Key Themes and Symbols in Dante and Shakespeare

Pietas

Roman virtue of duty to gods, family, and country; Aeneas shows it by journeying to the Underworld to learn Rome's destiny.

Ekphrasis

Detailed artistic description used symbolically (e.g., Daedalus' Temple, Aeneas' shield, Vulcan's forge).

Contrapasso

Punishment reflecting the sin committed

Virgil

Dante's guide through Hell; symbolizes reason. Also the author of The Aeneid.

Francesca da Rimini

Tragic figure representing the sin of lust, punished with eternal windstorm.

Geryon

Monster of fraud; Dante and Virgil ride him into the 8th Circle (Malebolge).

The Past is Prologue

Theme from The Tempest; past actions set the stage for future events.

The Tempest as Romance

Combines elements of magic, forgiveness, separation & reunification, ends in marriage.

The Structure of Hell (Dante)

Based on sin severity: Incontinence (upper), Violence (middle), Fraud/Treachery (lower).

Circle of Violence

Three rings: violence against others (boiling blood), self (suicide trees), God/Nature (burning sands).

Malebolge

The 8th Circle of Hell; ten ditches (bolgias) punishing various types of fraud.

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on"

Prospero's reflection on illusion, mortality, and the ephemeral nature of life.

Gonzalo's Utopia

Speech imagining an egalitarian island with no kings, laws, or work—based on Renaissance humanism.

Epic Simile (Dante or Virgil)

Long, poetic comparison; e.g., souls as falling leaves or migrating birds.

Allegory

Story revealing hidden moral or political meanings (e.g., Dante's journey = soul's path to God).

Dante's Guide Trio (Canto 2)

Beatrice (divine love), Lucia (divine light), Mary (compassion)—enable Virgil's rescue of Dante.

Prospero's line, "Stuff that dreams are made on"

reflects ephemerality of life, art, and illusion—links to the sublime.

Miasma

Pollution or defilement of sacred spaces.

Dante

Author of Divine Comedy, Parallels Aeneas's journey

Inversion

Contrast between Aeneas's and Dante's journeys.

Elysian Fields

A paradise-like place where souls meet past figures

Limbo

First circle, houses virtous pagans and unbaptized

Ciacco

A Florentine who predicts political conflift

City of Dis

The lower part of Hell with heretics

Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle's work referenced for Hell's structure.

Phlegethon

Boiling river of blood in the Seventh Circle.

Minotaur

Bull/human figure, Guardian of the entrance to the Seventh Circle.

Usurers

Sit in burning sand, punished for greed.

Seducers

whipped by demons for manipulating others

Panderers

Forced to march opposite, punish for deceit

Flatterers

Immersed in excrement, reflecting false praise.

Simoniacs

Corrupt officials punished headfirst in rock.

Grafters

Corrupt politicians engaged in bribery.

Malacoda

Leader of the Malebranche demons.

Pope Nicholas III

Simoniac awaiting punishment in the third pouch.

Eternal rain of fire

Symbolizes unnatural wealth accumulation.

Jovial Friars

Religious figures representing hypocritical behavior.

Cacus

Mythical monster associated with fire and theft.

False Counselors

Sinners who used intelligence for deceitful purposes.

Nimrod

Builder of Babel, speaks incomprehensible language.

Cocytus

Frozen lake of traitors in Hell

Caina

Betrayers of kin, only heads above ice.

Antenora

Betrayers of country, deeper frozen in ice.

Judecca

Betrayers of lords, entirely frozen in ice.

Satan

Trapped waist-deep in ice, three faces.

Divine Justice

Punishments reflect sins through contrapasso

Acheron

River of woe ferried by Charon.

Tartarus

Eternal punishment for the worst sinners.

metempsychosis

Cycle of purification and rebirth of souls.

Purgatory

State of purification for those destined for Heaven

Poetic Justice

Sinners are punished in a fitting manner

Allusion

Reference to another work within a text

Apostrophe

Addressing something that cannot respond

Polysyndeton

Excessive conjunctions used for emphasis

Daedalus and Icarus

Myth of flight leading to Icarus' fall.

Minos

Judge of souls, coils tail for punishments.

Charon

Ferryman transporting souls across the river

Cerberus

The three-headed dog symbolizes gluttony in the underworld.

Harpies

Bird-like creatures tormenting suicides in Inferno.

Gates of Hell

Entrance to hell, created by the trinity

Tower of Babel

Symbol of human ambition punished by confusion

In Media Res

Story begins in the middle of action.

Elizabethan Era

Period of English Renaissance during Shakespeare's lifetime.

War of the Roses

Civil war between York and Lancaster factions.

Henry VII

Monarch who ended the War of the Roses.

Tudor Period

Historical era preceding the Elizabethan era.

Queen Elizabeth

Supported theater, enhancing its cultural significance.

Egalitarian Entertainment

Theater accessible to all social classes.

The Globe theatre

Open-air theater with two audience levels.

Galleries

Upper-class seating area in the globe Theatre

Humanism

Focus on classical values in arts and literature.

Blackfriars Theatre

Indoor theater, first venue for The Tempest.

Roman Comedy Elements

Family conflict, mistaken identities, and weddings.

Sangre

Blood humor, associated with liveliness and warmth.

Choleric

Yellow bile, linked to anger and dryness.

Melancholy

Black bile, characterized by introspection and coldness.

Phlegmatic

Phlegm humor, unemotional and cold.

Resolution in the Tempest

Separation leads to reunification and forgiveness

King James I

Interested in witchcraft, wrote Daemonologie.

The Spanish Armada

Failed invasion attempt by Spain against England.

Sycorax

Witch condemned to death, mother of Caliban.

Ariel

Airy spirit serving Prospero, seeks freedom.

Caliban

Son of Sycorax, rightful owner of the island.

Prospero

Duke of Milan, uses magic, manipulates others.

Colonial Relationship

Prospero enslaves Caliban contrast with Ariel

Ferdinand

Miranda's love interest, contrasts with Caliban.

Miranda

Prospero's daughter, symbolizes innocence and compassion.

Antonio

Usurping Duke of Milan, mocks others, manipulative.

Gonzlo

Phlegmatic courtier, envisions a utopian island.

Alonso

The melancholic king of Naples, mourns the presumed death of Ferdinand.

Colonial Subtext

Themes reflecting colonization and power dynamics.

Trinculo

A jester who encounters Caliban.

Stefano

A butler who plots with Caliban.

Colonial exploitation

Theme of cultural superiority over colonized peoples.

Biblical Allusions

Ferdinand and Miranda symbolize innocence and purity

Spectacle

Visually striking performances in modern plays.

Melody

Sets mood, relates to scene rhythm.

Ariel as Harpy

Ariel's role: Enforcing justice- legitimizes Prospero's use of magic to control other characters- uses to torture the characters

Pastoral

Symbolizes purity and connection to nature

Sublime

Awe-inducing experiences that highlight human smallness