Dante's Divine Comedy describes his journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In Hell, sinners are organized into concentric circles based on their sins and receive specific punishments. Purgatory involves purification and climbing its terraces to erase the seven deadly sins. In Heaven, Dante is guided by Beatrice through the nine celestial spheres, finally glimpsing God at the top. The poem had a profound influence on literature and examines the poetic interpretation of the afterlife.

2. Objectives
• learn about the structure and artistry of
Dante's Divine Comedy;
• share about one’s belief towards certain
issues
• examine the poetic interpretation of Dante’s
perception of hell, purgatory and heaven;

4. The dates of when
Dante’s works were written
are inexact and many are
unfinished, although there is
no doubt that Dante is known
as the source of modern
Italian Literature.

5. Inspired by Virgil and Aristotle and other
poets, Dante has affected a profound
influence on numerous poets,
playwrights, and authors right into the
21st century.

6. • His exact birth date is not known.
Dante Alighieri was born in
Florence, Italy in the year 1265.
His mother Donna Gabriella degli
Abati died when he was very
young. His father was Alighiero
di Bellincione Alighieri, a notary
from a family loyal to the
Guelphs.

7. • The Guelphs supported the
Papacy, while the other
predominant family of the
neighboring area in Tuscany,
the Ghibellines, supported the
German emperor, thus
spurring many power struggles
between the two.

8. • It is said that Dante
fought with the Guelphs
as a cavalryman in the
battle of Campaldino
(1289), referred to in
Purgatorio, which led to
the defeat of the
Ghibellines.

9. • However by 1300 the Guelphs
were themselves bitterly
divided into two factions,
Bianchi and Neri, the Black
Guelphs and the White Guelphs.
When the Black Guelphs seized
power in Florence, all White
Guelphs were banished in 1302,
including Dante, with the threat
of being burned alive if he ever
returned.

10. Dante had married Gemma di Manetto Donati, with whom
he had four children; Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni and
Antonia. Gemma remained
in Florence after his exile.
Years before his marriage it is
said that Dante had fallen in
love with Beatrice Portinari,
the young woman in his
autobiographical
Vita nuova (The New Life)
Dante Alighieri died when living in the city of Ravenna in
central Italy in 1321.

12. Characters … .
• Dante- the pilgrim
• Beatrice-Dante’s womanly
ideal and religious inspiration
• Virgil- the poet, and Dante’s
guide

13. Prologue
Dante, realizing he has strayed from the
“true way…into the wilderness,” tells of a
vision where he travels through all the levels
of Hell, up the mount of Purgatory, and finally
through the realms of Paradise, where he is
allowed a brief glimpse of God.

14. At the age of
thirty-five,
on the night of
Good Friday in
the year 1300,

15. Dante finds
himself lost
in a dark
wood and
full of fear.

16. He encounters three beasts
A leopard
(lust)
A lion
(pride)
A she-wolf
(covetousness)

17. Fortunately, his lady,
Beatrice, along
with the Virgin Mary
herself, sends the
spirit of Virgil,
the classical Latin poet, to
guide Dante through much
of his journey.

18. Dante met Virgil. Together they passed through the gates of
hell inscribed with the terrifying words:
“Abandon every hope, Ye that Enters.”
Dante is a living soul who had not tasted death yet,
so he is exempted from such final despair.

19. Dante found hell to be a huge funnel-
shaped pit divided into terraces each
standing-place for those individuals
who were guilty of a particular sin.

21. LIMBO, unbaptized and did not accept God
LUST, blown on the field by a violent storm
GLUTTONS, forced to lie on mud under continual cold rain and hail.
MATERIALISTIC, pushes a great weight against the
heavy weight
WRATHFUL, lives in swamp-like water in Styx and
keeps on fighting each other
HERETICS, trapped in a flaming tomb
VIOLENT, 3rings of punishments
FRAUDULENT, 10ditches of punishments
TRAITORS, 10zones of punishments

22. Limbo
• In Limbo reside the unbaptized and the virtuous
pagans, who, though not sinful, did not accept
Christ. They are not punished in an active sense, but
rather grieve only because of their separation from
God, without hope of reconciliation. Limbo shares
many characteristics with the Asphodel Meadows;
thus the guiltless damned are punished by living in a
deficient form of Heaven. Without baptism ("the
portal of the faith that you embrace") they lacked the
hope for something greater than rational minds can
conceive. Limbo includes green fields and a castle,

24. Lust
• In the second circle of Hell are those
overcome by lust. Dante condemns these
"carnal malefactors" for letting their
appetites sway their reason. They are the
first ones to be truly punished in Hell. These
souls are blown about to and fro by the
terrible winds of a violent storm, without
hope of rest. This symbolizes the power of
lust to blow one about needlessly and
aimlessly.

26. Gluttony
• Cerberus guards the gluttons, forced to lie in a vile slush
produced by ceaseless foul, icy rain (Virgil obtains safe
passage past the monster by filling its three mouths with
mud). In her notes on this circle, Dorothy L. Sayers writes
that "the surrender to sin which began with mutual
indulgence leads by an imperceptible degradation to solitary
self-indulgence." The gluttons lie here sightless and
heedless of their neighbours, symbolising the cold, selfish,
and empty sensuality of their lives. Just as lust has revealed
its true nature in the winds of the previous circle, here the
slush reveals the true nature of sensuality – which includes
not only overindulgence in food and drink, but also other

28. Greed
• Those whose attitude toward material goods
deviated from the appropriate mean are punished in
the fourth circle. They include the avaricious or
miserly (including many "clergymen, and popes and
cardinals"), who hoarded possessions, and the
prodigal, who squandered them. The two groups are
guarded by Plutus, the Greek god of wealth (who
uses the cryptic phrase Papé Satàn, papé Satàn
aleppe). The two groups joust, using as weapons
great weights which they push with their chests.

30. anger
In the swamp-like water of the river Styx, the wrathful fight each
other on the surface, and the sullen lie gurgling beneath the
water, withdrawn "into a black sulkiness which can find no joy in
God or man or the universe." Phlegyas reluctantly transports
Dante and Virgil across the Styx in his skiff.The lower parts of Hell
are contained within the walls of the city of Dis, which is itself
surrounded by the Stygian marsh. Punished within Dis are active
(rather than passive) sins. The walls of Dis are guarded by fallen
angels.

32. heresy
• In the sixth circle, Heretics, such as Epicurians (who say
"the soul dies with the body") are trapped in flaming tombs.
Pausing for a moment before the steep descent to the foul-
smelling seventh circle, Virgil explains the geography and
rationale of Lower Hell, in which violent and malicious sins
are punished. In this explanation, he refers to the
Nicomachean Ethics and the Physics of Aristotle. In
particular, he asserts that there are only two legitimate
sources of wealth: natural resources ("nature") and human
activity ("art"). Usury, to be punished in the next circle, is
therefore an offence against both

34. violence
The seventh circle houses the violent. Its entry is guarded by the Minotaur, and it is
divided into three rings:
Outer ring: This ring houses the violent against people and property, who are
immersed in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood and fire, to a level commensurate
with their sins: Alexander the Great is immersed up to his eyebrows. The Centaurs,
commanded by Chiron, patrol the ring, firing arrows into those trying to escape.
Middle ring: In this ring are the suicides (the violent against self), who are
transformed into gnarled thorny bushes and trees, which are fed on by the Harpies.
Unique among the dead, the suicides will not be bodily resurrected after the final
judgement, having given their bodies away through suicide. Instead they will maintain
their bushy form, with their own corpses hanging from the limbs. The trees are a
metaphor for the state of mind in which suicide is committed. The other residents of
this ring are the profligates, who destroyed their lives by destroying the means by
which life is sustained (i.e. money and property). They are perpetually chased by
ferocious dogs through the thorny undergrowth.
Inner ring: Here the violent against God (blasphemers) and the violent against nature

36. Fraud
• The fraudulent—those guilty of deliberate, knowing evil—are located in a circle named Malebolge ("Evil Pockets"), divided into ten
Bolgie, or ditches of stone, with bridges spanning the ditches:
Bolgia 1: Panderers (pimps) and seducers march in separate lines in opposite directions, whipped by demons. Just as the panderers and
seducers used the passions of others to drive them to do their bidding, they are themselves driven by demons to march for all eternity.
Bolgia 2: Flatterers also exploited other people, this time using language. They are steeped in human excrement, which represents the
words they produced.
Bolgia 3: Dante now forcefully expresses his condemnation of those who committed simony. These are placed head-first in holes in the
rock (resembling baptismal fonts), with flames burning on the soles of their feet.
Bolgia 4: Sorcerers, astrologers, and false prophets here have their heads twisted around on their bodies backward, so that they "found it
necessary to walk backward, / because they could not see ahead of them." While referring primarily to attempts to see into the future by
forbidden means, this also symbolises the twisted nature of magic in general.
Bolgia 5: Corrupt politicians (barrators) are immersed in a lake of boiling pitch, which represents the sticky fingers and dark secrets of
their corrupt deals. They are guarded by devils called the Malebranche ("Evil Claws"), who provide some savage and satirical black
comedy.
Bolgia 6: In the sixth Bolgia, the poets find the hypocrites listlessly walking along wearing gilded lead cloaks, which represent the falsity
behind the surface appearance of their actions.
Bolgia 7: Two cantos are devoted to the thieves, who are guarded by the centaur Cacus, who has a fire-breathing dragon on his shoulders.
The thieves are pursued and bitten by snakes and lizards. Just as they stole other people's substance in life, their very identity becomes
subject to theft here, as the snake bites make them undergo various transformations.
Bolgia 8: Two further cantos are devoted to the fraudulent advisers or evil councillors, who are concealed within individual flames. These
are not people who gave false advice, but people who used their position to advise others to engage in fraud.
Bolgia 9: A sword-wielding demon hacks at the sowers of discord, dividing parts of their bodies as in life they divided others. As they
make their rounds the wounds heal, only to have the demon tear apart their bodies again.
Bolgia 10: In the final Bolgia, various sorts of falsifiers (alchemists, counterfeiters, perjurers, and impersonators), who are a "disease" on
society, are themselves afflicted with different types of diseases.

38. treachery
The traitors are distinguished from the "merely" fraudulent in that their acts involve betraying a special relationship of some kin
There are four concentric zones (or "rounds") of traitors, corresponding, in order of seriousness, to betrayal of family ties,
betrayal of community ties, betrayal of guests, and betrayal of liege lords. In contrast to the popular image of Hell as fiery, the
traitors are frozen in a lake of ice known as Cocytus, with each group encased in ice to progressively greater depths.
Round 1: is named Caïna, after Cain, who killed his brother. Traitors to kindred are here immersed in the ice up to their faces –
"the place / where shame can show itself"
Round 2: is named Antenora, after Antenor of Troy, who according to medieval tradition, betrayed his city to the Greeks. Traito
to political entities, such as party, city, or country, are located here.
Round 3: is named Ptolomaea, probably after Ptolemy, son of Abubus, who invited Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to a banque
and then killed them. Traitors to their guests are punished here, lying supine in the ice, which covers them, except for their faces
They are punished more severely than the previous traitors, since the relationship to guests is an entirely voluntary one.
Round 4: is named Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, Biblical betrayer of Christ. Here are the traitors to their lords and benefactors.
All of the sinners punished within are completely encapsulated in ice, distorted in all conceivable positions.
In the very centre of Hell, condemned for committing the ultimate sin (personal treachery against God), is Satan. Satan is
described as a giant, terrifying beast with three faces, one red, one black, and one a pale yellow.Satan is waist deep in ice,
weeping tears from his six eyes, and beating his six wings as if trying to escape, although the icy wind that emanates only furthe
ensures his imprisonment (as well as that of the others in the ring). Each face has a mouth that chews on a prominent traitor, wit
Brutus and Cassius feet-first in the left and right mouths respectively.In the central, most vicious mouth is Judas Iscariot—the
namesake of Judecca and the betrayer of Jesus. Judas is being administered the most horrifying torture of the three traitors, his
head gnawed by Satan's mouth, and his back being forever skinned by Satan's claws.

44. In the very depths of
hell Was Satan with
three heads, each
grasping a sinner in
its mouth, and with
three pairs of wings
that continuously
beat over the waters
around him, freezing
them into perpetual
currents of ice.

45. The sun was shining, it was Easter
morning. After hiking in a
silence, they finally arrived on
the shores of Mount Purgatory,
located exactly opposite
Jerusalem on the globe.

46. As pilgrims entered Purgatory, an angel inscribed
the letter “P” on Dante’s forehead seven times, to
represent the seven deadly sins.
Pride Envy
Anger Sloth
Avarice Gluttony Lust
As Dante made his way through the seven areas
reserved for those who committed each of these
sins, the letters were erased one by one, and the
climb became less difficult.

47. Like Hell, Purgatory
was arranged in
terraces. However,
the inhabitants here
could, through
confession,
repentance, patience
and the prayers of
the living, move on
to higher realms
after a time of
proper purification.

48. Pride, by carrying a heavy weight on their backs.
Envious, by having one's eyes sewn shut, and wearing clothing that
makes the soul indistinguishable from the ground
Anger, by walking around in acid smoke
Sloth, by continually running
Avarice, by lying face-down on the ground
Gluttons, by abstaining from any food or drink
Lust, by burning in an immense wall of flames

49. As the travelers finally moved beyond the
seventh terrace, an angel directed them to
pass through a huge wall of flame; on the
other side they would find Beatrice. Dante
did not hesitate.
Emerging from the flames, he saw a
mountain. At its summit, Virgil bade Dante
farewell, for this was as far as Human
Reason would allow a non-Christian to go

50. Dante noticed a beautiful
garden nearby, and
began to explore it. A
young woman
appeared to inform him
that this was the
Garden of Eden- and
there, across a river,
awaited Beatrice.
But the woman called out
Dante, demanding that,
beforeentering the stream,
he stop to acknowledge
remorsethat he fainted and
had to be carried across
Lethe,the river of
forgetfulness as past sins.

51. After an initial
ascension Beatrice
guides Dante
through the nine
spheres of Heaven.

52. These are concentric and spherical, similar
to Aristotelian and Ptolemic cosmology.
Dante admits that the vision of heaven he
receives is the one that his human eyes
permit him to see. Thus, the vision of
heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own
personal vision.

53. The addition of a moral dimension means that
a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the
level applicable to it.
Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that
fits with their human ability to love God.
Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy, but
everyone is satisfied with his post, because
he understands the fact that he is not
capable of any greater experience.

54. Moon
Sun
stars
Angels
The moon - those who abandoned their vowsMercury - those who did good out of a desire for fame
Venus - those who did good out of loveThe sun - souls of the wiseMars - those who fought for ChristianityJupiter - those who personified justiceSaturn - the contemplativeThe fixed stars - the blessedThe Primum Mobile ("Prime Mover") - angels

55. Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven

56. Beatrice leaves Dante with
Saint Bernard who prays to Mary
on behalf of Dante and…
Dante is allowed to see both Jesus and Mary.

57. Here he comes face-to-face with God Himself, and is
granted understanding of the Divine and of human nature.
His vision is improved beyond that of human
comprehension. God appears as three equally large rings
spinning within each other representing the holy spirit with
the essence of each part of God

58. The story ends with Dante's
vision growing ever stronger, and
the vision of God becomes
equally inimitable and
inexplicable…
…that no word can
come close to
explaining what he
saw, offering him a
vision how Divine
Love is the power
behind existence.

59. greatdante.net dante-alighieri.org
ladante.it nyu.edu
onlineliterature.com