The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri A Classical Quest through...

The Divine Comedyby Dante AlighieriThe Divine Comedyby Dante Alighieri

A Classical Quest through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise



Our Brit. Lit. journey continues through a

medieval Europe governed by a

religious societal structure that praises

the “good” and punishes the “wicked”.

We find ourselves in 14th century Italy with a poet consumed by

the afterlife and who it is made up of – the

good, the bad, and the in between.

Remember that for most people the

afterlife was the only thing they had to look

forward to.


A narrative poem in three parts about Dante’s

“dream” journey through hell,

purgatory, and heaven that would

lead him to his own spiritual

transformation.One of the most

celebrated literary pieces of the time.

Represents the soul’s journey towards God.

Dante’s Structure:The Quest

For Salvation

Dante’s Structure:The Quest

For Salvation

PurgatorioPurgatorio

ParadisoParadiso

InfernoInferno

Book 1: Hell (Inferno)

This is the place where the souls of sinners are

punished forever for the sins they committed on

earth.

Book 2: Purgatory (Purgatorio)

This is the place where the souls of sinners who

stillhave a chance to

redeem themselves go

after death.

Book 3: Heaven (Paradiso)

This is the place where good souls reside after death.

DANTE ALIGHIERIDANTE ALIGHIERIBorn in Florence, Italy

(1265-1321)His family was old and of

noble origin, but no longer wealthy.

He probably spent a year at the University of Bologna as part of his education, studying the Trivium and the Quadrivium, typical of Medieval curriculum (Philosophy, Rhetoric)

As customary, Dante had an arranged marriage in his youth to Gemma Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati.

But Dante’s greatest love, and the greatest single influence on his work, was a woman named Beatrice.

Dante met Beatrice when he was nine and she eight, at his father’s home, most likely for a May Day festival.

Beatrice married another man about 1287, and died in 1290 at the age of 25.

BEATRICE

BEATRICE

•Beatrice was Dante’s angel. He could not touch her, only love her form afar because this was the age of Courtly, pure love.

•Dante’s life and work were dedicated to her.

•Dante’s muse and inspiration— the female aspect behind thegenius.

•She is the divine light of love in his writings.

DANTE’S MEDIEVAL WORLDDANTE’S MEDIEVAL WORLD

Dante’s world was threefold: The world of politics The world of theology The world of learning

His Comedy utilizes all three; these areas are interdependent so that it is impossible to say that one was more important than the other.

The Middle Ages was dominated by the struggle between the

PAPACY and the

EMPIRE.

Both thought that they were of divine origin and indispensable to the welfare of mankind.

THE PAPACYTHE PAPACY

The VaticanRome, ItalyThe VaticanRome, Italy

One of the few remaining city-states in the world.

The EmpireThe EmpireConstantine I:

Emperor & Pope

Constantine I:Emperor &

Pope

WHERE CHURCH AND STATEWERE FIRST IN CONFLICTWHERE CHURCH AND STATEWERE FIRST IN CONFLICT

CAUSE OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE PAPACY AND THE EMPIRE

CAUSE OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE PAPACY AND THE EMPIRE

In the 8th Century the Papal claim to temporal power was justified by the

“DONATION OF CONSTANTINE”

which stated that the emperor had given power of the empire to the Pope before leaving for Byzantium.

Later this was discovered to be a… FORGED DOCUMENT!

This claim created great strife and discord in the empire.

Nothing new between politics and religion . . .

THE IMPORTANCE OF VIRGILTHE IMPORTANCE OF VIRGIL

• In the Middle Ages Virgil was regarded as a sage and necromancer (wizard, magician).

• His poems were opened in a manner of divination called Sortes.

• The book was opened at random and a verse was selected as an answer to some random question.

Kind of like a Quija Board…Kind of like a Quija Board…

VIRGIL 70 B.C.E. 19 B.C.EVIRGIL 70 B.C.E. 19 B.C.E

He was the greatest of the Roman poets.

His Aeneid provided the pattern for the structure of Dante’s Hell.

Virgil was chosen as Dante’s guide through Hell because Dante saw him as his master and inspiration for his poetic style.

Virgil is also revered as the poet of the Roman Empire.

The Aeneid tells of the Empire’s founding.

Virgil also wrote in his fourth ecologue of the coming of a Wonder Child who will bring the Golden Age.

This was interpreted in the Middle Ages as the coming of Christ.

STRUCTURE OF THE DIVINE COMEDY


DANTE’S WORLD WAS

ONE THAT BELIEVED IN

MYSTICAL

CORRESPONDENCES

AND THE POWER OF

NUMBERS, STARS, AND

STONES

EVENTS OF HISTORY—

CONTAINED A

MYSTICAL

SIGNIFICANCE.

DANTE’S NUMERICAL

SYMBOLISM:

3 - A SYMBOL OF THE HOLY

TRINITY

9 - THREE TIMES THREE.

33 - A MULTIPLE OF 3

THE 7 DAYS OF CREATION

10 - CONSIDERED IN THE

MEDIEVAL PERIOD AS A

PERFECT NUMBER

100 - MULTIPLE OF 10

Medieval Society and Numerology

Medieval Society and Numerology

*100 is a square of 10 therefore considered a

perfect number

*3 is the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy

Spirit)*33 Gospels in the

Bible*Christ accomplished

33 miracles*In the book:

-Dante wrote 3 parts of the epic

-Each one consisting of 33 cantos

-In total the book has 100 cantos including

the introduction



Each section has 33 cantos

(small division of poetry;

canto means “song.”)

The Inferno includes an

introductory canto, which

makes 100 cantos total

(1oo representing the idea

of perfection or spiritual

enlightenment achieved

after the journey).

Three major divisions of sin:

Incontinence

Violence

Fraudulence

By the time you finish

reading, you will know

which circle of hell you may

find yourself in!

Three-line poetric structure:

Terza Rima

CANTO 1Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vitami ritrovai per una selva oscura,ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa duraesta selva selvaggia e aspra e forteche nel pensier rinova la paura!

Tant’ è amara che poco è più morte;ma per trattar del ben ch’i’ vi trovai,dirò de l’altre cose ch’i’ v’ho scorte.

Io non so ben ridir com’ i’ v’intrai,10

tant’ era pien di sonno a quel puntoche la verace via abbandonai.

Ma poi ch’i’ fui al piè d’un colle giunto,là dove terminava quella valleche m’avea di paura il cor compunto,

guardai in alto e vidi le sue spallevestite già de’ raggi del pianetache mena dritto altrui per ogne calle.

Dante’s Use of Terza RimaDante’s Use of Terza Rima

THE INFERNOTHE INFERNO

The sign above the gates to the entrance to hellThe sign above the gates to the entrance to hell

THE SPIRALING INFERNOTHE SPIRALING INFERNO

DANTE’S HELL IS A HUGE FUNNEL SHAPED PIT.

THE CENTER IS LOCATED BENEATH JERUSALEM.

THE NINE REGIONS ARE DESIGNATED FOR A PARTICULAR SIN.

ITS REGIONS ARE ARRANGED IN A SERIES OF DESCENDING CIRCULAR STAIRCASES THAT DIMINISH IN CIRCUMFERENCE THE DEEPER THAT VIRGIL AND DANTE TRAVEL.

THE HIGHER UP A SINNER, THE LIGHTER THE SIN, THE DEEPER THE SINNER, THE DARKER AND MORE TERRIBLE THE SIN.

DANTE’SFUNNELSHAPED

HELL

DANTE’SFUNNELSHAPED

HELL

Circle of Hell

Sin

Vestibule Uncommitted

Acheron River

Circle I—Limbo Virtuous Unbaptized

Circle II Lustful

Circle III Gluttonous

Circle IV Prodigal, Avaricious

Circle V (Styx) Wrathful

City of Dis: Capitol of Hell

Circle VI Heretics

Circle VII: Violence•Against Neighbors, •Self, God, Nature

Abyss (Geryon)

Circle VIII: Malebolge (Evil Ditches)

Fraud•Panderers, Seducers, Flatterers,•Simonists, Soothsayers, Grafters•Hypocrites, Thieves, False Counselors,• Counterfeiters, Falsifiers

Circle IX (Cocytus) Traitors to:Kindred, Country, Guests, Masters

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INFERNOAT THE BOTTOM OF THE INFERNO

DANTE’SSATAN

DANTE’SSATAN

THEEPITOMEOF EVIL,

THE FALLENANGEL

THEEPITOMEOF EVIL,

THE FALLENANGEL

CONCEPT OF DIVINE RETRIBUTION

CONCEPT OF DIVINE RETRIBUTION

PUNISHMENTS IN HELL ARE REGULATED BY THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION.

THESE PUNISHMENTS ARE RELATED TO THE SINS EITHER BY ANALOGY OR ANTITHESIS.

AS ONE SINNED IN LIFE, SO HE OR SHE IS PUNISHED IN DEATH.

CONTRAPASSO: “SUFFER THE OPPOSITE”—

PUNISHMENT OF SOULS BY A

PROCESS EITHER RESEMBLING OR CONTRASTING WITH THE SIN

ITSELF

CONTRAPASSO: “SUFFER THE OPPOSITE”—

PUNISHMENT OF SOULS BY A

PROCESS EITHER RESEMBLING OR CONTRASTING WITH THE SIN

ITSELF

POINTS TO REMEMBERPOINTS TO REMEMBER

THE INFERNO IS PART OF THE LARGER WORK CALLED THE DIVINE COMEDY.

IN THE MIDDLE AGES COMEDY MEANT SOME HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT BEGAN IN TRAGEDY AND ENDED IN HAPPINESS (different from our modern definition)

THE INFERNO IS PART OF THE LARGER WORK CALLED THE DIVINE COMEDY.

IN THE MIDDLE AGES COMEDY MEANT SOME HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT BEGAN IN TRAGEDY AND ENDED IN HAPPINESS (different from our modern definition)

IT IS ALSO AN ALLEGORY ON AN INDIVIDUALS RELIGIOUS JOURNEY IN LIFE.

THE MORAL PURPOSE IS TO POINT OUT TO THOSE STILL LIVING THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS AND TO PUT THEM ON THE PATH OF SALVATION.

IT IS ALSO AN ALLEGORY ON AN INDIVIDUALS RELIGIOUS JOURNEY IN LIFE.

THE MORAL PURPOSE IS TO POINT OUT TO THOSE STILL LIVING THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS AND TO PUT THEM ON THE PATH OF SALVATION.

THE FINALGOAL:

THE FINALGOAL:

SALVATIONBY

THE CROSS OFCHRISTIANITY

SALVATIONBY

THE CROSS OFCHRISTIANITY

Dante, the speaker, suddenly finds himself

lost in a dark forest.

He tries to climb up a hill but he is blocked by three beasts: a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, so he is

trapped.

He is alone in the dark valley when suddenly a spirit appears. This is

Virgil, the Roman poet.

Canto 1: Mid-Life Crisis

The CallMeeting with the Mentor

Canto 1: Mid-Life Crisis

The CallMeeting with the Mentor

When Dante asks about the beasts, Virgil tells him that the she-wolf will kill anyone who tries to pass her, but someday the great

Greyhound will come and destroy her and send her back to Hell.

Because of the beasts, Virgil tells Dante that he must take a different path and that he will

guide Dante.

Virgil also tells Dante that they must first pass through Hell and see the eternal

punishment of the sinners before being able to reach Heaven.

Then Virgil sets out on the journey and Dante follows behind him.

When Dante asks about the beasts, Virgil tells him that the she-wolf will kill anyone who tries to pass her, but someday the great

Greyhound will come and destroy her and send her back to Hell.

Because of the beasts, Virgil tells Dante that he must take a different path and that he will

guide Dante.

Virgil also tells Dante that they must first pass through Hell and see the eternal

punishment of the sinners before being able to reach Heaven.

Then Virgil sets out on the journey and Dante follows behind him.

Canto 2:

Dante’s Refusal of the Call

&Beatrice Calls for Back-up

Canto 2:

Dante’s Refusal of the Call

&Beatrice Calls for Back-up

Dante and Beatrice ascend to the Heaven of the Moon (Giovanni di Paolo 1540)

Allusion to the Muses: The Muses are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory); they are the goddesses of literature, music, dance and other intellectual pursuits.

Dante invokes the muses to gain poetic inspiration to tell the story of his journey through Hell with Virgil.

The allusion is important as a poetic device. The invocation of the Muses is a common motif that appears in classical poetry.

The Nine

Muses

The Nine

Muses

Allusion to St. Paul St. Paul is considered one of the most influential of Christ’s followers and early missionaries of Christianity. His conversion on the road to Damascus is the most famous story about him. He is also responsible for writing the Epistles in the New Testament. Fourteen of these epistles are believed to be written by him.

Dante refers to him when he hesitates before following Virgil through the gates to Hell. Dante feels inferior in comparison to St. Paul and Aeneas, who are the only men Dante knows of who have returned from a journey to Hell.

Allusion to St. Paul St. Paul is considered one of the most influential of Christ’s followers and early missionaries of Christianity. His conversion on the road to Damascus is the most famous story about him. He is also responsible for writing the Epistles in the New Testament. Fourteen of these epistles are believed to be written by him.

Dante refers to him when he hesitates before following Virgil through the gates to Hell. Dante feels inferior in comparison to St. Paul and Aeneas, who are the only men Dante knows of who have returned from a journey to Hell.

Cantos 1-2The Dark Wood

Cantos 1-2The Dark Wood

Three Beasts:Leopard

LionShe-wolf

Virgil as Guide

Three Blessed Women:Virgin Mary

St. LuciaBeatrice

Three Beasts:Leopard

LionShe-wolf

Virgil as Guide

Three Blessed Women:Virgin Mary

St. LuciaBeatrice

Canto 3

Gates of HellVestibule

“Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”

Cowards The Indecisive Angels

Punishment: They are stung by insects

and endlessly chase banners.

Acheron RiverCharon

Canto 3

Gates of HellVestibule

“Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”

Cowards The Indecisive Angels

Punishment: They are stung by insects

and endlessly chase banners.

Acheron RiverCharon

Canto 4

Circle 1: Limbo

The Unbaptized and Virtuous Pagans

Punishment: Boredom

Forever separated from God

Virgil, Homer, Horace, Ovid, Socrates, Plato

Canto 4

Circle 1: Limbo

The Unbaptized and Virtuous Pagans

Punishment: Boredom

Forever separated from God

Virgil, Homer, Horace, Ovid, Socrates, Plato

Canto 5

Circle 2

Lust

Punishment: The lustful souls are

blown about in a violent storm, without

hope of rest.

MinosFrancesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo

Canto 5

Circle 2

Lust

Punishment: The lustful souls are

blown about in a violent storm, without

hope of rest.

MinosFrancesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo

Canto 6

Circle 3

Gluttony

Punishment:They are forced to live in vile

freezing slush, guarded by Cerberus.

Ciacco of FlorenceFlorentine Politics

Last Judgment

Canto 6

Circle 3

Gluttony

Punishment:They are forced to live in vile

freezing slush, guarded by Cerberus.

Ciacco of FlorenceFlorentine Politics

Last Judgment

Canto 7

Circle 4

Avarice Prodigality

Punishment:The Miserly and

Spendthrift push great heavy weights together, crashing them time and

time again

PlutusFortuna

Canto 7

Circle 4

Avarice Prodigality

Punishment:The Miserly and

Spendthrift push great heavy weights together, crashing them time and

time again

PlutusFortuna

Cantos 7-8

Circle 5

WrathSullenness

Punishment:The Wrathful fight each

other on the surface of the Styx, while the Sullen gurgle

beneath it.

PhlegyasFilippo Argenti Fallen

Angels

Cantos 7-8

Circle 5

WrathSullenness

Punishment:The Wrathful fight each

other on the surface of the Styx, while the Sullen gurgle

beneath it.

PhlegyasFilippo Argenti Fallen

Angels

Cantos 8-9

City of Dis

Lower Circles of HellCircles 6-9

Furies and MedusaHarrowing of Hell

Theseus Hercules

Cantos 8-9

City of Dis

Lower Circles of HellCircles 6-9

Furies and MedusaHarrowing of Hell

Theseus Hercules

Canto 10

Circle 6

Heresy

Punishment:Heretics are trapped

in flaming tombs

FarinataCavalcanti

Guelphs and GhibellinesEpicurus

Canto 10

Circle 6

Heresy

Punishment:Heretics are trapped

in flaming tombs

FarinataCavalcanti

Guelphs and GhibellinesEpicurus

Canto 11

Tomb of Pope Anastasius

The Stench

Intermission

Virgil pauses to explain the structure of Lower Hell

and God’s plan outlined by Aristotle in his

Nichomachean Ethics.

Canto 11

Tomb of Pope Anastasius

The Stench

Intermission

Virgil pauses to explain the structure of Lower Hell

and God’s plan outlined by Aristotle in his

Nichomachean Ethics.

Cantos 12-17

Circle 7

Violence:

Punishment:

Cantos 12-17

Circle 7

Violence:

Punishment:

Murderers: They drown in the river Phlegethon, filled with boiling blood, while the Minotaur guards them, and if they attempt to escape, they are shot with bows and arrows by centaurs. Suicides: They have become stunted and gnarled trees with poisoned fruit and twisting branches from whichtheir bodies will hang while the Harpies, foul birdlike creatures with human faces, make their nests. Blasphemers, Sodomites and Usurers: They are showered with flakes of fire that rain down against their naked bodies, while they are stretched, running, or huddled on burning sand. Sodomites can't stop running just as they couldn't stop their passions. Usurers have to stare at the money they made on earth with fire raining down on them.

Panderers and Seducers: They are forced to march, single file around the circumference of their circle, constantly lashed by horned demons.Flatterers: They are immersed forever in a river of human excrement, like what their flatteries were.Simonists: They are turned upside down in large baptismal fonts cut into the rock, with their feet set ablaze by oily fires. The heat of the flames burns according to the guilt of the sinner.Astrologists, seers, sorcerers , diviners: Their heads have been twisted around to face backwards, and thus they are forced to walk backwards around the circumference of their circle for all of time.Grafters : They are thrown into a river of boiling pitch and tar. If they try to escape the pitch, a horde of demons armed with grappling hooks and barbs stands guard over them, ready to tear them to pieces.

Cantos 18-22

Circle 8 Bolges 1-5

Fraud

Cantos 18-22

Circle 8 Bolges 1-5

Fraud

Cantos 23-30

Circle 8 Bolges 6-10

Fraud

Cantos 23-30

Circle 8 Bolges 6-10

Fraud

Hypocrites : They are forced to wear heavy lead robes as they walk around the circumference of their circle. The robes are golden and resemble a monk’s cowl but are lined with heavy lead, symbolically representing hypocrisy.Thieves: Serpents, dragons, and other vengeful reptiles torture the thieves endlessly. The bites of some of the snakes cause the thieves to spontaneously combust, only to regenerate their bodies for further torment in a few moments. They are pursued by the monstrous fiery Cacus. Deceivers: They are constantly ablaze, appearing as nothing so much as living, speaking tongues of flame.Creators of discord and scandal: They are forced to walk around the circumference of the circle bearing horrible, disfiguring wounds inflicted on them by a great demon with a sword. Falsifiers: They endure different degrees of punishment based on horrible, consumptive diseases such as rashes, dropsy, leprosy and consumption.

Cantos 31-34

Circle 9

Betrayal

Cantos 31-34

Circle 9

Betrayal

Caïna—Traitors to kindred: They are immersed in ice up to their faces.Antenora—Traitors to country/political entities: They are immersed in ice and forced to eat out the skull of another sinner or have their skulls eaten by another sinner.Ptolomaea—Traitors to their guests: They lie supine in the ice, which covers them, except for their faces. Their bodies on Earth are immediately possessed by a demon, so what seems to be a walking man has reached the stage of being incapable of repentance.Judecca—Traitors to their lords and benefactors: They are completely encapsulated in ice, distorted in all conceivable positions. Satan appears upside down with three faces, and in each mouth eternally being eaten are Brutus, Cassius, and Judas Iscariot.

Let’s Recap…Let’s Recap…

Let’s read…Let’s read…


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