ABSTRACT
Dante Alighieri, first critic of his own poetry, instructs the medieval reader on the complexities of interpretation. William Blake's illustrations of the Divine Comedy call for Dante's method of reading in that they are at the same time literal and allegorical illustrations of the text. This chapter explores the intrinsic paradox of Blake's illustrations of Dante, that of being faithful to the letter and extremely interpretative at the same time. It then shows how Blake's plates document his extensive and critical use of two main sources: Henry Cary's translation, The Vision and the illustrated copy of the Divine Comedy in his possession. The literalism of Blake's imagination was a source of complaint for his contemporaries and for posterity alike. An exploration of the implications of Blake's literalism calls for a definition of the concept. The last three plates of the Purgatorio involved Blake in a surprisingly literal rendering of the elaborate liturgical procession which precedes the appearance of Beatrice.
