Metaphor and Rhyme: A Reading of Paradiso 28

One of the unifying features of the discussion so far has been the role of rhyme in determining the selection and expression of Dante’s metaphors. Several critics have noted the freque’ncy with which Dante’s metaphors occur in rhyme position, and these instances often show the poet at his most inventive. 1 St Peter Damian’s proclamation in canto 21 is a case in point ( Par. 21. 83-7): ‘Luce divina sopra me s’appunta, penetrando per questa in ch’io m’inventro, la cui virtù, col mio veder congiunta, mi leva sopra me tanto, ch’i’ veggio la somma essenza de la quale è munta.