Dante, 1265 – 1321

Comedy set in 1300

Comedy w. 1307-1321

COMEDY

STRUCTURE

Terza rima

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vitami ritrovai per una selva oscura,che la diritta via era smarrita.

Ahi quanto a dir qual era e cosa duraesta selva selvaggia e aspra e forteche nel pensier rinova la paura!

WORLDVIEW

ALLEGORY

Dante = Everyman

“Midway on our life’s journey, I found myselfIn dark woods, the right road lost.”

unknown Italian miniaturistDante Meeting the Three Symbolic BeastsBodleian Library, Oxford University, UK

This illustration is found in a fourteenth-century Italian codex.

Dark woods = worldly life

Mountain lit by sun = God

Three beasts blocking his way = sin

Virgil = reason, human understanding

Beatrice = divine revelation

“The only way to escape from the dark wood is to descend into Hell (man must first descend into humility before he can raise himself to salvation or God). The way up the mountain, then , is to go down: before man can hope to climb the mountain of salvation, he must first know what sin is. The purpose of Dante’s journey through Hell is precisely this: to learn all there is to know about sin as a preparation for the ascent to God. . . . His progress is slow, and there are even occasional backslidings.” - Mark Musa, The Portable Dante

TWO DANTES

Dante the poet

Dante the pilgrim

POET,not a theologian

1. Limbo (Canto IV)

2. Minos (Canto V)