inferno ppt

Dante Alighieri

Dante was born in Florence, Italy in 1265 and died in exile in Ravenna in 1321. He wrote The Divine Comedy while exiled.

Guelphs

Pro-Pope/Church faction in Italy who supported the papacy and constitutional government.

Ghibellines

Pro-Emperor faction in Italy who supported the Holy Roman Emperor over the Pope.

White and Black Guelphs

The Guelphs split over Pope Boniface VIII. The Whites wanted freedom from the Pope; the Blacks supported him.

Dante’s exile

Dante, a White Guelph, was exiled when the Black Guelphs took power. He was accused of corruption and threatened with death if he returned to Florence.

Terza rima

The verse form of The Divine Comedy: 3-line stanzas with interlocking rhyme (aba, bcb, cdc, etc.), written in 11-syllable lines.

Mathematical structure of The Divine Comedy

Built around symbolic numbers: 3 (Trinity), 7 (Creation), 10 (Perfection), and 100 (completion). It has 100 cantos total: 33 per section + 1 introduction.

Hell’s structure

9 circles plus a vestibule (10 total), divided into 3 groups of sin: incontinence, violence, and fraud.

Purgatory’s structure

9 levels plus an earthly paradise (10 total), symbolizing repentance and purification.

Paradise’s structure

9 heavens plus the Empyrean (10 total), representing the soul’s union with God.

Three main parts of The Divine Comedy

Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Heaven).

Type of literature

An epic poem, a comedy (ending happily), and an allegory (literal journey and symbolic search for God).

Allegory in The Divine Comedy

The literal story is Dante’s journey through the afterlife; the symbolic meaning is the soul’s journey toward God.

Easter Week setting

The Divine Comedy takes place during Easter Week, 1300 — Dante’s journey mirrors Christ’s death and resurrection.

Dante’s journey timeline

Maundy Thursday: lost in dark wood; Good Friday: descends into Hell; Easter Sunday: rises at Mount Purgatory; Ascends to Paradise by Thursday.

Dante (character)

In the story: himself. In the allegory: represents every Christian soul seeking redemption.

Virgil (character)

In the story: the Roman poet. In the allegory: represents human wisdom and reason; cannot enter Heaven.

Beatrice (character)

In the story: Dante’s beloved who died young. In the allegory: represents Divine Love and Grace guiding Dante to God.

Hell (symbolic meaning)

Image of the soul’s corruption and the consequences of sin; not a place of arbitrary punishment but self-chosen evil.

Purgatory (symbolic meaning)

Image of repentance and purification; souls willingly atone for sin.

Paradise (symbolic meaning)

Image of the soul in a state of grace and union with God.

The journey (symbolism)

Dante’s physical journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven represents the soul’s spiritual journey toward God.

Light and darkness (symbolism)

Darkness represents sin and ignorance; divine light symbolizes truth and salvation.

Sin and punishment (theme)

Dante learns that God’s justice is perfect; punishments match the sin (contrapasso).

Paganism vs. Christianity (theme)

Dante honors pagan figures like Virgil but ultimately upholds Christian theology and salvation.

Individual fame (theme)

Souls in Hell still cling to their earthly fame, showing their attachment to worldly vanity.

Earth vs. afterlife (theme)

Dante contrasts earthly life with eternal consequences; Hell lies beneath the earth but affects human fate.

Language (theme)

Language is sacred and powerful — it can create, condemn, and immortalize. Dante uses words as an act of divine creation.

Love (theme)

Love motivates every act in the poem — divine, romantic, or distorted. God’s love even underlies Hell’s existence.

Contrapasso

The principle that each sinner’s punishment fits their sin symbolically or literally.