Lesson One Introduction and Dante's biography Language skill: Pronouns and their antecedents

Background: The Political Life of Dante

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265. He was descended from a well respected family. His hometown, Florence, was growing in greatness and riches, trading in such goods as wool, silk, and leather. Florence, like the other cities in Italy at the time, was under the jurisdiction of Rome. Yet Rome itself was divided. Both the Emperor and the Pope claimed political authority, and thus Italy was divided between the partisans of the Emperor, the Ghibellines, and the partisans of the Pope, the Guelfs. As can be imagined, such a situation caused chaos. The Guelfs gained control of Florence in 1266. Dante's family had been associated with the Guelf party for a considerable time. In later years two sub parties of the Guelfs were created:  the Whites and Blacks. Both claimed they were Guelf, but the pope, Boniface VIII sided with the Blacks. Dante was a member of the Whites and a member of the government council of the city. Dante soon found himself at odds with the Pope. In 1300 Dante was exiled. Thus, he was forced to spend the rest of his life away from his beloved hometown of Florence. The Pope's sentence carried a harsh penalty: should Dante ever return to Florence, he would be burned at the stake. Needless to say, Dante never returned home-- but, through the power of his pen he was to gain sweet revenge! He lived with his friends and admirers and spent his time in exile writing The Divine Comedy.

The Love Lives of Dante

Why "lives" and not "life"? The answer to this question is a crucial one in understanding Dante and his work. At the time of his exile (1300) Dante was a married man with four children. He had been married some time between 1284 and 1292 to a woman named Gemma di Donati. Gemma's family, like Dante's was old and respected. It is thought that their marriage was arranged. Gemma never joined her husband after his exile, although Dante's two sons eventually did. But to understand Dante and his work, it is necessary to examine the influence of another woman -- Beatrice Polinari. Like Romeo and Juliet, the names of Dante and Beatrice will forever be linked. Dante probably saw Beatrice only twice in his life, the first time when he was a boy of only eight years old. He glimpsed her again, several years later and was delighted that she smiled at him! Like Dante, Beatrice was married, probably also through a political arrangement. In 1290, Beatrice died. She was only 24 years old. Her death brought Dante into great despair, for Beatrice had become a wonderful symbol for Dante. Dante used Beatrice as a symbol through out his works. Beatrice -- a real woman -- became the allegorical symbol of God's love, divine revelation, Christ, salvation or a number of other interpretations. Dante only saw Beatrice a few times in his life, but she became for him a symbol of all that is good.

The Structure of the Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy is made up of 100 Cantos -- 33 in each section plus one extra in The Inferno. It was written in the vernacular Italian, not Latin, in a verse form having three rhymes called terza rima. The allegorical journey employing Dante and characters from mythology, ancient Rome (Virgil-classical reasoning), Christian theology and "real life" Florence (Beatrice-faith). The sinners in the Inferno are punished according to an elaborate scheme of divine retribution--you reap what you sow!

Important definitions!

1. allegory- An expression, by means of symbolic fictional characters and actions, of truths about human conduct and experience.

 

2. terza rima- An Italian form iambic poetry having sets of three lines, the middle line of each set riming with the first and last of the succeeding: ababcbcdc. It was invented by Dante.

 

3. epic poem-A long narrative poem with an exalted style, theme, and hero.

(Definitions from Lexicon of Literary Terms by Robert Anderson and Ronald Eckard)

An Important symbol: The number 3

1. Dante- the author and the main character

2. Virgil- Dante's guide through the Inferno and the Purgatorio. The real historical Virgil was long-dead even in Dante's time. Dante, himself a poet, had admired Virgil's poetry greatly and so "reincarnates" him to be his guide on the journey. Virgil represents reason.

3. Beatrice- while not actually a character in the Inferno ( she does not appear until the Paradisio) her influence is felt throughout the whole of the Divine Comedy. She represents divine love or faith.

Dante attempts to unite the concepts of faith and reason-- the primary goal of medieval Scholasticism.

Chart your journey -- On the Highway to Hell

To Grammar Lesson 1: Pronouns and their Antecedents

To Inferno Lesson 2: The Vestibule

Back to The Inferno Guide

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