Notes on The Divine Comedy
· This poem by Dante is divided into three sections with around 33-34 cantos (short poetic chapters) each.
o Inferno is about Dante’s trip to hell
o Purgatorio is Dante’s trip to purgatory (like a waiting place between heaven and hell)
o Paradiso is Dante’s trip to heaven
· The whole Comedy takes place over Easter –
o from Good Friday (celebrating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ) when Dante goes to hell,
o through the three days of Christ in the grave when Dante goes to purgatory,
o and ending with Easter day (the day Christ rose from the grave) when Dante goes to heaven.
· Comedia (Comedy) – means a challenging journey made to arrive at peace – not funny ha ha.
· Main Characters you need to know:
o Dante (also the actual writer) is the main character that goes through all the adventures
§ Symbol of every human and their journey
o Virgil (the historical writer of the Aeneid) is Dante’s mentor, hero, and guide through hell.
§ Symbol of human reasoning and classical learning
o Beatrice (the girl Dante loved as a young man) is an angel and guides Dante through purgatory and heaven (because Virgil lives in hell and can’t go there).
§ Symbol of faith and God’s love
· The Divine Comedy is an allegory – the characters, setting, plot have hidden, symbolic meanings.
· The Divine Comedy is a poem written in terza rima – a meter that Dante created; it has three line stanzas (symbolic of trinity), and a rhyme scheme of aba bcb cdc…also he used feminine endings on the second to last syllable of each line. These things made it very difficult to translate – but put the Tuscan language on the map!
Terms to know (The Divine Comedy)
Simoniacs/Simony– those who sell church favors (like indulgences, relics, positions of power given for money or favors)
Avarice/Avaricious – greed
Prodigal/Prodigality – extravagant wastefulness, spendthrift
Slothful – lazy, aversion to work
Glutton – overindulgence in anything, consuming immoderate amounts of food/drink
Limbo – the abode of souls who cannot go to heaven because of circumstances beyond their control, and they don’t really deserve to go to hell either.
Heresy – an opinion/doctorine in conflict with established religious beliefs.
Blasphemy – a contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God.
Usury – those who lend money at an exorbitant rate and take advantage of others financially.
Incontinence – not able to control oneself, unrestrained.
Malice – hate; a desire to harm others and see them suffer.
Pander/panderer- one who leads another person astray (into sin).
Papacy – the office and jurisdiction of the Pope.
Contrapasso – the punishment fits the crime (sin).