The Divine Comedy By: Dante Alighieri: Inferno
The Divine Comedy By: Dante Alighieri: Inferno
The Divine Comedy By: Dante Alighieri: Inferno
QUIJANO, JUDY-ANN
Dante Alighieri THE DIVINE COMEDY a famous Medieval Italian epic poem depicting the realms of the
afterlife. Dante wrote this poem somewhere between 1308 and his death in 1321, while he was in exile from his
hometown of Florence, Italy which had been enduring civil war.
The divine comedy is divided into three separate volumes, containing 33 cantos. These volumes are INFERNO,
PURGATORIO and PARADISO.
INFERNO
The inferno tells the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by an ancient poet Virgil. The sinners in Hell have
never repented while on Earth. They suffer the consequences of the sins they committed during life, which are
turned back on them, a concept called Contrapasso.
To leave hell, they must go through all nine Circles of Hell, the deeper the circle, the more grave the sin and its
appropriate punishment. The first circle holds the unbaptized and the pagans born before Christ. The other
circles are defined by the major sin committed by those condemned to that circle: 2. lust 3. Gluttony 4. Greed 5.
Wrath and depression. The final circle make up the infernal city called Dis, with circle six containing heretics,
circles seven containing those who committed violence, circle eight containing deceiver and circle nine
containing those who betrayed trust. At the deepest region of circle nine, a three faced Satan, stuck in a frozen
lake, chews on the worst betrayers of all the time : Judas and Brutus and Cassius.
PURGATORIO
Dante and Virgil climb out enter Purgatory, where penitent souls endure punishment in order to fully purge
themselves of sin before entering heaven. Purgatory is shaped like a mountain and is divided into seven
different levels, associated with the seven deadly sins odf pride, envy, wrath, sloth, covetousness, gluttony and
lust. Unlike the souls in hell, they sing and praise God in the midst of their punishment, and implore Dante ask
people on Earth to pray for their souls. And also they are free to move between the seven levels as they purify
themselves. Beyond the seventh level at the top of the mountain is the mountain is the earthy paradise of Eden,
where Virgil disappears and is replaced by Dante’s next guide.
PARADISO
Paradiso (English: "Heaven", "Paradise") is the third and the last section of Dante's epic poem of Divine
Comedy. In it, the Italian poet describes his journey through Heaven, the things he sees and people he
encounters on the way to the so-called Empyrean, the true home of God, saints, angels and the souls of the
faithful. He is accompanied by Beatrice, identified as Dante's love of life Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) who
guides him through the 9 Spheres of Heaven.
The first three spheres (which fall within the shadow of the Earth) are associated with deficient forms
of Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance. The next four are associated with positive examples of Prudence,
Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance; while Faith, Hope, and Love appear together in the eighth sphere.
Beatrice explains that a vow is a pact "drawn between a man / and God," in which a person freely offers up his
free will as a gift to God. Vows should therefore not be taken lightly, and should be kept once given – unless
keeping the vow would be a greater evil, as with Jephthah's and Agamemnon's sacrifice of their daughters.
Dante meets his ancestor Cacciaguida, who served in the Second Crusade. Cacciaguida praises the twelfth-
century Republic of Florence, and bemoans the way in which the city has declined since those days (Cantos XV
and XVI). The setting of the Divine Comedy in the year 1300, before Dante's exile, has allowed characters in the
poem to "foretell" bad things for Dante. In response to a question from Dante, Cacciaguida speaks the truth
bluntly.
However, Cacciaguida also charges Dante to write and tell the world all that he has seen of Hell, Purgatory, and
Heaven. Finally, Dante sees some other warriors of the Faith, such as Joshua, Judas
Maccabeus, Charlemagne, Roland, and Godfrey of Bouillon.
The Empyrean
From the Primum Mobile, Dante ascends to a region beyond physical existence, the Empyrean, which is the
abode of God. Beatrice, representing theology, is here transformed to be more beautiful than ever before, and
Dante becomes enveloped in light, rendering him fit to see God
Dante sees an enormous rose, symbolizing divine love, the petals of which are the enthroned souls of the
faithful (both those of the Old Testament and those of the New). All the souls he has met in Heaven, including
Beatrice, have their home in this rose. Angels fly around the rose like bees, distributing peace and love. Beatrice
now returns to her place in the rose, signifying that Dante has passed beyond theology in directly contemplating
God, and St. Bernard, as a mystical contemplative, now guides Dante further.
St. Bernard further explains predestination, and prays to the Virgin Mary on Dante's behalf. Finally, Dante
comes face-to-face with God Himself. God appears as three equally large circles occupying the same space,
representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
Within these circles Dante can discern the human form of Christ. The Divine Comedy ends with Dante trying to
understand how the circles fit together, and how the humanity of Christ relates to the divinity of the Son but, as
Dante puts it, "that was not a flight for my wings". In a flash of understanding, which he cannot express, Dante
does finally see this, and his soul becomes aligned with God's love