Inferno Study Guide PDF

INFERNO 4.1 - INFERNO (INTRODUCTION) Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) - born during a time of political turbulence between the Ghibellines and Guelphs. Ghibellines - supported the Holy Roman Emperor Guelphs - supported the Pope Guelphs broke into two factions: White Guelphs - limited pa...

INFERNO 4.1 - INFERNO (INTRODUCTION) Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) - born during a time of political turbulence between the Ghibellines and Guelphs. Ghibellines - supported the Holy Roman Emperor Guelphs - supported the Pope Guelphs broke into two factions: White Guelphs - limited papal power Black Guelphs - total papal power By the 1300s, Pope Boniface VIII sent a ‘peacemaker’ who actually had a secret order to help the banished Black guelphs return to Florence - They pillaged and murdered citizens oioioi - Convicted prominent white guelphs of graft & corruption to banish them - Dante is a white guelph - He was absent during all the drama but he was ultimately exiled and was never allowed to return During his exile, patrons allowed him to stay with their families. - Eventually, he spent his last years with the da Polenta family (Francesca’s Nephew) The Divine Comedy “La Divina Commedia” - Originally “La Commedia” until Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio added “divine” because of the excellence of its narrative style and the subject matter that it tackles. - Product of Dante’s struggles during his exile - Reflects dominant religious beliefs - Reflects political struggles in Florence - Deliberately written in vernacular Italian in place of Latin - Paved the way for Italian language to gain prominence among writers and intellectuals Poem Structure: Dante used allegory to discuss abstract ideas through tangible concepts. - Can be read both literally and symbolically - Teaches a moral lesson - Have deeper meanings that are interconnected that need to be interpreted to have a richer understanding of the text Beatrice (Beatrice Portinari) - Dante’s great love (one of the most important characters) - Reminiscent of ‘courtly love’ - Unrequited, in secret, and in a highly respectful way - Dante met her 2 times throughout his life (9 and 18 yrs old) - He continued to love her even after both of them ended up marrying other people - His devotion remained even after her death at 24 yrs old - He saw her as the epitome of goodness and spiritual beauty - Made her the symbol of Divine Love in la commedia 4.2 - Canto I - La Divinia Commedia opens w/ Canto I → introduction to Dante the Character - 35 yrs old, midway to allotted yrs, wakes up in the Dark Wood of Error (worldliness) after wandering off the True Way (Christian faith) - Tries to climb the hill after seeing sunrise peek (divine illumination) from the Mount of Joy; blocked by the Three Beasts of Worldliness, frightening Dante back into the woods: Leopard (Panther) - malice and fraud Lion - violence and ambition She-wolf - incontinence (sensual pleasures)  - Virgil (Human Reason) appears and offers to guide Dante in a journey; to escape the beasts and the wood, Dante has to descend to Inferno (recognition of sin), ascend to Purgatorio (renunciation of sin) before racing Paradiso - Virgil can only guide Dante until Purgatorio, as a worthier spirit must take over after that (Beatrice, divine love; Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, final guide known for his special devotion to the Virgin Mary) Virgil - Dante’s first guide - Great Roman poet - Wrote “Aeneid” → story of how Rome was founded after the fall of Troy - Lived before Jesus - Can only accompany Dante as far as Human Reason goes Context - Written before the Italian Renaissance came into full bloom (glorious era of Western Europe) - Rediscovery of Greco-Roman tradition - Dante made the Roman poet Virgil as his greatest inspo and epitome of artistry and human intellect 4.3 - Canto II: “The Descent” - Dante sharing his feelings (self-doubt) - Focuses on an important conversation between Dante & Virgil - Dante feels as he is unworthy of the journey; compared himself to: Aeneas, founder of Rome Paul, chosen vessel of the Church and descendant of Aeneas - Who underwent the same journey to the underworld  - Virgil recounts how Beatrice requested his aid in guiding Dante, reassuring Dante on his worthiness 4.4 - Canto III: “The Vestibule of Hell” - Inscription on the gate of hell - Inhabitants of Hell are called “the fallen people, souls who lost the good of intellect” as described by Virgil - Opportunists Entrance, lived neither for good nor for bad “Retrograde and faithless crew hateful to God and His enemies” Angels who sided neither for God nor for Satan in the Rebellion Punishment is that they are neither in nor out of Hell Stung by insects & forever chasing a banner The One who made the Great Denial: Pope Celestine V - Explained by John Ciardi - Became pope in 1294 - A man of saintly life, but was convinced by Priest Benedetto that his soul was in danger since no man could live in the world w/o being damned - In fear for his soul, he withdrew from all worldly affairs and renounced the Papacy - Benedetto took over and became Pope Boniface VIII → symbol for church corruption for Dante & was blamed for many of the evils that befell Florence Charon - Ferryman of Acheron (the River of Woe) - Refused to transport Dante as he is living; usually transported across the Tiber River to Purgatorio or Paradiso by an Angel - Virgil argues that Dante’s journey was willed in heaven - Dante faints out of terror after a tremor shakes the place 4.5 - Canto IV: “Circle One: Limbo” - Dante wakes up in the first circle - No cries of suffering, but mournful sighing - Dante sees radiance; not of divine light, but of Human Reason Reason - Inhabited by “virtuous pagans” → upright people born before Christ’s revelation - Homer, Hector, Aeneas, Caesar, Aristotle, Camilla, Hippocreates - Human Reason is still light in darkness separated from the light of God, which torments the residents - No one has ever ascended except those who were saved during the Harrowing of Hell; “The Mighty One” (Christ) descended into Hell and saved souls of Abel, Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, Israel, and Rachel - Renowned poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan accompany them to the great Citadel surrounded by seven gates (Human Reason) → inhabited by noble souls (grouped into three → heroes & heroines, philosophers, & naturalists) - Dante is honored as the sixth member of the great poets 4.6 - Canto V: “Circle Two: The Carnal” Minos - Monster greeting Virgil and Dante when they descend - The judge of the damned → passes judgement as to what circle the souls must descend by wrapping his tail around himself - Tries to block Virgil & Dante → got silenced by Virgil when he said Dante’s journey was willed in heaven - Wise king of Crete known for his strong sense of justice in classical mythology “Souls of the Carnal” - Committed the sin of the flesh by betraying their reason to passion - Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris, and Tristan. Francesca and Paolo - “Swept together so lightly and still so sad” - Called by Dante in the name of love  Francesca da Rimini was married to Gianciotto Malatesta, a cruel and unattractive man. Paolo Malatesta, Gianciotto’s younger brother, was handsome and charming. Francesca and Paolo fell in love while reading the tale of Lancelot and Guinevere together. Their shared reading led to a moment of passion when they kissed, inspired by the story. Francesca blamed the book and its romantic tale for their fall into sin: "A Gallehault indeed, that book and he who wrote it. That day we read no further." Gianciotto discovered the affair and, in a fit of rage, murdered them both. Francesca and Paolo are condemned to the Second Circle of Hell, reserved for the lustful. Their punishment: They are swept together in a violent storm, symbolizing their uncontrollable passions. Though together in Hell, they are eternally tormented and cannot find peace. 4.7 - Canto VI: “Circle Three: The Gluttons” Cerberus - Three-headed dog - Souls of Gluttons who spent their lives wallowing in food - Part of the torment of Gluttons - “Pet” of the King of the Underworld (Pluto) in classical mythology - Ensures that all can enter but none can escape Ciacco the Hog - Fellow Florentine - Shares a prophecy of what will happen to Florence - Requests Dante to speak about him when he returns to the land of the living - Dante the author’s political party (White guelphs) was defeated by the Black Guelphs who had the support of Pope Boniface VIII, exiling prominent White guelphs including Dante from Florence 4.8 - Symbolic Retribution & Contrapasso Symbolic Retribution - as they sinned so are they punished Contrapasso - suffer the opposite e.g. Opportunists in the vestibule of Hell - They took no sides, so they are given no place - Since they change courses, they pursue an elusive, ever-shifting banner - As their guilty conscience pursued them, so they are pursued by wasps & hornets - As they were a moral filth, they run through a filth of worms & maggots which they themselves feed → some monsters & figures are also symbolic & taken for classical mythology