Purgatorio

by

Dante Alighieri

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Purgatorio makes teaching easy.
Stars Symbol Icon

Throughout Purgatorio, stars symbolize the light of God’s grace. In particular, the stars symbolize different virtues that are reflective of good, godly behavior. At the beginning of the poem, four stars hang in sky. They represent the “cardinal” or “natural” Virtues of justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude—virtues that were believed to be attainable by non-Christians and Christians alike. As Canto 8 draws to a close, Dante notices that these four stars have set, and three new stars have risen in their place. These three stars represent the “theological” virtues (or Graces) of faith, hope, and love, which are instilled and strengthened by means of the Church and its sacraments. While these three virtues are attainable only by Christians, all seven of these virtues are vehicles for God’s grace—in other words, like a star, God “shines” through the person who demonstrates these virtues.

In the poem, stars also represent Heaven, playing on the long-held association between the skies and the heavens. At the end of the Purgatorio, having now journeyed through Hell and Purgatory, Dante prepares to enter Heaven, or Paradise (as chronicled in Dante’s Paradiso). To restore Dante’s memories of his past sin without shame, Matilda leads him to the river Eunoe. After drinking from its sweet waters, Dante feels “remade […] pure and prepared to rise towards the stars.” Now that he’s made it through Purgatory, grappled with his past sins, and been cleansed of those sins, Dante is ready to “rise towards the stars,” meaning that he’s now pure and wise enough to enter Heaven. But given the explicit association earlier in the poem between stars and virtues, it also seems that Dante, having now been thoroughly educated, cleansed, and renewed throughout his journey in both Hell and Purgatory, is “prepared to rise towards the stars” in the sense that he can now fully embody all of the godly virtues outlined earlier in the poem, like justice, hope, and love.

Alternately, “the stars” sometimes symbolize the role nature plays in influencing human behavior—something that God-given free will is meant to overcome. In the poem, Dante questions where sin first came from. Some people believe that sin came from nature, while others believe that sin arose out of humankind’s free will: “Some place the cause in the stars, some here below.” Lombardo, a soul in Purgatory, explains, “the stars initiate” human behaviors—that is, to some extent, humans are naturally predisposed to behave in certain ways—but this isn’t the full story. Lombardo argues that God imbued humans with the ability to discern right from wrong and then choose accordingly, which is also known as free will. So while “the stars” perhaps explain some human behaviors, people also have the capacity to choose sin or reject it.

Stars Quotes in Purgatorio

The Purgatorio quotes below all refer to the symbol of Stars. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey Theme Icon
).
Canto 11 Quotes

This final prayer is made, O dearest Lord,
not for ourselves (we now have no such need).
We speak for those behind us, who’ve remained.’

Then praying, for themselves and us, ‘God speed’,
these shadows made their way beneath such loads
as sometimes in our nightmares can be seen. […]

We surely ought to help them cleanse the marks
that they bore hence – till, light in weight and pure,
they’ve power to rise towards the wheeling stars.

Related Characters: Dante (speaker)
Related Symbols: Journeys and Climbing, Stars
Page Number: 207
Explanation and Analysis:
Canto 16 Quotes

You, living there, derive the cause of all
straight from the stars alone, as if, alone,
these made all move in mere necessity.

Yet were that so, in you would be destroyed
the freedom of your will – and justice fail
in giving good its joy and grief its ill.

The stars initiate your vital moves.
I don’t say all. And yet suppose I did,
you’re given light to know what’s good and bad,

and free will, too, which if it can endure
beyond its early battles with the stars,
and if it’s nourished well, will conquer all.

Related Characters: Marco Lombardo (speaker), Dante
Related Symbols: Stars
Page Number: 233
Explanation and Analysis:
Canto 33 Quotes

However, since these pages now are full,
prepared by rights to take the second song,
the reins of art won’t let me pass beyond.

I came back from that holiest of waves
remade, refreshed as any new tree is,
renewed, refreshed with foliage anew,

pure and prepared to rise towards the stars.

Related Characters: Dante (speaker)
Related Symbols: Stars, Journeys and Climbing
Page Number: 318
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Purgatorio LitChart as a printable PDF.
Purgatorio PDF

Stars Symbol Timeline in Purgatorio

The timeline below shows where the symbol Stars appears in Purgatorio. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Canto 1
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey Theme Icon
Time Theme Icon
...skies above Purgatory refresh Dante. He is in the Southern Hemisphere, and he sees four stars that nobody else has ever seen, except for Adam and Eve. (full context)
Canto 8
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey Theme Icon
Love, Sin, and God Theme Icon
...ask her to pray for him. Meanwhile, Virgil points out to Dante that the four stars they saw that morning have set, and three other stars have risen in their place.... (full context)
Canto 16
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey Theme Icon
Love, Sin, and God Theme Icon
Free Will Theme Icon
...Marco, to explain why the world is so filled with wrongdoing—is the cause in “the stars” or elsewhere? (full context)
Free Will Theme Icon
Marco Lombardo replies that, although people tend to believe that everything’s caused by the stars, this isn’t true—if it were, that would destroy the freedom of the human will, and... (full context)
Canto 33
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey Theme Icon
Love, Sin, and God Theme Icon
...and withdraws from the stream feeling “remade […] pure and prepared to rise towards the stars.” (full context)