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Canto 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Purgatorio, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey
Love, Sin, and God
Free Will
Spiritual Power vs. Earthly Power
Time
Summary
Analysis
As Forese and Dante walk along, Forese identifying some of his fellow penitents, Dante is approached by a poet named Bonagiunta of Lucca, who recognizes him as a practitioner of the “sweet new style” in Florence. After Forese continues on his way, Dante comes upon a second fruit tree, near which penitents linger longingly. It’s said to be an offshoot of the tree whose fruit once tempted Eve. A voice from the tree recites examples of gluttony.
Bonagiunta was a 13th-century poet who was known for being a heavy drinker, hence his appearance in Purgatory. The “sweet new style,” il dolce stil nuovo, was a popular poetic tradition in Dante’s generation, which Dante develops in The Divine Comedy itself. Tempted by the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, so the appearance of a similar tempting tree in Purgatory makes sense.
Themes
