Dante’s Inferno

And the Divine Comedy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 individual’s self-absorption vs. his

trusting surrender to the divine

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.

Dante:“The 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

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.

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?

Historical Background

• 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

• 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

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… don’t get any ideas…

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

Canto I- Introduction to

Comedia• Introduction to the entire Divine Comedy

– Setting: Dark Woods

– Setting: Good Friday, 1300• April 8, 1300

– Catholic church’s 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)

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)

The geography and structure

• Dante’s 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

There are many

depictions of Dante’s Hell

in art and literature… do

your own research for some extra insight, or

maybe extra credit!

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 …

Other Poetic Elements

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

Contrapasso

• The idea that the punishment fits the crime, in other words how one’s sin matches the punishment they must endure for all eternity.

• See cartoon for an example.