by Dante Alighieri
most important poem of the Middle Ages Italian and the greatest work in Italian Literature Florence
Rome was divided - Emperor vs Pope
Political strife - Exiled to Northern Italy - lived with frens and fam - Wrote The Divine Comedy
- Tells of an imaginary journey Dante takes through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
- Dante = one of the first Christian Humanists
- Journey is symbolic of the spiritual quest for salvation
- Depiction of afterlife
- Three day journey; begins on Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday
Starts in dark forest → tries to climb mountain but → a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf stand in the way → goes back and meets Virgil → vestibule of hell (people who did not take a stand, tormented by wasps) → Charon, river → Hell
- 100 cantos/chapters
- Vernacular Latin
- First Italian Epic
- Hell, Purgatory, Paradiso
Dante’s Inferno
- Journey through hell
- Meets Virgil, who was sent by Dante’s childhood crush Beatrice
- Hell = 9 concentric circles
Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul toward God, ALLEGORY
Charon, river, then circles of hell
9 Circles of Hell
- Limbo,
- Lust, — Minos
- Gluttony, — Cerebrus
- Avarice and Prodigality,
- Wrath and Sullenness,
- Heresy,
- Violence, — Minotaur before this; three parts
- Fraud,
- Treachery.
— River ⇒ || Upper Hell || ⇒((Lower Hell))
UH → LLGGW → fleshly sins LH aka City of Dis → HVFT → intellectual sins
LiL GAS HVF T
Mnemonic
LG AW HV FT Let’s Go And Watch Hereditary, VVitch For Torture
1.Limbo - Limbo circle includes souls who are not sinful, but did not accept Christ, therefore they do not deserve enough to live in Heaven
before they enter 2nd circle and beyond, encounter Minos. He judges peeps and sends them to where they deserve
2. Lust - caught up in and whipped around for eternity in the cyclones of wind. This punishment is symbolic. Just as the wind is forever changing direction and never settles down, so these sinners are guilty of frequently changing lovers or sexual partners.**
3. Gluttony - overindulge, ordinary people; lie rotting away in a never ending icy rain in slush, overlooked by Cerberus
4.Greed / Avarice and Prodigality - souls are divided into two groups, one is hoarding people, and another is squandering people. This group will use their chest to push weights to another group as a torture form. Does NOT interact with any inhabitants
5. Wrath - fighting in River Styx eternally bottom of river → spiteful ones trying to scream
City of Dis (6th - 9th circles of hell) - Always on fire
-
Heresy → Not believing in God, punished in burning tombs
— minotaur — -
Violence →the Outer, Middle, and Inner rings—housing different types of violent criminals. i. Outer → Those who were violent against people and property → guarded by Centaurs ii. Middle → People violent against themselves (sui) perpetually eaten by Harpies iii. Inner → blasphemers → violence against God
-
Fraud → panderers/seducers; flatterers; sorcerers/astrologers/false prophets; thieves; false counselors/advisers, impersonators, Diff punishment for diff crime. Symbolic, again. For eg, fortune tellers have head backwards
-
Treachery → deepest circle of Hell, where Satan resides. a) Caina, b)Antenora c)Ptolamaea d) Judecca
Freezing Cold
Center of Hell → Satan → three headed, eating three peeps; Cassius, Brutus, and Judas
Characters
Virgil
Wrote Aeinid Roman Poet Dante chose him because Virgil knows concept of Hell Predicted the coming of Christ Represents human reason
Beatrice
Met Dante when he was 9 Dante fell in love Beatrice was married off to an older man She died young this sent Dante into depression
Embodiment of spiritual purity Sends Virgil to him Guides him through Heaven
LL GG WHVFT limbo lust gluttony greed wrath heresy violence fraud treachery