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An Introduction toDante’s Inferno
Dante Alighieri1265-1321Born in Florence, Italy-Died in Ravenna at the
age of 56 after complications due to Malaria
Considered one of the greatest poets of Western CivilizationWas exiled from Florence in 1302 – Spent the rest of his life
wandering around Italy
Dante AlighieriBeatrice (Dante’s muse)Met her once at age 9, then again at age 18. – She died in 1290
She was the subject of some of his love poetry.She is a character in The Divine Comedy– Serves as Dante’s guide
through heaven
Historical contextGuelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs – sided with the pope in the city’s political
tensionsGuelphs split – Black Guelphs and White Guelphs
Pope Bonifact VIII sided with the Blacks, Dante sided with the Whites– Led to his exile from Florence
He wrote The Divine Comedy while in exile
FormatCommedia– A challenging
journey made to arrive at peace
The Divine Comedy– Inferno– Purgatorio– Paradiso
AllegoryDefinitions:
A story that has a deeper meaning beyond the surface level of the story. A story that uses characters, events, or objects as symbols to convey its deeper meaning.
Examples: Inferno:
Dante represents a flawed human soulVirgil represents reason
Animal Farm: Allegory for Stalinist totalitarianism
Napoleon the Pig represents Joseph StalinInception:
Allegory for film makingCobb (Leo Dicaprio) represents the a film directorFisher (target of inception) represents the audience“Inception” is the central idea/purpose of the movie
The Number 3Principle of the Trinity– Number 3 represents the
Christian concept of the trinity
100 Cantos in the whole text– 33 for each of 3 parts– Introductory first canto for
InfernoJourney through Hell takes 3 days– Good Friday to Easter
SundayTerza rima
Rhyme scheme that consists of 3-line stanzasMore info on next slide!
Format
Terza rima– Italian form of iambic poetry– First and third lines rhyme with each
other– Second lines rhyme with the first and
third lines of the next tercet– Aba bcb cdc … wxw xyx yzy
The rhyming scheme is only in the Italian, not in the English
Components
The language it is written in is highly important– Used the Tuscan dialect of Italian, NOT
Latin– Established this dialect as the literary
dialect of Italy
ComponentsDante’s law of symbolic retribution
– There are countless ways of being dead
– How you live is intimately connected with when you die
– There are multiple ways of living and dying
Components
A 35-year old man is having a midlife crisis
A pagan poet, Virgil, guides him on a journey through hell– Virgil wrote the Aeneid to create a national epic for Rome– Greece had the Iliad and the Odyssey; Rome had no equivalent
Dante’s choice of Virgil as the guide through hell is deliberate– Virgil is a guide. He is protective, gently explanatory, alert, cautious, savvy, and
trustworthy.– Virgil in the Divine Comedy is based almost completely on Virgil as a poet.– To Dante, Virgil is a mentor. Dante held Virgil’s poetry up as an example for
himself, thus it is important Virgil has the character of a mentor in the Divine Comedy.
ComponentsAllusion– There are allusions all
over this text!– While many of the
allusions in this text refer to Greek mythology, it is also important to note the many Biblical and historical allusions.
Adam and EveTroyFortune’s Wheel
– AND MANY MORE!
ComponentsSome sins
Avarice– Excessive desire for wealth
Prodigality– Extravagant wastefulness
Gluttony– Consuming immoderate amounts of food/drink
Sloth– Aversion to exertion or work; laziness
Wrath– Violent, resentful anger; rage
More Sins, con’t.Heresy– An opinion or doctrine in conflict with established
religious beliefs
Blasphemy– A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing
concerning God
Usury– Lending money at an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest
Incontinence– Being unrestrained; uncontrolled
Malice– A desire to harm others or see others suffer
The 9 Levels of Hell1-Limbo– people waiting to see if they
enter heaven or descend to hell
2-Lustful, 3-Gluttonous, 4-Avaricious—– These are the sins of
weakness, the worst thing we can do to ourselves
5-Wrathful, 6-Heretics (Those who betrayed others) and 7-Violent. – These represent sins of malice
—premeditated, usually actions towards other people.
The Last Levels of Hell..The 8-Fraudulent and the 9-Treacherous– These last two
represent sins of betrayal and pride—considered the worst of all the sins. Satan, who betrayed God, represents the epitome of all evil.
Essential questionsFOR OUR UNIT:- What is the historical significance of a work of literature?
SPECIFIC TO THE INFERNO:Why would Dante write a work such as the Inferno? What is his purpose?What is an allegory, and how does it work? What, ultimately, does this allegorical epic teach us?How are Dante’s life and history woven into his narrative?What does this work tell us about 14th century Italy and the human condition in general?