THE NUMBERING SYSTEM
In the Glossary and Textual Appendix, references to parts of the poem are given in the condensed form BCN.SN, where B = book number (from 1 to 7), CN = canto number (from 01 to 12; canto 00 is the proem), and SN = stanza number (from 1 to a maximum of 87; stanza 0 is the argument).
If a line within a stanza needs to be specified, it is preceded by a colon. Ranges of cantos, stanzas, or lines are indicated by a dash.
For example:
401.31 Book IV, Canto i, stanza 31 611.11:3 Book VI, Canto xi, stanza 11, line 3 503.2-9 Book V, Canto iii, stanzas 2 to 9 503-4 Book V, Cantos iii-iv 207.0 Book II, Canto vii, Argument 100.3 Book I, Proem, stanza 3 500.1:2-4 Book V, Proem, stanza 1, lines 2-4
In addition, a line of the Introductory Matter is specified by its number, preceded by a colon and a capital "I". For example, "I:123" refers to line 123 in the Introductory Matter.