Durante ‘Dante’ Alighieri Medieval Italian Poet

Dante’s Life Born 1265 in Florence (Italy) Died 1321 in Ravenna (Italy) Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La Commedia, later named La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) by Giovanni Boccaccio. Dante describes how he fought as a cavalryman against the Ghibellines, a banished Florentine party supporting the imperial cause. He also speaks of his great teacher Brunetto Latini and his gifted friend Guido Cavalcanti. Dante's life was shaped by the long history of conflict between the imperial and papal partisans called, respectively, Ghibellines and Guelfs. Following the middle of the 13th century the antagonisms were brutal and deadly, with each side alternately gaining the upper hand and inflicting gruesome penalties and exile upon the other. In 1266 a force of Guelfs, supported by papal and French armies, was able to defeat the Ghibellines at Benevento, expelling them forever from Florence. This meant that Dante grew up in a city brimming with postwar pride and expansionism, eager to extend its political control throughout Tuscany. Florentines compared themselves with Rome and the civilization of the ancient city-states. He was exiled from Florence and lived in neighboring city the rest of his life. He was part of the linguistic unification with “L’accademia della Crusca”. The Tuscan dialect was used as the foundation for modern Italian. The Academy’s purpose was to detach the flour, the good language from the bran, the bad language.

The Divine Comedy Main Points An allegorical poem which ended with, “un lieto fine” making it a comedy rather than a tragedy. Written in Italian/ Florentine vernacular (volgare) dialect rather than Latin (the Academic language that nobility, scholars, and the church used) The common people, lower social classes did not understand or read Latin. By writing in Italian he made the book available to more people. (Oral tradition carried the verses to a larger audience) By choosing to write his poem in Italian rather than in Latin, Dante decisively influenced the course of literary development. Not only did he lend a voice to the emerging lay culture of his own country, but Italian became the literary language in western Europe for several centuries. Dante's Divine Comedy, a great work of medieval literature, is a profound Christian vision of man's temporal and eternal destiny. On its most personal level, it draws on the poet's own experience of exile from his native city of Florence; on its most comprehensive level, it may be read as an allegory, taking the form of a journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise. The poem amazes by its array of learning, its penetrating and comprehensive analysis of contemporary problems, and its inventiveness of language and imagery. Dante uses on real characters from his own times and also from ancient Roman and Greek myths. For example, he use of Virgil is one of the richest cultural appropriations in literature

The Plot The plot of The Divine Comedy is simple: a man, generally assumed to be Dante himself, is miraculously enabled to undertake a long journey, which leads him to visit the souls in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. He has two guides: Virgil, who leads him through the Inferno and Purgatorio, and Beatrice, who introduces him to Paradiso. Starts from Good Friday evening in 1300 through Easter Sunday. Dante learns of the exile that is awaiting him (which had, of course, already occurred at the time of the writing). Thus, the exile of an individual becomes a microcosm of the problems of a country, and it also becomes representative of the fall of man. Dante's story is thus historically specific and serves as a model or a microcosm of medieval Florence. Though an exponent of reason, Virgil has become an emissary of divine grace, and his return is part of the revival of those simpler faiths associated with Dante's earlier trust in Beatrice. And yet, of course, Virgil by himself is insufficient because he is not baptized and is a man.

The Plot (continued) Virgil had provided Dante with moral instruction in survival as an exile, which is the theme of his own poem as well as Dante’s. Virgil is a poet whom Dante had studied carefully and from whom he had acquired his poetic style, the beauty of which has brought him much honor. The Inferno represents the Christian soul seeing sin for what it really is, and the three beasts represent three types of sin: the self-indulgent (leopard), the violent (lion), and the malicious (she-wolf). In Hell, it is a painful but necessary act before real recovery can begin. The journey through the Inferno primarily signifies a process of separation and thus is only the initial step in a fuller development In the Purgatorio the protagonist's painful process of spiritual rehabilitation commences; in fact, this part of the journey may be considered the poem's true moral starting point. In the ‘Paradiso’ true heroic fulfillment is achieved with the aid of Beatrice a woman who acts as a vehicle to God.

The Organization The basic structural component of The Divine Comedy is the canto. The poem consists of 100 cantos, which are grouped together into three sections, or canticles, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. There are 33 cantos in each canticle and one additional canto, contained in the Inferno, which serves as an introduction to the entire poem. For the most part the cantos range from about 136 to about 151 lines. The poem's rhyme scheme is on the third sentence meaning, “terzarima” (aba, bcb, cdc, etc.) Thus, the divine number of three is present in every part of the work. Uses Hendecasyllable verse which uses 11 syllables per line. Numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines, which are related to the trinity (the God, the sun, and the holy spirit) Also the number 10 is important because they come from the bible’s 10 commandments. Hell has 9 circles. There are three main divisions of Dante's Hell: Upper Hell (the first 5 Circles) for the self-indulgent sins; Circles 6 and 7 for the violent sins; and Circles 8 and 9 for the malicious sins. (map at end) Purgatory has 9 circles. Heaven has 9 circles.

The Divine Comedy’s Circles

Inferno Canto I Quote “Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself in the dark woods, the right road lost” The use of words “journey” and “the right road” suggest to the reader, the religious aspect of Dante’s adventure that strays away from the literal. The image of being lost in the “dark woods” sets the reader up with a distinct dichotomy between the unenlightened ignorance involved in a lack of faith in God and and the clear radiance provided by His love. The contrast between the “dark woods” which embody Dante’s fear and the “right road” which embodies Dante’s confidence in God makes his challenge clear. The protagonist is looking for God in a sinful place…Hell. Dante’s reference to “our life” makes this the journey of every man and not just the protagonist. This adventure is one that every person should take, so as to understand their sins and find peace with God.