Dante Alighieri Essay

Dante's use of allegory in the Inferno greatly varies from Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" in purpose, symbolism, characters and mentors, and in attitude toward the world. An analysis of each of these elements in both allegories will provide an interesting comparison. Dante uses allegory to relate the sinner's punishment to his sin, while Plato uses allegory to discuss ignorance and knowledge. Dante's Inferno describes the descent through Hell from the upper level of the opportunists to the most evil, the treacherous, on the lowest level. His allegorical poem describes a hierarchy of evil.

Who is Dante? He was a man that had a desire to find the truths of heaven and earth even from a very young age; his goal was to understand the three worlds in his mind of hell, purgatory and paradise so that he could find the true everlasting happiness. In Dante’s age there was not really a separation between church and state. “Dante 's philosophical view was also a political view. In Dante 's time, there were two major political factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Originally, the Ghibellines represented the medieval aristocracy, which wished to retain the power of the Holy Roman Emperor in Italy, as well as in other parts of Europe. The Ghibellines fought hard in this struggle for the nobility to retain its feudal powers over the land and the people in contrast, the Guelphs, of which Dante was a member, were mainly supported by the rising middle class, represented by rich merchants, bankers, and new landowners. The enemy was politically, philosophically, and theologically wrong — and thus a Heretic” He was a supporter of the papacy which was a direct opposition to the Holy Roman Emperor, therefore putting himself in danger of his beliefs.

On 1st of November 1301, Charles of Valois invaded Florence, with the official purpose to bring peace between the two internal political factions but, in contrast, he reached the political power on the city, on which he ruled and enacted hard laws. In addition, on 9th of November 1301 the French Prince appointed Conte Gabrielli da Gubbio (member of the Black Guelphs) as supreme magistracy of Florence, allowing this latter to recall in Florence the exiled Donati family, who had been previously banned from the city as guilty of conspiracy against the White faction (June 1301). The above episode is mentioned in Dante's Comedy as the prophecy by Ciacco : "He then: “After long striving they will come/To blood; and the wild party from the woods/Will

Dante’s years of exile were years of difficult peregrinations from one place to another—as he himself repeatedly says, most effectively in Paradiso [XVII], in Cacciaguida’s moving lamentation that “bitter is the taste of another man’s bread and . . . heavy the way up and down another man’s stair.” Throughout his exile Dante nevertheless was sustained by work on his great poem. The Divine Comedy was possibly begun prior to 1308 and completed just before his death in 1321, but the exact dates are uncertain. In addition, in his final years Dante was received honourably in many noble houses in the north of Italy, most notably by Guido Novello da Polenta, the nephew of the remarkable Francesca, in Ravenna. There at his death Dante was given an honourable

The Great Divorce, by C.S Lewis and Inferno by Dante Alighieri, are great works that describe in significant detail the souls living in hell and how they got there. Lewis and Dante both portray to the reader how to attain Gods salvation by presenting the choices people make and what happens to them when they either become saved or reject God. The books have a distinct parallel between them. This parallel is found in the characters that reside in all nine circles of hell, and the different ghosts found on the bus traveling through heaven. Lewis and Dante characters are extremely similar and this essay will compare those exact characters.

Dante was born in Florence, Italy to Alaghiero and Bella. His mom died before Dante turned 10 years old, and he soon had a new stepmother and two new siblings. He once lived in Bologna for a couple of years until his exiles were banished then he moved to Padua. He took his name from his teacher, a carver in bone and ivory named Michelino. He was elected to the Compagnia di San Luca (painter 's guild) in 1442 and joined the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali in 1444. Dante’s last works dates to 1484, two images of St. Luke for the banner of

The Guelphs assumed power but split themselves up into Whites and Blacks, the Whites taking the antipapal position of the Ghibellines. Dante eventually cast his lot in with the Whites. When the Blacks seized power in Florence in 1302, they condemned him to death, forcing him to leave his wife, Gemma Donati, and their four children in his beloved native city for the rest of his life. Dante spent most of his time in exile writing new pieces of literature (Siegal). It is believed that around 1307 he stops work on Convivio to begin The Comedy (later known as The Divine Comedy). He completed it shortly before he dies in 1321. The Divine Comedy is

Written two hundred years apart, The Inferno by Dante and The Prince by Machiavelli both contain examples of society during the late middle ages and also the

“My Guide and I crossed over and began to mount that little known and lightless road to ascend into the shinning world again.” The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is an epic poem, divine comedy, which was written in the 1500’s in Italian. Dante Alighieri lost his mother at a very young age and was exiled from his hometown, Florence when his group, the White Guelphs got into a disagreement with the Black Guelphs. Dante was a writer and greatly involved in politics which influenced him to write this epic poem. The story starts at with him meeting the ghost of Virgil, his idol, who becomes his guide for the remainder of the book and tries to escort Dante to heaven to be with his love, Beatrice.

He puts himself as an equal to some of the greatest literature artists in history before he has even began his work in earnest. He also scoffs at sinners, showing arrogance and that he is more worthy in God’s eyes then them. He also chooses himself to go on this journey, among the entire world population. And in his own

     Dante Alighieri was a very well known and influential poet in early literature. “He was not only a poet, he was also a philosophical thinker, an active politician, and a religious visionary'; (Holmes 1). Dante was born in Florence in 1265, into the Guelph political party, one of the two main parties in Florence. The Guelphs were aristocrats and nobles. They supported the church and papacy and were against the Renaissance. Their opposition was the Ghibellini Party who consisted of the rising merchant class. They supported the emperor and wanted to gain power from the pope (Holmes 22). During his earlier years Dante was neutral politically, but he

Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet and writer of the 13th century, creates a fictional account of his visions of his journey through Hell. His background as a Catholic influences his life and his writings, including The Inferno. He uses the historical and political events of his lifetime to influence his writings as well. Dante is educated and very familiar with the history and literature of the classical world. In The Inferno, he expresses his admiration for Greco-Roman history, literature, mythology, and philosophy, but he also places limitations on the ability of the classical world to gain salvation as taught and believed in Christian doctrine.

Dante's `Divine Comedy', the account of his journey through hell, purgatory and heaven is one of the worlds great poems, and a prime example of a most splendidly realized integration of life with art. More than being merely great poetry, or a chronicle of contemporary events, which it also is, the `Comedy' is a study of human nature by a man quite experienced with it. The main argument I will make in this essay is that Dante's `Comedy' is chiefly a work of historical significance because in it lies the essence of human life across all boundaries of time and place. I feel that such a reading is justified, nay invited, by Dante himself when he says;

During Dante’s lifetime, two factions were in constant conflict amongst each other over control of his home of Florence; the Guelphs, supporters of the

Dante was a poet in Italy in the 13th century and the events in Dante's life shape Dante's Inferno. There were political problems in Florence, Italy, and there were two groups, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.