Lesson Transcript

Instructor: Erica Cummings

Erica teaches college Humanities, Literature, and Writing classes and has a Master's degree in
Humanities.

In this lesson we will explore Dante's epic poem, The Divine Comedy (circa 1308), in which the
character Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

Introduction
Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy is a famous Medieval Italian epic poem depicting
the realms of the afterlife. Dante (who was born in 1265) wrote The Divine
Comedy somewhere between 1308 and his death in 1321, while he was in exile from
his hometown of Florence, Italy, which had been enduring civil war.
The Divine Comedy is divided into three separate volumes, each containing 33 cantos
(or chapters). These volumes areInferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
Dante is both the author and the central character of this trilogy. He travels through all
of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven to make his way back to God, meeting several
characters from history and literature on his way.

Fresco of Dante and The Divine Comedy, by Domenico di Michelino,

1465

Inferno
As an exile, the poet Dante felt rather lost in his life; so, at the beginning of Inferno, the
character Dante is likewise lost both physically and spiritually. The ancient Roman
poet Virgil (a hero of Dante's) appears in the poem to guide Dante through Hell in an
effort to save Dante's soul. Hell exists in the middle of the Earth and is made up of nine
circles.
The sinners in Hell have never repented while on Earth. They suffer the consequences
of the sins they committed during life, which are turned back on them, a concept
called contrapasso. For example, canto 20 depicts circle eight, where sorcerers who
used dark magic to see forward into the future now have their heads painfully turned
backwards for all eternity.
Hell is structured like an upside down cone, with each descending circle becoming
smaller and containing more depraved souls and more intense suffering. Right outside
the gates of Hell are those who neither accepted nor rejected God.
Within the gates of Hell, the first circle holds the unbaptized and the pagans born before
Christ (such as Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil himself). The other circles are defined by the
major sin committed by those condemned to that circle: lust (circle two), gluttony (circle
three), greed (circle four), and wrath and depression (circle five). The final circles make
up the infernal city called Dis, with circle six containing heretics, circle seven containing
those who committed violence, circle 8 containing deceivers, and circle nine containing
those who betrayed trust. At the deepest region of circle nine, a three-faced Satan,
stuck in a frozen lake, chews on the worst betrayers of all time: Judas (who betrayed
Jesus), and Brutus and Cassius (both of whom betrayed Julius Ceasar).

1890 engraving by Gustave Dore of Canto 34 depicting Satan frozen

in Hell

Purgatorio
After the harrowing experience in Hell, Dante and Virgil climb out and enter Purgatory,
where penitent souls endure punishment in order to fully purge themselves of sin before
entering Heaven. Purgatory is shaped like a mountain and is divided into seven different
levels, associated with the seven deadly sins of pride, envy, wrath, sloth, covetousness,
gluttony, and lust.
Contrapasso still exists to some extent; for example, those who struggled with the
flames of lust on Earth literally endure a purging fire in Purgatory. But, unlike the souls
in Hell, these souls embrace their punishment because it is making them holy. They
sing and praise God in the midst of their punishment, and implore Dante to ask people
on Earth to pray for their souls. Also unlike the souls in Hell, they are free to move
between the seven levels as they purify themselves. Beyond the seventh level at the top
of the mountain is the earthly paradise of Eden, where Virgil disappears and is replaced
by Dante's next guide.

Paradiso
As a pagan, Virgil cannot enter Heaven, so he is replaced by the next guide, Beatrice,
who takes Dante from Purgatory to Heaven. Beatrice was Dante's real-life love interest
and muse for much of his poetry, so it is fitting that she acts as Dante's guide to the
divine. She also seems to be the agent of his salvation here so critics have long noted
how Beatrice acts as a sort of Christ figure for Dante. At times, the poem seems to be
as much about Dante's praise of Beatrice as it is about his journey to God.
Inferno Summary
by Dan Brown

Inferno Summary
These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful of their
contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Julia Wolf

In the prologue of the novel a person runs away from his pursuers and rushes to the highest tower
of Florence. Before his death, he thinks about his gift to mankind - Inferno.

The Professor of History of Culture, an expert in symbols Robert Langdon wakes up in an

unknown hospital. According to the outline of buildings from the dark window, he realizes that
he is in Florence, although his last memories are of Harvard University. With the help of a doctor
Sienna Brooks, he finds out that the last two days vanished from his memory. To Siena’s words
amnesia is associated with traumatic brain injury and will soon be over.
A woman arrives to the hospital, she is an agent of a secret organization of the Consortium. She
is sent to finish with Langdon. Agent rushes into the chamber, but Siena has led Langdon out
through the emergency exit. The agent shoots, but Langdon and Sienna have time to leave by
taxi.

The chef of Consortium expects news. His organization arranges various falsifications, forms
false public opinion and hides clients from the law. At this time he has contacted with the wrong
client, thus destruction threatens the Consortium. However the client, who recently had threw off
the Florentine tower, left clear instructions that the boss is going to perform. One of the
instruction is on the appointed day to circulate on major television channels video where a
masked man tells about the Inferno, and take away from the deposit box a bone cylinder.
However, the cylinder is kidnapped, and the chef sends an agent to rectify the situation.

Siena brings professor home. Langdon finds in Siena’s apartment articles about the girl-child
prodigy cut from newspaper. Obviously, this girl is Siena. She shows Langdon capsule for the
transport of dangerous substances, which has been sewn in the lining of his jacket. Langdon
finger’s imprint opens the capsule. The rofessor calls to the US Consulate, and soon Siena sees
the female agent through the window. Langdon decided that the US government wants to kill
him. For what? The answer can be in the container and the professor opens it. Inside is a cylinder
of carved bone, turned into the mini-projector. It projects a picture of Botticelli "Hell Map",
which shows a part of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante.

Professor notices that the picture has changed, and there appears an inscription on it: “Truth can
only be seen through the eyes of death”. To Siena’s home an armored car drives, people in
uniform begin to look for Langdon. They are from Support for surveillance and response, and
they are also looking for Langdon. Siena again saves the professor whom she likes more and
more.
A female agent tracks down Langdon from the roof of a nearby building, she learns that the
Consortium dismissed her from work. Frightened, she decides to rehabilitate and to complete the
task.

Since the puzzle in the picture is associated with Dante, Langdon decided to go to the Old Town
of Florence, where the poet was born and raised. The agent follows them. Langdon and Siena see
that the gates of the Old Town are guarded by police pickets - obviously police are looking for
them. They go in the vast gardens of Medici. While they are trying to be found via a radio-
controlled helicopter with a camera, Langdon realizes what is encrypted on the projection of the
picture. The tip points to a mural and a museum where it is set, is in the Old Town.

Director of the World Health Organization epidemiologist Elizabeth Sinskaya recalls her
meeting with the brilliant scientist-geneticist. He predicted that the overpopulation of the planet
would lead to the destruction of mankind, and believed that "human herd" is to be thinned out by
a plague epidemic. Sinskaya understands that humanity will soon deplete the planet's resources,
but cannot agree with the methods offered by the scientist. However, he is assured that the birth
follows death, and to attain Paradise, a person has to go through hell.

Langdon and Siena are surrounded by police. They get from the trap with the erudite professor’s
knowledge of the architectural features of the Italian palaces of the Medici time. But it is not
possible to deceive the Consortium Agent - woman follows them closely. Langdon gets to the
murals, where he is recognized by the museum caretaker. She says that the professor was here
yesterday with his friend, the Italian art critic Busoni, they observed the death mask of Dante.
Langdon realizes what the phrase means.

When Langdon asks to show him the mask, it turns out that it was stolen. Surveillance camera
shot as Langdon and Busoni stole the death mask. From the custodian Langdon learns that the
mask is the property of a scientist Bertrand Zobrist. Siena knows his demographic apocalypse
theory. The supervisor calls the police. Langdon does not remember where the mask is, and
cannot return it. The supervisor calls the secretary of Busoni, and discovers that the night before
he died of a heart attack. Before his death, he left a message: “What you are looking for is safely
hidden. The gates are open for you, but you hurry. "Paradise" Twenty-fifth.”
This is an allusion to the last part of "The Divine Comedy" by Dante. Museum is surrounded by
Bruder’s people, but Langdon and Sienna again avoid the trap and go on a search for the mask.
The agent follows them and dies. On their way Siena tells Langdon about Zobrist and his desire
to use the genetics not for healing, and for the destruction of people. After meeting with Sinskay
the scientist became an outcast and threw himself off the Florentine tower. Siena believes that
Zobrist is right.

Busoni’s tip leads Langdon to the old city Christening where Dante has been baptized. They are
followed by a man with his face covered with a rash. They distract the guard's attention, get into
the baptismal, the main gates of which are not locked, and find the mask. Its inner side is covered
with primer for a canvas. After cleaning it, Langdon discovers verses that mention the
treacherous Doge, a museum of sacred wisdom and underground palace.

In the baptismal Langdon and Siena are overtaken by a person with a rash on the face. He
introduces as Jonathan Ferris, WHO staff, and states that the professor is working for them.
Siena is inclined to trust him, Langdon does not remember anything. Verse on the mask leads to
Venice, where they are sent together previously knocking off the trail.

In a separate compartment of a speed train Ferris says that Sinskaya attracted professors to the
mystery and revealed the bone cylinder which she removed from the Zobrist’s banking cell.
Now, Langdon realizes that he is looking for the source of the plague, and his shrewdness
determines the fate of mankind.

The chef of Consortium changes his rules and views the video left by Zobrist. What he saw
frightened him, and the chief calls the agent FS-2080, who is next to Langdon. It was the agent
FS-2080, who was related to Zobrist, advised him to apply to the Consortium. The whole year
the organization was hiding the scientist from the WHO, and he was creating the virus. He chef
contacts with Sinskaya.

The FS-2080 is thinking about the deceased beloved, who was not only a lover but also a
teacher. He believed that evolution should be artificially accelerated. The agent wants to bring
his case to the end. In Venice it turns out that Langdon had made a mistake, the museum and the
tomb of the Doge are located in Istanbul. The chef, Sinskaya and Bruder also fly to Venice.
Langdon does not know that the NDP is a division of the World Health Organization. He tries
again to escape from Bruder, but only Siena manages to get away.

Langdon meets Sinskaya and the chef. They show him the Zobrist’ video where the plastic bag
lowered into the water is seen. When the bag burst, its contents fall into the water and
contaminate it. Langdon learns that Siena was the mistress of Zobrist and Consortium’s agent.
Siena, being a prodigy, could not find her place in life. She wanted to save the world, but knew
how to do it, only when she had met Zobrist. Having to hide from the WHO the scientist left
Siena, she resorted to the help of the Consortium, but found him too late. She watched as her
beloved committed suicide.

Langdon’s brain injury is fiction. Consortium with medication provoked Langdon amnesia and
put false memories. All this was done so Langdon began to trust Siena and got back the
projection. Siena also used his knowledge to find the source of the plague first. Langdon likes
Siena, he cannot come to his senses.

By WHO’s plane Langdon gets to Istanbul. On the plane he sees Ferris, who is also an employee
of the Consortium. In Istanbul they found an underground room with a lake, which turned out to
be the old city’s reservoir, where tourists are now allowed. Shrewd Siena follows them.

Langdon's efforts are in vain: the bag dissolved, the infection occurred. Seeing in the
underground hall Siena, Langdon chases after her. She can run, but stay - she had nowhere to
run. Siena tells Langdon about the Zobrist’s letter, which she received before the disappearance
of the scientist. Zobrist wrote her about invented virus that invades into human genetic code, and
causes infertility. He loved mankind. Not wanting to kill millions of people, he came up with a
safe alternative of the plague.

Siena was afraid that people would understand the principle of the virus, and would produce
biological weapons. She decided to destroy the virus, but it was too late. Day, marked by Zobrist,
was not a period when the virus will be released, but the date by which all humanity will be
infected. The chef realizes that Sinskaya will not let him go unpunished. He organizes a hoax and
tries to escape, but he did not succeed – he is arrested. Sinskaya tries to prevent panic. Faster
than virus spreads only fear.

Langdon leads Siena to the doctor Sinskaya. She tells about the virus, which has infected the
third of the population of the earth. Zobrist’s letter is destroyed, but Siena has an unique
memory, and Langdon convinces Sinskaya to talk with the girl. She recognizes the truth of
Zobrist and agrees to work with Siena.

Sinskaya takes away Siena for a medical forum in Geneva. Langdon escorts them. After the kiss
with Siena the professor hopes that they have future.

Divine Comedy: Purgatorio Summary

by Dante Alighieri

Divine Comedy: Purgatorio Summary

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful of their
contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Anastasia  Melnyk

The narrator reveals of his further journey that he continues his travels with Virgil. When they
get to Purgatorio, its guardCato greeted them coldly. Virgil explained who they were and,
wishing to propitiate Cato, spoke warmly about his wife Marcia, so cold and taciturn Cato let
them pass. They walked to the beach, it was necessary to wash and to get rid of soot of the
abandoned Hell.
A canoe controlled by an angel floats from sea. It contains the souls of the dead, who were lucky
enough not to get into Hell. They went ashore, and the angel flew away. The shadows of the
arrivals crowded around them, and among them the narrator recognized his friend, a singer
Kozell. He wanted to hug him, but in fact a shadow is disembodied. Kozell sang about love,
everyone listened, but then Cato came and shouted at everyone they all hurried to the mountain
of Purgatory.

Now they need to scout the upcoming road. The shadows have just noticed that the narrator is
not a shadow: he does not let the light pass through. Virgil explained everything, and the
shadows invited them to follow. So they hurry to the foot of the purgatorial mountain. Here at
the great stone is a group of not hurrying to climb upstairs, saying that they have plenty of time.
Among these sloths the narrator recognized his friend Belakva. It's nice to see that, as at lifetime,
he is an enemy of haste, true to himself.

In the foothills of Purgatory the narrator has an opportunity to communicate with the shadows of
victims of violent death. Many of them were pretty wicked, but parting with life, had sincerely
repented and therefore did not get into Hell. That's a shame for the devil, who had lost so many
souls! He, however, found a revenge: without gaining power over the soul of the repentant sinner
who was killed, he abused his murdered body.

Not far they saw the majestic shadow of Sordello. He and Virgil recognizing in each other
fellow-poet, embraced like brothers. The narrator shout that it is an example to Italy, dirty
brothel, where the bonds of brotherhood severed completely!

Sordello agreed to be their guide to Purgatory. It is a great honor for him to help Honourable
Virgil. Sedately talking, they came to the blossoms of fragrant valley, where, in preparation for
the night, the shadows of European sovereigns settled. They watched them from afar, listening to
their singing. Then the evening came and a treacherous serpent of temptation crept into the
valley, but angels expelled it.

The narrator lay down on the grass and fell asleep and in a dream was carried to the gates of
Purgatory. The angel who was protecting it, inscribed seven times on his forehead the same letter
- the first in the word "sin" (the seven deadly sins, the letters will be erased one by one from the
narrator’s forehead as he ascent the purgatorial mountain). They entered the second realm, the
gates closed behind them.

The climbing started. They are in the first round of Purgatory, where the proud atone for their
sins. In the shame of pride here are erected the statues embodying the idea of a high feat -
humility. And here are the shadows of the purifying proud: here, as a punishment for their sins,
they bend under the weight of piled boulders.
"Our Father ..." - this prayer sung the bent proud. Among them is miniaturist Oderiz, who when
alive was very proud of his loud glory. Now he realized that there is nothing to boast about:
everyone is equal in the face of death. The sooner one understands and finds the strength to curb
their pride, the better.

Under their feet the travelers see reliefs with imprinted scenes of punished pride: the overthrow
of Lucifer from heaven, King Saul, Holofernes, and others. Their stay in the first round ends.
The appeared angel wipe from the narrator’s forehead one of the seven letters as a sign that the
sin of pride is overcome.

They climbed to the second round. Here are envious, they are temporarily blinded, their former
"envious” eyes do not see anything. Here is a woman, who out of jealousy wished harm to her
fellow countrymen and was pleased with their failures. In this round the narrator after his death
will be cleaned not for long, because rarely envied anybody. But in the passed proud circle -
probably for a long time. In the silence thunderously sounded Cain, the first envious. In fear, the
narrator clung to Virgil, and the wise leader told that the bitter words, that the supreme eternal
light is beyond envious, thrilled by earthly baits.

Thay passed the second round. Again, an angel appeared, and only five letters were left on the
forehead, which the narrator will get rid of in future. They are in the third round. Before their
eyes flashed cruel vision of human rage (mob hammered with stones some gentle young man). In
this circle obsessed with anger are being cleared.

Even in the darkness of Hell was no such a black haze as in this circle, where the fury of anger is
being humbled. One of them, Mark Lombard, talked with the narrator and suggested that they
can not all understand what is happening in the world as a consequence of the activities of the
higher celestial powers: this would mean denial of the freedom of the human will and take away
the responsibility for their actions.

The narrator felt the touch of the angel wings - another letter was erased. They went up into the
fourth round illuminated by the last ray of sunset. Here lazy are being cleared, whose love for the
good has been slow.

The lazy are here to run fast, not allowing any indulgence of their lifetime sin. Let them be
inspired by the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has to rush. They ran past the travelers
and disappeared. The narrator wants to sleep. He is sleeping and dreaming. He dreamed some
disgusting woman, who in front of his eyes turned into a beautiful woman, who was immediately
confounded and turned into even uglier creature (here it is, the imaginary attractiveness of vice).

Another letter disappeared from his forehead: it means he conquered laziness. They rise into the
fifth round - to misers and spenders. Greed for gold is a disgusting vice. Molten gold has been
once poured into the throat of one possessed by greed: drink to your health! The narrator was
uncomfortable in the environment of misers, and here the earthquake happened. It turned out,
shaking the mountain caused rejoicing over the fact that one of the souls has purified and was
ready for the ascent: it is the Roman poet Statius, Virgil’s fan, glad that from now on he will
accompany the travelers on the road to the top of the purgatorial mountain.
Another letter designating the sin of avarice was wiped off the forehead. By the way, was
Statius, suffering in the fifth round, stingy? On the contrary, wasteful, but these two things are
punished the same. Now they are in the sixth round, where the gluttons are being cleared. There
must be remembered that Christian ascetics were not peculiar to gluttony.

Former glutton are destined to endure hunger pangs: they are emaciated, skin and bones. Among
them the narrator found his late friend and countryman Foretz. He told him of Virgil and of the
hopes to see in the next world his beloved Beatrice.

With one of the gluttons, the former poet of the old school, the narrator had a conversation about
literature. He admitted that his supporters, supporters of the "sweet new style," reached in the
love poetry much more than he himself and those close to him masters. Meanwhile penultimate
letter from his forehead is erased, and he opened the way to the top, into the seventh circle of
Purgatory.

And the narrator still remembers the lean, hungry gluttons: how did they emaciate so much?
After all, they are shadows, not the bodied. Virgil said: shadows, though incorporeal, imply
repeated outlines of bodies (which would have emaciated without food). Here, in the seventh
round, the sensualists are being cleared in the burning fire. They burn, sing and glorify examples
of abstinence and chastity.

Covered with flames sensualists are divided into two groups: homosexuals and not knowing
measures bisexuals. Among the latter are the poets Guido Guinizelli and Provencal Arnald, who
elegantly greeted the travellers in his dialect.

And now they have to pass through a wall of fire. The narrator is scared, but his mentor said that
it was the path to Beatrice (to the earthly paradise, located on the top of the purgatorial
mountain). And so the three of them are walking burning by flames. Passing it they go further. It
is evening, they stopped to rest, and when the narrator woke up, Virgil came to with the last
word of farewell and approval.
They are in an earthly paradise, in blossom, in the filled with the twittering of birds grove. The
narrator saw a beautiful Donna, singing and collecting flowers. She said that there was a golden
age, but then, among the flowers and fruits, was ruined in the sin the happiness of the first
people. Hearing this, the narrator looked at Virgil and Statius: both were smiling blissfully.

Past them sail the living lights, beneath them march righteous old men in white robes, crowned
with roses and lilies, wonderful beauties are dancing. The narrator could not look enough at this
marvelous picture. And suddenly he saw her - the one he loves. Shaken, the narrator made an
involuntary movement, as if trying to pull over to Virgil. But he was gone and the narrator began
to sob. "Dante, Virgil will not return. But you have not cry for him. Look at me, I'm Beatrice!
How did you get here?"- she asked angrily. Then a voice asked her why she was so hard with the
narrator. She answered that he was unfaithful to her after her death. The narrator fainted and
woke up immersed in Lethe – a river giving oblivion to the committed sins. After ten years of
separation, the narrator looked into her eyes, and his vision faded from their glare. Receive the
sight, he saw a lot of beauty in an earthly paradise, but then the sight was replaced by cruel
visions of monsters, profane holy things, debauchery.
Beatrice mourned knowing how many bad was in these visions revealed to them, but expressed
confidence that the forces of good would ultimately triumph over evil. They have come to Evnoe
river, sipping from which one strengthens the memory of the committed good. Statius and the
narrator bathed in the river. A swallow of its sweetest water poured into him new strength. Now
he was clean and worthy to rise to the stars.

Divine Comedy: Paradiso Summary

by Dante Alighieri

Divine Comedy: Paradiso Summary

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful of their
contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Anastasia Melnyk, Mackenzie Gamel

From the Earthly Paradise the narrator, together with Beatrice, flies to heaven, in the
inaccessible height of mortal might. He did not notice how they flew up, and found themselves
over the sun. The narrator is surprised that still alive he is capable of this; however, this did not
surprise Beatrice: a spirit cleared spiritually, not burdened with sins is lighter than ether.
They are in the first Paradise - the Moon in the sky, which Beatrice called the first star, and they
plunged into its depths. In its depths they have met the soul of nuns stolen from monasteries and
forced to get marry. No fault of heir own, but still they did not keep the vow of virginity, and so
they are not allowed to the higher heaven. The narrator is puzzled: what are they to blame for? It
is not necessary to blame the victim but the perpetrator! But Beatrice explained that the victim
bears a certain responsibility for done over her violence if resisting, did not show heroic
endurance. The failure to fulfill a vow, Beatrice says, is almost irreparable by good deeds.

They flew on the second heaven of Paradise - Mercury. It is home to the souls of the righteous
ambitious. These are not shadows, unlike the previous inhabitants of the underworld, but lights:
shining and radiant. One of them broke out particularly brightly, glad to communicate with the
narrator. It turned out to be the Roman Emperor Justinian, the legislator. He realizes that
staying in Mercury (not above) is the limit for him, for the ambitious, doing good deeds for the
sake of their own glory ( loving themselves first and foremost), have missed the true love for
god.
Justinian’s light merged into the dance of lights with other righteous souls. The narrator start
pondering over why God the Father had to sacrifice his son? Was it not possible just like that,
with the supreme will, to forgive the sin of Adam! Beatrice explained: higher justice demanded
that humankind atoned itself. But humanity failed to do it, and it was necessary to fertilize the
earth woman with a son (Jesus), to combine the human with the divine, so he could do it.

They flew to the third heaven - to Venus, where the souls of loving are in bliss, shining in the
fiery bowels of this star. One of these spirits lights is Hungarian king Charles Martel, who
spoke to the narrator, suggesting that people can realize their potential, only acting in the field
that meets the needs of their nature. It is not good if a born warrior becomes a priest. One of the
lights also talked with the narrator, troubadour Folco. He condemned the ecclesiastical
authorities, self-serving popes and cardinals. Florence is the city of the devil.
The fourth star is the Sun, the abode of the wise men. The spirit of the great theologian Thomas
Aquinas is shining here. He greeted the narrator and showed him other wise men. Their singing
reminds the church bells. Thomas told about Francis of Assisi - the second (after Christ) spouse
of poverty. Upon his example monks, including his closest pupils, began to walk barefoot. He
lived a holy life and died - a naked man on the bare ground - in the bosom of poverty. The other
spirits of wise men listened to Thomas, stopping to sing and to dance. Then the floor was taken
by the Franciscan Bonaventure. In response to the praise of his teacher he praised the teacher of
Thomas - Dominic, the farmer and the servant of Christ. And again the word was taken by
Thomas. He talks about the great merits of King Solomon: he asked God for wisdom not to solve
the theological questions, but for royal wisdom, so he could intelligently govern the people.
What will happen to the inhabitants of the sun in the day of judgment, when the spirits gain
flesh? They are so bright and spiritually, it's hard to imagine them materialized.
Their stay here ended, so they came to the fifth heaven - to Mars, where sparkling spirits of the
warriors for the faith are settled in the form of a cross and where sounds a sweet anthem. One of
the lights moved closer to the narrator, this is the spirit of his great grandfather,
warrior Caccuiguida. He welcomed the narrator and praised the glorious time in which he lived
on earth, and which had passed away, being replaced by the worst of times. He is proud of his
ancestor, his origin. Caccuiguida told about himself and about their ancestors who were born in
Florence, and whose coat of arms - a white lily – is now painted with blood.
The narrator wanted to learn from him about his future fate. Cacciaguida replied that he would
be expelled from Florence, and in the bleakest wanderings would perceive the bitterness of
someone else's bread and toughness of foreign stairs. At the end his enemies would be ashamed,
and he would triumph.

Caccuiguida and Beatrice encouraged the narrator. Their stay on Mars ended. Now they started
from the fifth to the sixth of the sky, from red Mars to white Jupiter, where the souls of the just
are gathered. Their lights are combined into the letters of the call to justice, and then in the shape
of an eagle, the symbol of the imperial power. This majestic eagle came with the narrator in a
conversation. The eagle represents the idea of justice, and not his claws and beak are important
but all-seeing eye, made up of the most worthy of lights. The pupil is the soul of the king, and
psalmist David, eyelashes are the souls of the righteous pre-Christians.

They ascended to the seventh heaven - to Saturn. It is the abode of spectators. Beatrice has
become more beautiful and brighter. Blessed spirits of the spectators were silent, did not sing -
otherwise they would have deafened the narrator.

The spirit of Benedict, after whom one of the monastic orders is named, angrily condemned the
modern self-seeking monks. After listening to him, they rushed to the eighth sky, the
constellation of Gemini, under which the narrator has been born. In the eighth sky thousands of
lights were glowing - great triumphant spirits of the righteous. Intoxicated by them the narrator’s
vision has increased. Beatrice smiled, and luminous spirits started singing the anthem of queen of
heaven - Holy Virgin Mary.

Beatrice asked the apostles to speak with the narrator. The apostle Peter asked him about the
nature of faith. His answer was following: the belief is an argument in favor of the unseen;
mortals cannot see with their own eyes what is opened here in Paradise - but they may believe in
miracles without visual evidence of its truth. Peter was pleased with such an answer.
The Apostle James asked a question about the essence of hope. The narrator’s answer was:
hope is a waiting for the future well-deserved and God-given glory. Delighted Jacob illumined.
The next question was about love, the apostle John asked it. In response, the narrator did not
forget to mention the fact that love draws us to God, to the word of truth. The exam was
successfully completed.
Four lights are burning in front of the narrator: the three apostles and Adam. Suddenly, Peter
became flushed and exclaimed: "My earthy throne is captured, my throne, my throne!" Peter
hated his successor - the Pope. And it was high time for the travelers to leave the eighth heaven
and ascend into the ninth, the supreme and crystal. With an unearthly joy, laughing, Beatrice
threw the narrator in a rapidly rotating sphere.

The first thing he saw in the ninth heaven was a dazzling point, the symbol of the deity. Around
it lights are revolving - angelic nine concentric circles. Those the nearest to the deity and
therefore the smallest are seraphim and cherubim, the most remote and vast are archangels and
simply angels. On the ground it is used to think that greater is bigger, but here, it is the other way
around.

Beatrice told that the angels are the same age of the universe. Their rapid rotation is the source of
all movements, which take place in the universe. Ascension in Emporium - into the highest part
 of the universe – is the last one. They are surrounded here by pure light. Sparks and colors are
around them, these are the angels and the blessed souls. They merge into a shining river, and
then take shape of an enormous heaven rose.

Contemplating rose and comprehending the general plan of Eden, the narrator wanted to ask
Beatrice something, but he saw not her, but an old man in white. The narrator looked upward and
saw there her, in the unattainable heights. She looked at him with a smile and turned to the
eternal sanctuary.

The elder in white is Saint Bernard. From now on, he's the narrator’s mentor. they continue
contemplating the rose. It shines with the souls of chaste babies. Bernard began to pray to the
Virgin Mary, so she would help me. Then he gave a sign to look up. The narrator saw the
supreme and clearest light - the deity in its radiant trinity.

The Divine Comedy Summary

Dante Alighieri

At a Glance

In this epic poem, Dante's alter ego, the Pilgrim, travels through Hell and Purgatory to
reach Heaven. His journey is meant to impress upon readers the consequences of sin
and the glories of Heaven.

 In the first section, commonly known as Dante's Inferno, the spirit of Roman poet Virgil
leads Dante's alter ego, the "Pilgrim," through the circles of Hell, where they witness the horrible
punishments that sinners have brought upon themselves.
 In the second section, Purgatory, Pilgrim meets the souls of those waiting to ascend into
Heaven. There, the souls of the saved make penance for their sins, of which they must be
cleansed before they can go to Heaven.
 In the third section, Pilgrim reaches Heaven. On the way there, he sails through space and sees
the planets, which are inhabited by saints. Upon witnessing the majesty of God in his true glory,
Pilgrim returns to Earth to write this very poem.

Summary

(LITERARY ESSENTIALS: CHRISTIAN FICTION AND NONFICTION)

 print Print

 document PDF 
 list Cite

 link Link

Dante’s The Divine Comedy is the beginning of Italian literature and the single most
significant work of the Middle Ages because its allegory emphasizes the importance of
salvation and divine love in a work that is inclusive and tightly structured. It is so
thoroughly infused with Christian ethics that any overview has to touch on major
Christian themes, beginning with the plot being set during Easter week 1300.

The work is a complex narrative with many allusions to biblical stories, classical myths,
history, and contemporary politics; however, the plot’s symbolism provides clarity in that
it celebrates the ideal of universalism, where everything has its place in God’s world,
and its ultimate goal of salvation triumphs over the contemporary reality of the power
struggle between worldly and religious leaders.
The structure of the entire work, as well as of its parts, is symbolic of the story it tells, as
the use of numbers shows. The number 3 (symbolic of the Trinity: God as the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost) and the number 10 (the “perfect” number: 3 × 3 + 1) are
the most conspicuous examples.The Divine Comedy has three “cantiche,” or parts (Hell,
Purgatory, and Heaven). Each cantica has thirty-three cantos, or songs, with the
exception of the first cantica, which has thirty-four cantos, adding up to a total of one
hundred (the perfect number squared: 10 × 10). Each canto is written in terza rima, that
is, in tercets that rhyme in an interlocking manner.
The first canto of Inferno, is considered to be an introduction to the whole work (making
the structure even more symmetric: 1 + 33 + 33 + 33 = 100) because all three parts
ofThe Divine Comedy are present in the first canto’s symbolic landscape. Dante finds
himself lost in a dark forest. Looking for orientation, he decides to hike up a mountain,
whose sunlit top represents Purgatory, while the sky and the sun represent Heaven.
However, Dante’s path is blocked by three animals on the mountain’s slope: a leopard,
a lion, and a she-wolf, which represent the three main types of sin that correspond to
the three main divisions of Hell.
The spirit of Virgil appears and promises to get Dante to salvation the long way: through
Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Dante’s doubts are assuaged because Virgil has been
sent by three heavenly ladies (the Virgin Mary, Saint Lucy, and Beatrice); in the
combination of human reason with divine grace, Dante’s salvation may yet be achieved.
After they enter Hell in the third canto, Dante learns through conversations with Virgil
and individual souls that each sin is punished according to its severity, systematically
going from the lighter sins of incontinence (giving in to one’s desires) to the more severe
sins of violence (actively willing evil) and fraud (adding malice). Hell, which is presented
as a huge funnel-shaped underground cave, extends in ever-smaller and more-
constricting circles to the middle of the earth; there, in the pit of hell, sits Satan himself,
forever stuck frozen in the ice of the lake Cocytus, chewing on the three worst human
traitors: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.
Climbing past Satan, Dante is headed toward salvation. While all sinners in Hell will
remain there forever to suffer their horrible punishments because they did not admit
their sins, souls in Purgatory are already saved and eventually will go to Heaven
because they confessed their sins before death. Therefore, the mood has completely
changed: The souls are not stuck in everlasting isolation but learn in groups from
examples of the virtue and vice that correspond to their penance. Purgatory is
presented as a huge cone-shaped mountain and the only landmass in the southern
hemisphere. Purgatory proper is organized in seven rings according to the traditional
seven deadly sins (pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust). At the top of the
mountain is earthly paradise (the Garden of Eden); this is as far as human reason can
lead, so Virgil leaves and Beatrice becomes Dante’s guide.
Cleansed of his own sins, Dante rises naturally toward Heaven. In keeping with the
Ptolemaic worldview, Heaven is organized in spheres with the earth in the center. Dante
identifies ten spheres that he relates to the so-called four pagan virtues of fortitude,
justice, temperance, and prudence in varying degrees (first to seventh Heavens), the
three Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity (eighth Heaven), the Primum Mobile
(the ninth heaven, which moves all others), and the Empyrean (the tenth Heaven
outside of time and space, where God dwells). The Empyrean as a state of being also
contains the Celestial Rose, where all blessed souls reside. The souls do not reside in
the individual heavens where Dante encounters them but are put there so that he may
more easily understand their place in the divine order. The blessed souls in Heaven
form a true, though strictly hierarchical, community that exists in an all-permeating
feeling of love and bliss, which comes from the joy and peace of being in the proper
place in God’s creation. Dante evokes in images of light what lies beyond human
experience, such as the radiance of the blessed souls and Dante’s vision of God.
 The Divine Comedy Homework Help Questions

 One of the main themes in Dante's Divine Comedy is the idea of

love. What kinds of love does he...

Throughout the Divine Comedy, Dante returns to the theme of love. In

considering this theme, I'd like to discuss the two kinds of love that Dante
focuses on the most and structures his poetry...

 What is the major theme?    

This is a tough question, because there are admittedly many themes at work
in Dante's Divine Comedy. However, if you had to pinpoint a main theme, the
most accurate answer would be that the main...

 How does Dante's Divine Comedy relate to the concept of

redemption?

Dante's Divine Comedy relates to the theme of redemption in that Dante's

character in the trilogy of poems is seeking to redeem himself after falling into
a life of sin. The poem is an allegory...

 What are the similiarities between The Divine Comedy and

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?

Both of these long poems are “journey” literature.  That is, the metaphor of life
as a journey underlies each, even though the characters are on a physical or
spiritual journey as well.   A...

 What motivated Dante to write The Divine Comedy?

 Since the poem is such a multi-faceted work, there are several answers to this
question.  First, as a great artist, Dante reflects the ideas, concerns, and
attitudes of his time; The Divine Comedy...

 How does Dante's Divine Comedy relate to the concept of

redemption?

Dante's Divine Comedy relates to the theme of redemption in that Dante's

character in the trilogy of poems is seeking to redeem himself after falling into
a life of sin. The poem is an allegory...
2 educator answers
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

I need to know direct quotes from Dante's Divine Comedy about the way
"up is down" and then...

In Canto I, Dante, lost in the woods, wants to get to heaven, but his way is
blocked by a wolf, a leopard and a lion, which represent his sin. The only way
up to heaven is down through hell, the...
1 educator answer

 One of the main themes in Dante's Divine Comedy is the idea of

love. What kinds of love does he...

Throughout the Divine Comedy, Dante returns to the theme of love. In

considering this theme, I'd like to discuss the two kinds of love that Dante
focuses on the most and structures his poetry...
2 educator answers
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

What are the sins and punishments in canto 28?

Canto 28 of Dante Alighieri's Inferno describes people who have sinned

through scandal and creating discord. The punishment here is to walk
endlessly around a chasm towards the center of hell, with...

 What is the major theme?

 This is a tough question, because there are admittedly many themes at work
in Dante's Divine Comedy. However, if you had to pinpoint a main theme, the
most accurate answer would be that the main...
2 educator answers
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

What does The Divine Comedy reveal about human nature?

The Divine Comedy reveals a lot about human nature, and it's difficult to touch
on every single theme, desire, and emotion that Dante's work describes.
However, if we look at the central goal of...
2 educator answers

 Is Dante guilty of graft in The Inferno?

Graft is also known as barratry, and may have an etymological connection to

the more familiar word "grift" or grifting. Its exact definition is a bit murky and
ambiguous, but it generally deals...
1 educator answer
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

How did Dante use satirical objects in divine comedy?

Satire is the use of irony, humor and sarcasm to criticize something. Allegory
is the hidden or symbolic meaning of things within a story. Dante has made
use of these various literary tools in the...
1 educator answer

 How is the theme of good vs evil relevant to The Divine Comedy?

The opening of Dante's work is reflective of the pilgrim who is searching for
meaning in life. The search for meaning revolves around the central questions
of what defines individual identity and...
1 educator answer
 THE DIVINE COMEDY
 Dante uses the idea of contrapasso, or symbolic retribution. Explain
how punishment fits the sin...

Let's start with your part two of your question first; that is, the inscription above
the Gates of Hell. As Virgil and Dante approach the gate, they read its Latin
inscription: Per me si va ne...

 What would be a good expository essay topic to write about for

Dante's The Divine Comedy?

I suggest that you do not try to write about the entire Divine Comedy but focus
on a single episode or canto. The part that interests me the most personally is
the episode involving Francesca da...
1 educator answer
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

This semester we have studied and discussed the epic hero as s/he
developed from the Classical...

The term epic is overused, misunderstood, and has become a bit cliche. In
literature, an epic is a long narrative poem that focuses on a hero and his
(typically a he) culture. Characteristics of a...

 In The Divine Comedy, who guides Dante through paradise?

Beatrice, a woman with whom Dante is deeply in love, replaces Vergil the
poet as Dante the pilgrim's guide through heaven. She is meant to symbolize
love, beauty, and spiritual perfection. Through...
1 educator answer
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

What did the people of teh 14th century think about Dante's Divine
Comedy? how did they percieve it?

Dante's Divine Comedy enjoyed enormous success. However, it should be

noted that it was not translated into other languages until much later. Thus,
strictly speaking, its 14th century readers were...
 Discuss the type of love that Dante has for Beatrice at the end of the
narrative.
I sense that Dante shares a love with Beatrice by the end of the narrative as
one that transcends that of mortal or courtly love. As she becomes his guide
through the Paradiso phase of Dante's...
1 educator answer

 What are the similiarities between The Divine Comedy and

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?

Both of these long poems are “journey” literature. That is, the metaphor of life
as a journey underlies each, even though the characters are on a physical or
spiritual journey as well. A...
2 educator answers
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

Why does Beatrice act as the protector and ultimate guide of Dante
toward salvation? What is...

The character of Beatrice is based on the daughter of a rich Florentine

banker, Beatrice Portinari, whom Dante met and fell in love with at the age of
nine. Beatrice first appears in the Vita...
1 educator answer

 What is salvation according to Dante?

The purpose of Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise is to give
him (and, consequently, the reader) the instruments to understand the nature
of sin and the extent of its...
2 educator answers
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

In what ways does Dante's Inferno participate in earlier epic traditions?

 Dante's "Divine Comedy", of which the "Inferno" is part, is not a traditional oral
epic but a highly literate work that mingles elements from classical epic with a
new style of extended Christian...
2 educator answers

 What is the explanation of the phrase "A quest for heaven is also a
quest for order" from...

At its most basic level, the language is straightforward: getting closer to God is
good; it makes sense. There is order in God's world (as opposed to the world
people live in who do not know God)....
1 educator answer
 THE DIVINE COMEDY

On reaching the Earthly Paradise, Virgil the guide crowns and miters
Dante. Why?

Virgil's complete quote is from Canto XXVII, line 142, which reads, " I crown
and miter you lord of yourself!" The crowning of Dante, then, makes him
responsible for his own choices here on earth....
2 educator answers