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An Introduction to Dante’s Inferno. Dante Alighieri. 1265-1321 Born in Florence, Italy -Died in Ravenna at the age of 56 after complications due to Malaria Considered one of the greatest poets of Western Civilization Was exiled from Florence in 1302
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Dante Alighieri • 1265-1321 • Born in Florence, Italy -Died in Ravenna at the age of 56 after complications due to Malaria • Considered one of the greatest poets of Western Civilization • Was exiled from Florence in 1302 • Spent the rest of his life wandering around Italy
Dante Alighieri • Beatrice (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 context Guelphs and Ghibellines • Guelphs • sided with the pope in the city’s political tensions • Guelphs 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
Format • Commedia • A challenging journey made to arrive at peace • The Divine Comedy • Inferno • Purgatorio • Paradiso
Allegory • Definitions: • 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 soul • Virgil represents reason • Animal Farm: • Allegory for Stalinist totalitarianism • Napoleon the Pig represents Joseph Stalin • Inception: • Allegory for film making • Cobb (Leo Dicaprio) represents the a film director • Fisher (target of inception) represents the audience • “Inception” is the central idea/purpose of the movie
The Number 3 • Principle 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 Inferno • Journey through Hell takes 3 days • Good Friday to Easter Sunday • Terza rima • Rhyme scheme that consists of 3-line stanzas • More 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
Components • Dante’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.
Components • Allusion • 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 Eve • Troy • Fortune’s Wheel • AND MANY MORE!
Components Some 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 Hell • 1-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 questions FOR 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?