The Inferno

“Abandon all hope ye who enter here!”By Dante Alighieri

Personal Life and Education• Lived from 1265-1321 (A period in Italy known as

The Middle Ages, although it overlaps a little with the very, very early onset of The Renaissance, especially in Italy).

• Education – University of Bologna• Introduction to Poets and their world philosophies• Was ARRANGED to marry Gemma di Manetto

Donati. • They had 2-3 sons and a daughter.

Personal Life and Education cont.BEATRICE!

• Meets Beatrice at a May Day party when he is 9 years old! He falls in love with her (Yes, at age 9… go figure, silly boys!)

• Misunderstanding = Dante perceiving that Beatrice is upset with him. She dies before misunderstanding settled.

• Dante DEVASTED and Heartbroken.• Beatrice’s spirit now begins to dominate his

emotional, religious, and literary lives/works.

Beatrice – “one who blesses”• Becomes Dante’s image of “an ideal guide…” in life and

eventually in the Inferno.SHE WAS: 1. The force which lead Dante from despair to spiritual

renewal.2. The subject of most of his love poetry.3. The object of his religious quest and a symbol of spiritual

purity.4. Idealized by Dante much the same as Christians idolize

the Virgin Mary.5. The one who sends Virgil to guide Dante through Hell and

Purgatory (in the Inferno). She alone can guide Dante toward salvation and Paradise.

Dante Alighieri and Politics– City divided into two factions, The Guelphs and The

Ghibellines. Eventually the Ghibellines were expelled from Florence, and at this time, the Guelphs divided into two factions, the White and Black Guelphs.

– Dante fought against the Ghibellines. – Dante was STRONGLY opposed to the involvement of

the Pope and the Church in political conflicts. He favored a renewal of a Roman Empire which would take care of “wordly concerns” so that the church could focus on spiritual matters. Thus, Dante was a White Guelph.

Don’t ever be on the opposite side of the Pope!

• Unfortunately for Dante, the Pope at the time, Boniface, supported the Black Guelphs. (Shocking…ultimately the Black Guelphs’ opinion gives the Pope MORE power)

• 1301 – Dante is out of town. City seized by his “enemies” and he is sentenced to die if he returns.

• Never returned to his BELOVED city of Florence. • He lived the rest of his life in “exile”. Whether he

ever saw his wife and kids again is unknown.• He died in Ravenna – the place where he wrote The

Divine Comedy.

Background to the InfernoThe Inferno….MythologicalLegendaryHistoricalPoliticalReligiousAnd personal!Supreme work of

Medieval Thought.

The Inferno….Gives expression to nearly every major intellectual and moral issue of the Middle Ages, including morality, love, and spiritual salvation. Is there an equivalent in Modern Society???

The Inferno is part of a Trilogy (3 parts) called The Divine Comedy. The other two parts are The Purgatorio and The Paradiso.

The Journey

The narrator’s journey (the narrator is a sinner named Dante) begins on Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday, therefore The Divine Comedy takes the reader on a journey that symbolically begins in a despairing world not yet redeemed by Christ’s crucifixion (Good Friday) and ends with the narrator’s return as a man who is renewed with hope (on Easter Sunday!)

The Journey Continued…• So, the first part of the trilogy, The Inferno, is set

on Good Friday, in the depths of hell. • The Purgatorio takes place on Holy Saturday and

focuses on the wisdom of Christ and a hope for salvation for those awaiting judgement.

• The Paradiso occurs on Easter Sunday and focuses on the love of the Holy Spirit.

• The entire Divine Comedy takes place over the course of 3 days.

The Number 3!

• The fact that the story takes place over 3 very important days is NOT RANDOM! The number 3 is central to the conception and execution of Dante’s work. It is inspired by the concept of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, united in one trinity! The Divine Comedy takes place over 3 days, has 3 parts to it, and….

The Number 3 continued….Each part of The Divine Comedy is composed of…1. 33 Cantos (aka chapters). The Inferno actually has 34

cantos, but the first canto is considered an Introduction and is the only chapter/canto to take place on Earth.

2. Tercets – the poem/story is written in a series of 3 line groups/stanzas

3. Terza rima – the verse form for the Comedy is that the last word of the middle line rhymes with the last word of the first and third lines of the stanza which follow it.

An Allegory…

the Inferno is an Allegory…Allegories have two meanings – a literal and a symbolic. In an allegory, the characters, setting and plot stand for something beyond their face value.Allegories discuss one subject by disguising it as another, though the two subjects resemble each other.

the Inferno… literally and symbolically….

• Literally - It is Good Friday and Dante (the narrator) finds himself lost and directionless in a dark forest. This forest symbolizes the darkness and the sin we as humans very well might find ourselves lost in at some point in our lives!

• Literally, he must find his way out of the forest.. He sees a light atop a mountain and feels he must move toward it to escape the forest. A guide, Virgil, will help guide him out of the scary, dark forest.

• Symbolically, abandoned by hope and in despair, and consumed in a life of sin which he doesn’t know how to escape, he undertakes a journey for belonging and salvation!

• Symbolically, he is guided through hell toward the light of salvation by Virgil… a guide sent by Beatrice to lead her admirer on his spiritual journey.

Virgil….

• This is significant because Virgil is the ultimate symbol of what human reason can achieve without faith, as he lived before Christ’s birth.

• Middle Ages scholars read and greatly respected Virgil’s work.

• He wrote the Aeneid, and he died 19 years prior to Christ’s birth, thus he is in hell, as you can’t go to Heaven if you never knew Christ!

THE HORRORS DANTE SEES AND THE PUNISHMENTS THESE SINNERS

SUFFER IS A WARNING TO HIM, AND US, THAT HE MUST CHANGE HIS LIFE

FOR THE BETTER …AND SO MUST WE!

Circles of Hell

• Hell organized by seriousness of sin.• Hell is a huge funnel-shaped pit located with its

center directly beneath Jerusalem. Its regions are divided into 9 circles which are connected by a series of circular staircases and terraces which become more and more narrow as one descends.

• The Bigger the sin, the further down the sinner goes!• Many reflective of early Christian philosophy of 7

deadly sins.

Punishments!

• The crimes are regulated by the Law of Retribution (an eye for an eye… each punishment corresponds to its sin)

3 Primary SinsIncontinence = Lacking Self RestraintViolenceFraudulence = Crimes characterized by deceit

9 Circles of Hell!VESTIBULE - The Uncommitted

The river Acheron (ferried over by Charon)

1. Virtuous Pagans – DID NOT KNOW ABOUT CHRIST! They rest peacefully in Limbo, a place without pain, but also without hope. Includes the souls of unbaptised children and righteous people who lived before Christ’s birth (so includes all pre-Christians including Homer and Virgil)

Circles of Hell!2. The Lustful – people who abandon reason for desire.3. The Gluttonous – folks who did things to excess (eat,

drink, etc.)4. The Avaricious and The Prodigal – Greedy and given

to reckless spending5. The Wrathful – hateful

The River Styx and the wall of Dis separates these sinners from the ones below. The ones below are considered worse sinners, thus the wall of separation!

Circles of Hell cont.6. Heretics – People who preach against orthodox

beliefs/religion.7. Rounds of Violence - Murderers, Suicides and

blasphemers (speak unpiously of god)1. Violence against neighbors2. Violence against self3. Violence against God, nature and art

………………………………………………………………………….ABYSS

Circles of Hell cont.8. The Fraudulent– these folks used deception for unlawful gain or

advantage. Dante’s most hated enemies tormented here, including Pope Boniface.

Valley 1 – pimps and seducers2 – flatterers3 – simonists – buy and sell positions in the church4 – soothsayers/fortune tellers5 – barrators – stir up lawsuits/quarrels6 – hypocrites7 - thieves8 – counselors of fraud in war9 – counselors of violence10 - counterfieters

Circles of Hell cont…CIRCLE 9- THE LOWEST POINT

GIANT’S WELL

9. Treacherous Fraud– 1. Caina – TRAITORS against relatives2. Antenora – TRAITORS against party or city3. Ptolomea –TRAITORS against guests4. Judecca – TRAITORS against lords and benefactors

SATAN

In Level 9…..

LUCIFER (because he betrayed God)

In his mouth, being chewed (feet first)….BRUTUS AND CASSIUS – for betraying Caesar

JUDAS – for betraying Jesus