Paradise, the third canticle of Dante Alighieri's Comedy, tells how Dante leaves the summit of Purgatory with Beatrice, climbs through the nine heavens without noticing the movement, and reaches the Empyrean, where he sees the rose of the blessed and, at the end, the light in which the universe is gathered into one volume. There is hardly any plot: each doubt of Dante's becomes a lesson from Beatrice, and what he sees keeps exceeding what he can say.
In cantos I to VIII, in the Moon and in Mercury, Beatrice explains the order of the universe, the spots on the Moon, and the value of a vow; Piccarda says that God's will is the peace of the souls, and Justinian tells the story of the Roman eagle. In cantos IX to XX, Dante passes through Venus, through the Sun, where Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure praise each other by proxy, through Mars, where Cacciaguida announces his exile, and through Jupiter, where the souls form an eagle that speaks.
In cantos XXI to XXVIII, Peter, James, and John examine Dante's faith, hope, and charity; Peter accuses the popes; and Dante sees God as a point of light surrounded by nine choirs of angels. In cantos XXIX to XXXIII, in the Empyrean, Beatrice takes her leave, Bernard takes her place and prays to Mary, and the canticle ends with Dante's desire and will turning, moved by the love that moves the sun and the other stars.