Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 and descended from a respected family. He became involved in Florentine politics as a member of the White Guelph party, but was exiled in 1300 by the rival Black Guelphs and Pope Boniface VIII. During his exile, Dante wrote The Divine Comedy, an allegorical poem describing his journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The poem is composed of 100 cantos divided into three sections and uses allegory and symbolism to depict moral truths. It established the Italian language as a literary language and had an immense influence on subsequent Western literature.

1. Dante
Alligheri

2. Death Mask of Dante

3. Background:
 The Political Life of Dante

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. The Love Lives of Dante
 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.


10. 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!

12. Like Dante, Beatrice was married,
probably also through a political
arrangement. In 1290, Beatrice died.
She was only 24 years old.

13. 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.

14. 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!

15. Allegory
 An expression, a
narrative, by means
of symbolic fictional
characters and
actions, of truths
about human conduct
and experience. A
large, narrative,
symbol, in
otherwords.

16. 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.

17. Epic Poem
 A long narrative poem
with an exalted style,
theme, and hero.

18.  Canto I
The Vestibule
 Location: The Dark Wood

 Dante, in mid-life, finds himself
lost in a dark and treacherous
wood. It is Easter time -- Good
Friday. In the distance he glimpses
what he thinks is a way out, but
immediately he is confronted with
three wild beasts -- a leopard, a
lion and a she-wolf. These
creatures symbolize three types of
error or sin: the leopard
symbolizes mean-spiritedness and
fraud, the lion represents violence,
and the she-wolf represents
unrestrained passions. Dante
stands frozen in fear when
suddenly the figure of Virgil
appears. Virgil explains that he has
been "hired" to guide Dante
through the terrors of both the
Inferno and the Purgatorio.

19. Canto II
 Dante is terrified and
reluctant to make the
journey. Virgil explains
that he has been sent by
Beatrice to aid Dante.

20. Canto III
 The poets make their way to the vestibule of hell.
They must pass through a gateway with the following
message carved into the stone: Abandon all hope ye
who enter here. This place is like an anteroom or a
foyer -- it is not part of Hell-proper so to speak. Here
Dante -- and we, the readers -- see the plan of
symbolic retribution that will make up the rest of the
story. Dante is horrified at the sight before him. He is
viewing the punishment of the uncommitted.

21. Dante sees the souls of those who, in life, took no stand, kept
no promises, honored no loyalties. Their punishment is to
forever chase after an ever-moving flag, all the while
surrounded by horrible fetid air full of stinging bees and
wasps. As the insects bite the sinners, maggots emerge to suck
the pus that oozes from their sores. Dante now crosses the
river Acheron to visit the First Circle of the Inferno.

23. Circle One: Limbo
 Dante finds himself across the great river
Acheron and views the First Circle -- Limbo.
This circle is different from all the rest that he
will visit. Here there is no punishment or
torture. This place is inhabited by the "good
pagans." These are the souls of those who died
unbaptized; their only pain is that they will
never see the face of God. Here Dante sees
such great poets as Homer and Ovid.

25. Circle Two: The Lustful
 In order to pass to Circle Two Dante and Virgil must pass by
Minos the great Judge of the Underworld. Minos evaluates
each sinner as he appears before him and coils his tail reveal
the sinner's assigned circle. Two coils mean Circle Two, three
coils mean Circle Three and so on. Dante now views the
punishment of the Carnal and Lustful. These are sinners who
let their passions sweep them away in life, now, in death they
are condemned to be "swept away" for all eternity. A dirty,
smelly, powerful and tempestuous wind batters and whirls
these sinners at a fervid speed. Here Dante sees such
memorable characters as Dido, Queen of Carthage; Helen,
the beauty of Troy; and Cleopatra, the great ruler of Egypt.
In honor of Dante's visit, the winds cease for a short spell --
long enough for Dante to hear the sad and famous story of the
lovers Paulo and Francesca.

27. Circle Three: The Gluttons
 Dante and Virgil pass on to Circle Three to
view the punishment of the gluttonous. They
see all around them what resembles a
disgusting garbage heap. And thus the
symbolic punishment is once again revealed --
as these sinners "pigged out" in life, now they
must live in a heap of swinish garbage as their
eternal punishment.

28. To make matters even worse, they are
guarded by the violent and powerful three-
headed dog Cerberus. If the sinner attempts to
move away from the filth, Cereberus appears
to cover the sinner over with hellish-three-
headed dog-slobber! Dante and Virgil then
move toward the next Circle and view the
monster Plutus.

30. Circle Four: The Hoarders and the
Wasters
 In the Fourth Circle Dante and Virgil see two
groups of sinners-- the greedy, avaricious
hoarders and the immoderate and excessive
wasters. These sinners are condemned to roll
great boulders towards each other. When they
meet, they divide and begin again. Thus greed
and miserliness punish each other. Dante and
Virgil also see Dame Fortune as they descend
through the Marsh of the Styx to Circle Five

32. Circle Five The Wrathful and the
Sullen
 The Wrathful, true to their angry nature, are
fighting amongst themselves in a pit of
disgusting and foul slime. The Sullen, true to
their morose and sulky nature, lie mired
underneath the swamp of the Styx, muttering
and complaining about their fate.

34. Circle Six: The Fallen Angels and
the Heretics
 Phlegyas, the surly
boatman of the Styx, is
forced to give Dante and
Virgil safe passage
across the disgusting
waters of the marsh.

35. As the boat speeds across the water, Dante recognizes Fillippo
Argenti. Argenti, an enemy of Dante's family, is soundly
cursed by Dante and then attacked by the other sinners.
Dante and Virgil reach a great iron gate guarded by the
fallen angels. In Circle Six Dante sees many strange and
disturbing sights. Dante has a close call with Medusa, most
dreaded of the infernal furies. Dante beholds the sufferings of
the Heretics, those who did violence against God, as they
suffer in fiery tombs.

37. Cantos XII-XVIII: Circle Seven - The
Violent
 In Circle Seven Dante sees the punishments of the Violent.
The organization of this circle, and those that follow,
becomes increasingly complex. Circle Seven is divided
into three parts (or "rounds") with each section providing
appropriate torments for different types of violence. In
order to enter the Seventh Circle Dante and Virgil must
first pass by the dreaded beast the Minotaur and circle
around the Phlegethon River, the river of boiling blood.
This boiling blood provides proper torment for the
inhabitants of the First Round--the Violent Against
Neighbors. In this section of the circle Dante sees the
famous violent sinners Attila the Hun and Alexander the
Great.

40.  The poets progress to Round Two--the Violent
Against Themselves. Here the inhabitants are
imprisoned in trees. The leaves and branches are
fed upon by Harpies, causing the wounds to bleed
profusely.

42. In Round Three Dante sees the
Violent against God, Nature and Art.
These sinners are tormented on a
burning plain.

44. It is in this circle that Dante sees the hideous monster Geryon,
a creature that is emblematic of fraud. This disgusting
creature serves a "flying ferry" and carries Dante and Virgil
down the cliffs to Circle Eight.

45. Cantos XVIII- XXXI
- Circle Eight: Malebolge
 In Pouch One demons spur and drive the Panderers
and Seducers.
 Pouch Two contains the Flatterers who are sunk up
to their necks in excrement.
 Pouch Three holds the Simoniacs (sellers of church
favors). These sinners are positioned upside down in
"bins" that resemble baptismal fonts. The soles of
their feet are set ablaze. They stay in this position
until new sinners arrive, then they drop down into the
rock crevices for all eternity.

47.  In Pouch Four Dante sees the Fortunetellers.
These sinners have their heads on backwards
and must walk "backwards" for all time. In
life, they attempted to "see" the future, now in
death they must see the past. It is here that
Dante sees Tiresias, the soothsayer from the
ancient Greek myths.

49.  Pouch Five holds the Grafters. They are
immersed in sticky tar pitch-- a perfect
punishment for their lives of "sticky fingered"
crime. In Pouch Six Dante sees the Hypocrites
who now wander through all eternity weighed
down by heavy weighted robes -- robes which,
on the outside appear golden and bright, but on
the inside lack any sort of luster.

50. The Thieves are punished in Pouch Seven. The
thieves are provided with a particularly complicated
punishment. They are at first surrounded by
monstrous snakes that coil around each sinner=s
hands, binding him fast. When thus immobilized,
another reptile darts out to strike the sinner=s
throat, causing the sinner to explode into flame. But
the punishment is not over yet--- from the flaming
ashes, the sinner re-emerges to undergo the torment
again and again.

52.  The Evil Counselors are punished in Pouch Eight, hidden in great cups of
flame that symbolize their guilty consciences. Here Dante sees Ulysses and
Diomede, the instigators of the Trojan Horse ploy.
 Pocket Nine holds the sowers of religious, political and family discord. In
life thee people ripped apart peace and placidity; now in death they are
ripped apart physically. Dante sees Mahomet, who, in Dante=s view
represents religious schism. Mahomet=s torso is ripped by a sword slice.
As he approaches, Dante observes that Mahomet is "mangled and split
open." Dante then sees Bertrand de Born, a French troubadour/knight
traditionally blamed for the rift between Henry II and his son. As he comes
closer, Dante sees that de Born=s head has been severed-- as he advances
he holds his head before him like a lantern. This is surely one of the most
horrifying scene in the whole poem!

55. In Pocket Ten Dante views the falsifiers--alchemists,
evil impersonators ( NOT Elvis impersonators!),
counterfeiters, and false witnesses. These sinners, who
in life, corrupted all, now are made to endure every
sort of corruption and pain. Darkness, dirt, filth,
disease, hunger, thirst and noise surround them.
Dante and Virgil now move on past a vast horde of
Giants who guard the "Central Pit" of Malebolge.

56. Cantos XXXII-XXXIV
Circle Nine : Cocytus
 Dante and Virgil begin the last part of their journey.
They have arrived at the Ninth and final circle of hell.
The landscape here, perhaps surprisingly, is that of a
vast frozen lake. It is described as "a lake so frozen/it
seemed to be made of glass." Here are the sinners
farthest away from the warm love of God. First Dante
views the Treacherous Against their Kin. This
particular section of hell -- Cocytus -- is called
Caina, named of course, after the Biblical Cain.

58.  Next Dante arrives at Antenora and sees the
Traitors to Country. Here Dante, along with
the reader, is mesmerized by the terrifying
story of Count Ugolino and Archbishop
Ruggieri.

60.  The third section of Cocytus is called Ptolomea is the home of
the Treacherous to Guests and Hosts. These sinners are
pinned in the ice, their eyes shut with frozen tears. Section
four, Judecca, named for Judas Iscariot, punishes the
Treacherous to their Masters. At the center of this horrid
ice-pit we find Satan. Although he is imprisoned in the ice, his
great wings are free to beat the frozen air. He is a monster of
the most grotesque nature. He has three faces. In each of his
mouths Satan chomps on the greatest traitors in Dante=s view
-- Judas, the betrayer of Christ, is ripped and guzzled in the
center mouth of Satan. The other mouths shred Cassius and
Brutus, the betrayers of Caesar. Dante=s reaction to this sight
is one of the most awesome fear.

62.  After observing the horrible image of Satan, Dante
and Virgil must climb down the furry body of
Satan, "repelling" off of this torso to arrive at the
exit of Hell. They walk along the banks of Lethe,
the River of Forgetfulness and emerge at the foot
of Mount Purgatory. It is Easter Sunday morning.