DANTE's INFERNO INTRO TEST

test Mon 11/4

author’s full name?

Dante Alighieri

what type of poem is the Commedia?

narrative

when is the Medieval Time Period / Middle Ages?

from 400AD to 1400AD

when is Dante born?

1265 (Late Middle Ages)

what is the dominant religion in Europe during Dante’s time?

Catholicism (except for Muslim Spain)

where is Dante from?

Italian city-state of Florence

what is the papacy?

having to do with the Pope

describe Pope’s power

• everyone’s religious leader since everyone is Catholic

• huge political figure with his own army and kingdom (Papal States)

when does the Holy Roman Empire begin?

800 AD — Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope

when does the Holy Roman Empire end?

1806 (long after Dante’s death)

the Middle Ages in Europe are defined by…

constant conflict / power struggle between Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope

(only 2 figures who can claim to have power over so many people)

(Popes and HREs were strong/weak during different periods)

Plato’s philosophy

• older

• “deskness” — Adam’s desk is one step removed from reality because it’s only one manifestation/image of the concept of “deskness” and not the true concept itself

• therefore, Plato doesn’t like representational art, because it’s two steps removed from reality (image of an image)

• also therefore, Plato loves math because it’s the most conceptual academic discipline (think “concept of one” etc.)

Aristotle’s philosophy

• younger

• doesn’t care about concept of “deskness,” cares about weight, height, chemical composition of Adam’s desk

• wants to quantify, experiment, measure, and find empirical evidence

St Augustine

• expert on Plato

• North African convert to Christianity

• infuses Plato into Christian philosophy around 400AD —> Aristotle is lost

St Thomas Aquinas

• after Muslims in Spain translate Aristotle from Greek to Arabic to Latin, Aristotle is rediscovered by Europe

• St Thomas Aquinas becomes expert on Aristotle and infuses him into Christian philosophy around 1200

Florence in Middle Ages — name the 2 original warring groups

1. Guelfs (pro-Pope)

2. Ghibellines (pro-Emperor)

Battle of Montaperti

• 1260

• Ghibellines win and almost burn Florence

Battle of Benevento

• 1266

• Guelfs win and eliminate the Ghibellines from Florence

complete the timeline:

1248 - ??

1251 - ??

1258 - ??

1260 - ??

1266 - ??

1248 - Ghibellines expel Guelfs

1251 - Guelfs expel Ghibellines

1258 - Guelfs win against Ghibellines again

1260 - Battle of Montaperti, Ghibellines win

1266 - Battle of Benevento, Guelfs win and expel Ghibellines once and for all

Florence in Middle Ages — name the new warring groups

Guelfs split into two:

• Blacks (pro-Pope)

• Whites (pro-Emperor)

Dante was born in ______ and died in ________.

Dante was born in Florence in 1265 and died in Ravenna in 1321.

who is Beatrice?

• Bice Portinari

• Dante’s ‘courtly love’ story — admiring from afar, sees he as ideal female, wants to worship/love her but not necessarily to marry her or have sex

• they never actually speak, and Dante never writes about his actual wife with whom he has several children

Dante’s life — complete the timeline:

1300 - ??

1301 - ??

1302 - ??

1307 - ??

1314 - ??

1321 - ??

1300 - Dante becomes Florence city official

1301 - Dante leaves Florence on a business trip. While he’s gone, Black Guelfs take over the city, and he can never return (Dante is a White).

1302 - a Black Guelf court sentences Dante to exile with penalty of death if he returns to Florence. Next 20 years of his life are marked by frustration and a longing for Florence.

1307 - Dante begins the Commedia.

1314 - Dante finishes Inferno, part 1 of the Commedia.

1321 - Dante finishes the whole Commedia, then dies and is buried in Ravenna.

Dante is a ____________ (political affiliation).

White Guelf

what is the structure / division of the Commedia?

1 intro canto (included in Part 1 but really introduces whole Commedia)

33 cantos in Inferno

33 cantos in Purgatorio

33 cantos in Paradiso

what is purgatory?

• unique to Catholicism

• if you sinned but feel bad, you can spend some time repenting in purgatory and then go to heaven

who can go to heaven?

ONLY CATHOLICS who have REPENTED for their sins or did not commit any

describe Dante’s style

1. visual poetry

2. comedy

3. wrote in vernacular

how do medieval Italian comedies go?

• not funny

• must begin unhappily but end happily

• don’t have to use an elevated style, can be a little vulgar

what is vernacular? what does Dante do with it?

• vernacular: spoken language of the common people

• Dante writes in Italian vernacular, specifically the Tuscan dialect, which will then become standard Italian. This is CRAZY, everyone else was writing in Latin.

Dante’s structuring of the Commedia

• Terza Rima

• tercets (3 line stanzas)

• each stanza is connected by rhyme both internally and to the subsequent stanza

ABA BCB CDC DED EFE…

• (our translation does not rhyme)

what is numerology?

numerology — study of numbers and their symbolism

(very seriously regarded in Middle Ages)

1 = ??

unity

3 = ??

Holy Trinity

(God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit)

squaring a number = ??

magical significance

Dante is a t______al author.

Dante is a topical author.

(writes in relation to current events — we will meet many contemporary figures and concentrate on a few)

what shape is hell?

a funnel

who is at the bottom of hell?

Satan

name and define the 3 divisions of Hell

division #1: incontinence (wanting too much)

division #2: violence

division #3: fraud

why is fraud the lowest division of hell?

• the lower you go, the worse the sins

• fraud is the worst sin because it is an abuse of God-given intellect unique to humans

label each circle of hell according to its division

1 - incontinence

2- incontinence

3 - incontinence

4 - incontinence

5 - incontinence

6 - transitional

7 - violence

8 - fraud

9 - fraud

what is symbolic retribution?

• contrapasso

• punishments in hell are tailored to the sin

ex. murders boil in the blood they spilled

what are the 3 questions you should ask in every canto?

1. what is the sin?

2. what is the punishment?

3. what is the contrapasso? (connection, symbolism)

Dante’s theory for church and state

Theory of 2 Suns — Pope and Emperor were like 2 suns (equally powerful) that should stick to their own spheres (religion and politics) for all to be well.

(Pope should stop meddling in politics)

alternate theory for church and state (not Dante’s)

Theory of Moon and Sun — Pope as the sun and the Holy Roman Emperor was the moon, less powerful

name Dante’s 4 biggest influences on Commedia

1. St Thomas Aquinas

2. Bible

3. classical mythology

4. Roman poet Virgil (Dante’s guide)

map the time frame of the Commedia

Thursday April 17 1300 — poem begins with Dante wandering in crisis from Holy Thursday to Good Friday

Friday to Saturday — Virgil guides Dante through hell