Paradiso 33 wikisource autobiography

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Summary

As dawn rises, Dante again turns his eyes to Beatrice.

Paradiso canto 33 summary

The poet now feels especially “defeated” by his theme: the beauty of Beatrice. Only God, “its maker,” can fully comprehend her, he admits, and adds that he has reached his limit and can “no longer follow[] her beauty in [his] verse.” She tells him that they have arrived at “light intellectual, full of love,/love of true good, full of joy,/joy that surpasses every sweetness.” A “living light” begins shining around Dante, pouring and moving like “a river,” and a series of complicated descriptions work to capture this “marvelous flood.” Beatrice tells Dante that he must “drink first of these waters” before he can fully see the host of Paradise.

He drinks, and he sees a great light “that makes the Creator/visible to every creature.” Even though it is immensely vast, Dante is not confused or overwhelmed. All the souls of Paradise are pres