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!

FormatTerza 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

ComponentsThe 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 beliefsBlasphemy– A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing

concerning GodUsury– 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?