1. Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)  One of the greatest poets in the Italian language  One member of the classic trio of Italian authors (along with Boccaccio and Petrarch)

2. Dante Alighieri  Dante was in love with Beatrice from the first time he saw her.  Beatrice serves as his guardian angel in The Divine Comedy, assisting Virgil in leading Dante through the Inferno.

3. Dante Alighieri  Dante, a member of the White Guelfs, was opposed to Papal power and tended to favor the emperor.  Politics greatly influenced Dante’s literary and emotional life.

4. Dante Alighieri  Two political factions, the Black Guelfs and White Guelfs, were at war in Italy.  With the help of the French, the Black Guelfs seized power and exiled Dante, confiscated his goods and threatened to burn him if he returned to Florence.

5. Dante’s Writing Style  The first author to write in the vernacular Tuscan rather than Latin.  Used the “Terza Rime” rhyme scheme in which the 1 st and 3 rd lines of each triplet end in the same vowel sound.

6. “Terza Rime” Rhyme Scheme “Terza Rime” pronounced (TUR-ZAH REE-MUH) Tercet-Has three lines in each stanza (with an interlocking rhyme scheme The 2 nd line of each stanza rhymes with the 1 st and 3 rd line of the next stanza. Rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc ded, etc.

7. Dante’s Inferno  Two opposing factions are struggling for dominance  The Guelfs – favored the Pope  The Ghibellines supported the Emperor (Imperial power)

8. Dante’s Inferno  The Guelf party was divided between the Blacks and the Whites.  Dante was a White Guelf.  The Black Guelfs seized power with the help of the French and the Pope; the Blacks exiled Dante, confiscated his goods, and condemned him to be burned if he returned.

9. Dante’s Inferno  The Inferno can be read as a piece of propaganda against Dante’s enemies (the Pope & the Black Guelfs), written to gratify himself, to denounce his enemies, and to gain a certain amount of revenge.  It is also a mystical religious poem.

10. Dante’s Inferno  Dante wanted very much to be acclaimed as a poet.  In Hell, he often offers to tell people on earth about the damned souls so that their memories will not be forgotten.

11. Dante’s Inferno  The Divine Comedy was Dante’s masterpiece.  This work would finally give him his place with Virgil and Homer.  Fame was a very important thing to Dante.