawings are spellbindingly beautiful complementing thoroughly illustrations and paintings by Gustave Dore and William Blake.

Thirty drawings charted Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise with the Roman Poet Virgil and an incredibly radiant Beatrice, whom Dante had loved in his youth.

The exhibition continues until the middle of May.

The Divine Comedy was written at the beginning of the Fourteenth Century, Dante placing himself as a central character - a Pilgrim - experiencing pity in hell for sins committed through earthly life, hope through repentance in purgatory and faith through love in paradise. He drew upon classical literature and included in the text key individuals of the time in the Florentine Community, leaders of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church.

Characteristics of human nature together with forces that help balance these are experienced. Through this truths emerge for ourselves and in relation to the world around us. This work allows immediate and open access to these truths without the need for academic investigation.

As you will appreciate, through the nature of this Blog, my particular interest and specialism is speaking - of texts and in general dialogue. Having now completed my "pilgrimage" on this Blog of speaking the text of Goethe's epic poem "The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily" I would like now  to draw out, through speech formation, highlights for me of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Please join me. We start in Post II with the Pilgrim entering, "Midway along the journey of our life..." a wood into which he is driven further where he meets Virgil who undertakes to guide him on a path through Hell and Purgatory.