Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy

• The Divine Comedy is a popular poem with spirits tormented in hell, reflecting Christian doctrine.

Dante Alighieri & The Divine Comedy

• The Divine Comedy and The Decameron are two canonical works of the Middle Ages, written in Italy by Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio, respectively.
• Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in May 1265 to Bellincione and Bela (Gabriella).
• Dante's family belonged to a small-aristocratic social stratum, subject to Florence's socio-political situation.
• Dante likely studied writing and arithmetic, potentially with humanist Brunetto Latini at the University of Bologna, exposed to Greek and Latin works, especially Virgil.
• Dante actively participated in Florence's political and intellectual life and befriended poet Guido Cavalcanti.
• 1277: Dante was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati.
• Dante, advocating for Florence's peace and autonomy, fought in the battles of Caprona (1284) and Campaldino (1289).
• 1301: Corso Donati seized Florence, persecuting Dante, who opposed Pope Boniface VIII's policies.
• Dante was exiled, facing death if he returned to Florence.
• Dante's exile lasted over 20 years, during which he reflected and wrote, seeking fame to restore his favor.
• He found asylum in Ravenna at the court of Guido Novello da Polenta, where he died on September 14, 1321, at age 56.

Timeline

• 1265: Dante born in Florence.
• 1277: Betrothed to Gemma di Manetto Donati.
• 1284: Fought in Caprona.
• 1289: Fought in Campaldino.
• 1290: Death of Bextru

Dante and Beatrice

• Beatrice di Folco Portinari, who died in 1290, was the inspiration for Dante's poetry in the dolce stil novo style
• Dante's passion for Beatrice may have been influenced by her role as an idealized figure.
• Dante's devotion to Beatrice is undeniable, with evidence suggesting she mocked or rejected him.
• Dante (During) was promised in marriage at twelve (1277) to Gemma di Manetto Donati, later separated due to exile from Florence.

Literary Works by Dante

• Dante Alighieri wrote several literary works
• Vita Nuova (1292): dolce stil novo work with poems, songs, and ballads about encounters with Beatrice.
• Convivio: Philosophical-poetic treatise promoting philosophy and theology, advocating for Italian language and universal empire.
• De vulgari eloquentia: Incomplete work promoting Italian as a medium of expression.
• Other works include De Monarchia- a political program advocating for a universal empire under Rome, banned by the Vatican- and Rimas (1319).

The Divine Comedy

• The Divine Comedy is one of the most famous and influential works of universal literature
• Dante began writing in 1306
• It is a Christian epic about a descent into the underworld written in Italian reflecting the Christian-medieval mindset with classical-Latin structure.
• Structure of The Divine Comedy:
  • Inferno: 34 cantos (including a prologue).
  • Purgatorio: 33 cantos.
  • Paraiso: 33 cantos.
• All three parts result in 100 cantos with 150 verses each, symbolizing the Holy Trinity and theological virtues.

Four Levels of Interpretation of The Divine Comedy:

• Literal: Dante, guided by Virgil, descends to the underworld and sees the souls' state after death.
• Allegorical: Dante, lost in life, finds the right path through reason (Virgil), confronts horrors, meditates on sin, purges, and contemplates divinity through divine grace (Beatrice).
• Moral: Offers a warning, exemplifying consequences for straying from the righteous path.
• Theological: Reflects constant horror and rejection of evil, promoting virtue.

Giovanni Boccaccio

• Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), alongside Dante and Petrarch, was a key figure in medieval literature
• Boccaccio introduced the novella and short story in prose
• His work transitioned thought from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
• Born in either Florence or Certaldo
• Boccaccio was the illegitimate son of Boccaccino di Chellino
• Boccaccio traveled to Naples in 1327 and was inspired to explore literature.
• Boccaccio moved to Paris in 1333 and molded his humanist thought.
• Boccaccio returned to Florence in 1340
• Boccaccio met Petrarch in 1350 who became a fruitful friendship where Boccaccio took advice to lift his literary works
• He suffered a crisis of faith, he moved to Certaldo in 1370 to meditate; Boccaccio had health challenges
• He passed away on December 21, 1375.
• Elianne Vega (2004) notes that el Decamerón is comprised of 100 stories, which are told over 10 days by 10 young people near Florence trying to avoid the Black Death.

Boccaccio's Notable Works:

• 1334-7: La casa de Diand
• 1336-9: Filocolo
• 1339-40: Teseida
• 1340: Filostrata
• 1341-2: Comedia de las ninfas fikorentinas
• 1342-3: Amorosa visión
• 1345-4: Elegia de Madonna Fiammetta
• 1344-5: Nintale fiesolunu
• 1349-51: Decamerón
• 1350-74: Germostat deorum gentium
• 1355-63: De cavibus virorum Matrum
• 1355-64: De montibus, silvis, fontibus, lacubus, fluminibus, stagnis seu paludibus, et de nominibus maris

el Decamerón

• During afternoons, each person tells a story, ending with a ballad after the last narrator's tale; a king or queen is chosen daily.
• Boccaccio drew inspiration from fables, classics, folklore, and contemporary society and presented human as the maker its own fate.
• Human qualities psychology are direct lines that link all narratives; because of this Boccaccio become a precursor to humanism

Style and Influence of el Decamerón

• The tales narrate daily life.
• el Decamerón stories are told in Italian; which was previously a vulgar language.
• Italian marked an initial incident: but this was used in prose.
• Structure is influenced by medieval literature representing the values of the era.
• Comparable to One Thousand and One Nights
• The tale is meant to ward-off death the protagonists.
• Character and storytelling novelty influenced following prose, especially through the Renaissance.
• Part of Dante's work is framed within the dolce stil novo, which extolled the beloved being, hence Beatrice is most precious.
• The Divine Comedy is a poem of 100 songs formed; each for this; through 150 verse: 34 for Hell ; 33 for Purgatory ; 33 for Paradise.
• The influence of el Decamerón over later prose.
• Both Dante and both Boccaccio wrote in Italian to match Latin.