Dante’s Divine Comedy

One of the Best Poems

of European Literature

Type of LiteratureLate Medieval Literature (Dante finished

shortly before his death in 1321 AD)Originally written in the Italian vernacular“Divine” indicates subject matter“Comedy” indicates style of poem

– Starts off oppressive but ends on a happy note

– Not written in an elevated style, such as that of Homer’s Illiad or Virgil’s Anead

Dante’s Divine Comedy

Numbers in Medieval SocietyNumber were extremely important in

Medieval Society. 100 is the square of 10, and is therefore

considered the perfect number.The number 3 was associated with the

Trinity and 9 was important as the square of 3.

The Significance of the Number Three

The number three is prominent throughout the Divine Comedy, most specifically the “Inferno.”

The Trinity provides one possible reason for the frequency of the number three: Dante, obviously, wrote the Comedia as a deeply Christian work, and would have understood three to be a deeply theological number.

Uses of 3Three Books: Inferno, Purgatorio, ParadisoEach book has thirty three cantos.

(not counting the introduction in the Inferno)Terza Rima Rhyme Scheme: the poem also

employs a unique, interlocking terza rima rhyme scheme (aba bcb cdc...) that seems to be Dante's own invention.

In Canto One Dante encounters 3 beastsSatan is represented as being a 3 headed

creature.

Structure of the Divine ComedyContains three great divisions

– Cantica One: Hell (Inferno)

– Cantica Two: Purgatory (Purgatorio)

– Cantica Three: Paradise (Paradiso)Each Cantica contains thirty-three cantos

with an additional canto in Inferno serving as a prologue

33 + 33 + 33 + 1 = 100 cantos

The three greater divisions or canticas were to represent the Trinity.

The number 9, the square of three, figures centrally in the interior structure of each of the three divisions.

– There are nine circles in the Inferno

– There are nine ledges in the Purgatorio

– There are nine planetary spheres in Paradiso

Dante varied the lengths of the individual cantos for a purpose:

– The canto length in the Inferno is chaotic, this parallels the chaos between souls and God.

– The canto length becomes more standardized in Purgatorio, this parallels the state of the soul and God

– The canto length in Paradiso is uniform, this parallels the harmony between the souls and God.

The Nature of the Divine Comedy

Allegory and JourneyAllegory is a story operating at a

literal and symbolic level, each character and action signify the literal as well as represent an idea.

The Divine Comedy is a narrative that details the journey of one man, Dante, through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven.

Allegory and JourneyDante represents every human.The journey represents rejection of sin

(Hell), redemption of the soul (Purgatory), and finally the unification between soul and God (Heaven).

The journey mirrors medieval Catholic theology.

Journey and Allegory ContinuedVirgil represents

Reason, which can take Dante only through Hell and Purgatory.

Beatrice, or Divine Revelation, must take Dante through Heaven.

Dante & Virgils JourneyDante, guided by Virgil, heads down

into the Inferno.Hell is an inverted cone, wide at the

top and narrow at the bottom. Dante and Virgil travel through Hell

and Dante recounts the sights of sinners being punished in ways that symbolically fit the sin.

Structure of Inferno (cross section)

Structure of Inferno

There are 9 concentric circles in Hell.

Hell is geographically divided into Upper Hell and the Lower Hell by the Walls of the Dis.

Four Areas of Hell, Four Types of Sin

Hell is theologically divided into four sections:

– Opportunisim (vestibule/outside hell)

– Sin of Paganism (circle 1)

– Sins of Incontinence (circles 2-6)

– Sins of Violence (circle 7)

– Sins of Fraud (circles 8-9)

Vestibule: OpportunismSin: choosing neither right nor wrong.Punishment: floating around outside

Heaven, Hell and Purgatory chasing a banner (opportunity) being stung by bees (conscience or guilt).

Circle One: Limbo

Sin: Not knowing Jesus ChristPunishment: No physical torments,

only the emotional torment of never knowing God or experiencing Heaven (no hope).

Incontinence: Circles 2-6Sins of incontinence are irrational sins

against God. Sins in which people give into their physical or emotional urges without regard to rational thought or moral consequences.

Circle 2: Sins of LustSin: Lust or AdulteryPunishment: To have

one’s soul float around in a whirlwind, just as one gave into physical desires.

Circle 3: GluttonySin: to give into

one’s physical desires to eat and drink regardless of consequences

Punishment: To be bloated and mired in filth, while filth rains down from the sky

Circle 4: Avarice & Prodigality

Sin: Hoarding (greed) or Wasting (prodigality) without thought to consequence.

Punishment: Souls of misers push rocks into the rocks pushed by spendthrifts

Circle 5: Anger

Sin: Wrathfulness or great anger in life Punishment: to be immersed in the filthy

river, Styx, and constantly tear at one anotherSin: Sullen, those who refused to welcome the

light of God into their heartsPunishment: To forever be buried underneath

the Styx, never seeing light.

Circle 6: Heretics

Sin: Heretics who denied the idea of immortality (they thought the soul died with the body)

Punishment: To exist eternally in graves in the fiery morgue of God’s wrath

Circle 7: Violence

Circle 7 is an area divided into three separate rounds, each round is an area in which specific groups of sinners are punished.

Round One: The Violent Against NeighborsRound Two: The Violent Against

ThemselvesRound Three: The Violent Against God,

Nature and Art

Circle 8: The Fraudulent and Malicious

Circle 8 consists of 10 bolgias or pockets.

They are often referred to as malebolges, or ‘pockets of evil.’

Each pocket or bolgia is where a group of specific sinners is punished.

Ten Malebolgias of Circle 8Bolgia 1: Panderers and SeducersBolgia 2: FlatterersBolgia 3: SimoniacsBolgia 4: Fortune Tellers and DivinersBolgia 5: The GraftersBolgia 6: The HypocritesBolgia 7: The ThievesBolgia 8: The Evil CounselorsBolgia 9: The Sowers of DiscordBolgia 10: The Falsifiers

Circle 9: TreacheryCircle 9 includes four areas called rounds:Round 1: Treacherous to KinRound 2: Treacherous to CountryRound 3: Treacherous to Guests & HostsRound 4: Treacherous to Their MastersThe Center: Satan

Dante Emerges from Hell

Dante views Satan and proceeds to climb his spiny back to emerge on Earth, not far from the nine ledges of Purgatory.