Dante

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Dantes Inferno

• And the Divine Comedy

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The Poet

• Dante Aligheri (1265-1321), of Florence, Italy.
  (Alighieri)
• One of the 4-5 greatest poets of the Western
  tradition (with Homer, Virgil, Milton, Goethe).
• His masterpiece (The Divine Comedy) embodies the
  Thomistic synthesis of Greek philosophy the
  Biblical worldview.

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The Thomistic View

• From St. Thomas Aquinas (5 Ways)
• Believing that reason can, in principle, lead the
  mind to God, Aquinas defended reason's
  legitimacy, especially in the works of Aristotle.
  The philosophy of Aquinas continues to offer
  insights into many lingering problems in
  Metaphysics, the Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy
  of Religion and Ethics.

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The Structure of the Divine Comedy

• Three Parts
• The Inferno (Hell). A depiction of the
  consequences of unchecked evil.
• The Purgatorio (Purgatory). A representation of
  human nature in this life (of which purgatory is
  an extension) the conflict between good and
  evil.
• The Paradiso (Heaven). The ultimate,
  supernatural end of human life. The vision of God.

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The Divine Comedy

• Comedy
• Not humorous/slapstick/laugh-out-loud
• A form of writing that begins in fear and ends
  happily.
• Main character attains a happy ending a healing
  vision of God and receives a divine message to
  deliver.

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Issues to Consider

• Political realities
• Corruption vs. honesty
• Moral realities
• The freedom that comes from accepting just laws
  vs. the self-slavery of lawlessness
• Mystical realities
• The individuals self-absorption vs. his trusting
  surrender to the divine

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More Issues

• Love as the source of both good and evil.
• The paradox of free will is it compatible with a
  scientific (Aristotelian) picture of the workings
  of human nature?
• The relationship between body and soul.

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DanteThe subject of the work, then, in its
literal sense is the state of souls after death
and this is without qualification, since the
whole progress of the work hinges on and about
this subject. Whereas if the work is taken
allegorically, the subject is this man becoming
liable to the justice which rewards and punishes,
inasmuch as by the exercise of his freedom of
choice he merits good or ill.
letter to Can Grande
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The Purpose

• Dante said he wanted the poem to
• Liberate people still living in the world from a
  state of misery and lead them to a state of
  happiness.
• Praise Beatrice and the saving graces he received
  through her.

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Ah Beatrice

• Dante wrote his entire Divine Comedy because he
  was obsessed with a woman, Beatrice, and in love
  with her, thus making her his guide through
  heaven in the Paradiso
• Look for how love is represented in Inferno what
  does this mean about love?

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Historical Background

• Ghibellines
• Pro-imperial
• Represented aristocracy
• Opposed papal territorial power
• Expelled from Florence in 1289
• Became the White Guelphs
• White guelphs
• Wanted to minimize all outside interference

• Guelphs
• Anti-imperial/democratic attitude
• Desired constitutional government
• Represented indigenous peoples
• Pro-pope (looked to him for support)
• Black guelphs
• Wanted to enhance their papal connections

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Ah Florence

• Dante was one of the White Guelphs and was exiled
  from his beloved home town of Florence. He never
  got over this. You could say that the placement
  of his characters and figures in hell is highly
  represented of his political feelings dont get
  any ideas

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Obsessed with 3

• Significance of the number Three
• Reflects the mysterious reality of the Godhead
• Each of the three parts contains 33 cantos
• Basic unit of verse is the terzine
• 33 syllables
• 3 lines
• Beatrice associated with the number 9

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Canto I- Introduction to Comedia

• Introduction to the entire Divine Comedy
• Setting Dark Woods
• Setting Good Friday, 1300
• April 8, 1300
• Catholic churchs first Holy Year
• Jubilee period stressing spiritual repentance and
  renewal.
• Dante is 35 years old when taking place (but is
  writing in past tense so older as a writer)

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Main Characters- Allegorical

• Dante
• The poet who is also the Christian sinner
• Virgil
• The poet who is also human wisdom (the best a man
  can become without divine grace)

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The geography and structure

• Dantes Underworld is a series of concentric
  circles, each one moving deeper into the earth
• The entrance is through the dark woods
• There are rivers and multiple circles within
  circles at some levels

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There are many depictions of Dantes Hell in art
and literature do your own research for some
extra insight, or maybe extra credit!
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Poetic Structure

• Terza Rima
• 3 lines intertwined, first and third rhyme,
  second rhymes with the first of the next tercet
• ABA BCB CDC DED EFE

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Other Poetic Elements

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Imagery
• Symbolism
• Conceit (will learn!)
• Extended Metaphor
• Allegory/ Parable

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Contrapasso

• The idea that the punishment fits the crime, in
  other words how ones sin matches the punishment
  they must endure for all eternity.
• See cartoon for an example.

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