The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri

1
by Dante Alighieri
2
Dante Alighieri An Italian poet from
Florence Author of The Divine Comedy He was one
of the first to publish a major work in Italian,
the spoken language of his day.
3
The High Middle Ages

• From the 11th to 13th century, the medieval world
  in Western Europe underwent major change, rising
  from the dark centuries that followed the fall of
  Rome. Relative peace allowed for
• Population explosion
• Rapid rise of commerce and merchant classes
• Expanding cities
• Creation of nation-states

4
(No Transcript)
5
This period of great growth and expansion
continued until a series of calamities struck
Western Europe in the 14th century. Chiefly, the
bubonic plague...
6
Major changes occurred in the High Middle Ages in
the realm of science and technology Some
inventions and innovations paper manufacture,
the windmill, the spinning wheel, the magnetic
compass, eyeglasses, the astrolabe, Arabic
numerals. And most importantly, the adoption of
a new method of warfare gunpowder
7
Cultural Innovations

• Arabic philosophy and literature spread
• Aristotle and other Classical writers were
  rediscovered
• Courtly love tradition in poetry was born
• The Gothic period in architecture began

8
Dantes Influences
St. Thomas Aquinas Great work Summa
Theologia Uses Aristotelian logic to prove Gods
existence Christian Scholasticism
9
Dantes Influences
Troubadour poets of southern France Inventors of
the courtly love tradition They sang of
unrequited love and chivalry...
10
Dantes Influences
A Florentine by birth, but not by character

• Dante was very affected by politics of his city
• Many real Florentines can be found in The
  Inferno.

11
(No Transcript)
12
Political Turmoil

• Italy did not exist as a nation during Dantes
  lifetime
• Only nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire
• North Italian city-states were largely
  independent
• There were political tensions between cities and
  within cities...

13
Strife in Florence Florence was caught in a
power struggle between the Holy Roman Emperor and
the Papacy Two political parties in Florence
the Guelphs and the Ghibelines Guelphs supported
the pope, while Ghibelines were in favor of the
HRE Guelphs split into two groups, after gaining
control of Florence the Whites and the
Blacks White party wanted to create a balance
between the Empire and the Church, while Blacks
were more in favor of the Empire Dante was a
member of the White party
14
Oldest portrait of Dante Painted by Giotto
15
Life of Dante

• Born in Florence
• 1274 Sees Beatrice for the first time
• 1285 Marries Gemma Donati
• First military campaign
• 1290 Death of Beatrice
• 1292 Finishes writing La Vita Nuova
• 1295 Begins to participate in city politics
• 1300 Elected one of six governors
• 1302 White party banished. Dante condemned to
  death by Blacks
• 1303 Dante roams Tuscany, hoping to return to
  Florence
• 1307 Visits Paris. Begins the Commedia
• 1313 Completes Inferno
• 1317 Begins living in Ravenna under patronage of
  the Count of Polenta
• 1321 Dies (possibly of malaria)

16
Beatrice (Bice) Portinari Dantes vision of
ideal love La Vita Nuova (which is Dantes
contribution to the Dolce Stil Nuovo)
Beatificexisting in a state of divine
bliss The glorious lady of my mind.
Connected to the cult of the Virgin Mary
17
Dantes empty tomb in Florence (cenotaph)
il Somma Poeta
Onorate l'altissimo poeta
18
Dantes actual tomb in Ravenna
Here am I, Dante shut, exiled from the ancestral
shore, Whom Florence, the of all-least loving
mother, bore.
19

• Structure of the Commedia
• Three sections
• Hell (Inferno)
• Purgatory (Purgatorio)
• Heaven (Paradiso)
• 33 cantos plus one introductory canto add up to
  100
• The cantos comprise stanzas that are three lines
  long
• Terza rima rhyme scheme is employed aba bcb cdc
• Each canto contains approximately 142 lines

20
Three Days in Hell

• Three is an extremely important number in the
  Christian faith
• Symbolizes the Trinity God as father, Jesus
  Christ, Holy Ghost
• Harrowing of Hell Jesus descends into Hell for
  three days. He returns with the keys of Hell and
  Death, as well as a large contingent of virtuous
  heathens.
• Dante descends into hell on the night before Good
  Friday, emerging three days later on Easter
  Sunday

21
Why Comedy?
Medieval works were considered to be either
comedies (low art) or tragedies (high
art). Because Dantes great work concludes with
a happy endingthe main character reaching
paradisethe work is called a comedy. Also,
the term comedy referred to a well-ordered
world, proceeding from the horrors of hell to the
delights of heaven. Finally, Dante titled his
work Commedia because he wrote it in Italian, not
Latin.
22
Above, Dante holds a copy of his great work
between the city of Florence and the mountain of
Purgatory. At the left, a page from The Inferno,
c. 1337
23
(No Transcript)
24
Dantes hell as depicted by Botticelli
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28
The Nine Circles of Hell First Circle
Limbo Second Circle Lust Third Circle
Gluttony Fourth Circle Greed Fifth Circle
Wrath and Sloth Sixth Circle Heresy Seventh
Circle Violence Eighth Circle Fraud Ninth
Circle Treason
29
The Seven Deadly Sins (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

• Lust
• Gluttony
• Avarice
• Sloth
• Anger
• Envy
• Pride

30
Three Types of Sin

• Incontinence (Level 1)
• Self-indulgence
• Violence (Level 2)
• Conscious violation of Gods will
• Fraudulent and Traitorous (Level 3)
• Using reason and intellect as a weapon

31

• Allegory Otherspeech
• Literary mode with two levels of meaning One
  thing is said, but another is understood...
• 1. Literal (the leopard, the lion, the she-wolf)
• 2. Metaphorical (self-indulgence, violence,
  fraud)
• Divine Comedy is an allegorical journey...

32
(No Transcript)
33
Canto One
Midway in the journey of our lifeI came to
myself in a dark wood,for the straight way was
lost.
Scholars approximate the age of the character to
be 35. He is lost in multiple ways
psychologically, geographically, spiritually.
34
Dante encounters three beasts a lepoard, a lion,
and a she-wolf. These three beasts stand for the
types of three sin.
35
Soon as he saw that I was weeping, he
answered.. The Roman poet Virgil appears,
intervening to save Dante from the she-wolf. He
then begins to lead him down the road to hell,
telling him he will have to take another road.
36
Dantes Guide through Hell
Virgil was a great Roman poet, the author of the
epic The Aeneid, a crucial important model and
influence for Dante. In The Aeneid, the main
character, Aeneas, journeys down to hell. The
character represents both Virgil the man, and
allegorically, human reason.
37
Canto Two

• I who bid you go am Beatrice...
• Dantes ideal love
• His guide and aid through his journey
• Takes him up to heaven