Foundation Sacrifice in Dante's "Commedia"

Foundation Sacrifice in Dante's "Commedia" is the first book to take an anthropological approach to the Divine Comedy, applying it to a previously unexplored dimension of Dante's great poem. Ricardo Quinones examines foundation sacrifice--the death of another that has become a parable for existence--as a unifying theme that connects the three parts of the poem. In the process, Quinones gives new life to the Purgatorio, treating it not only as a sequel but actually as a dramatic response--in revealing detail--to the Inferno. His motif allows him to reintegrate the Paradiso into the poem as a whole, thus restoring it as a poetic event to critical appreciation.