PURGATORY

As Dante continues his pilgrimage with Virgil as his guide, Heathcote Williams's distinction between characters blurs. The dialogues with Casella and Cato and other shades are sometimes unclear in terms of who is speaking. The departure of Virgil and the arrival of Beatrice is read too evenly, too dispassionately for the sudden absence of Dante's guide and the arrival of his love. As the blank verse translation transforms pretty phrases like "What dost thou muse on?" (Henry Cary translation, Harvard Classics edition) into stock phrases like "What are you thinking?", Williams's placid voice morphs into a reading, rather than a dramatic performance. R.F. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]