Commentary Par XXI 1-4

As has always been the case ([Par I 64-66] [Moon]; [Par V 88-96] [Mercury]; [Par VIII 14-15] [Venus]; [Par X 37-39] [Sun]; [Par XIV 79-84] [Mars]; [Par XVIII 52-57] [Jupiter]; and in these verses), as he ascends to a new heaven, Dante fixes his eyes on Beatrice's face so that nothing else can attract his attention.  And it will be much the same in the three ascents still before him ([Par XXII 97-105] [Starry Sphere]; [Par XXVII 88-96] [Crystalline Sphere]; [Par XXX 14-27] [Empyrean]).  In most of these moments, Beatrice is either explicitly or indirectly portrayed as smiling (except in the first, fourth, seventh, and eighth of these passages).  This time, however, there is something quite different about the heavenly guide's disposition, as we discover in the following tercet: For the first time in this situation, an ascent to the next celestial heaven, Beatrice is rather pointedly not smiling.  The little mystery that this fact engenders is left for Peter Damian to resolve (see [Par XXI 61-63]).