On the Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy is the greatest poem written by Dante in the early fourteenth century. Dante Alighieri is an Italian and he was banned from returning to his beloved Florence in 1302. Dante roamed from city to city in Italy and France, from noble court to grubby back streets until he died in Ravenna in 1321. Through the exile, the wandering and the angst, he created The Divine Comedy -- divided into Hell, Purgatory and Paradise -- a poem many consider the greatest ever written. DanteЎЇs other work include La Vita Nuova, The Convivio, Detto DЎЇAmore, De Vulgari Eloquentia.

At that time, the politic power in Florence was divided into two parts. One supported the king of Holy Roman Empire. The other supported the Pope. And the ones who supported the Pope won the power in Florence and Pope wanted to control Florence. But some wealthy citizens wanted independence and Dante was one of them. So at last Dante was exiled for these complicated political reasons. These are the background when Dante wrote The Divine Comedy.

The story is like this. In Ў°Inferno,Ў± the poet finds himself lost in dark woods, and though he tries to find his way out, he ultimately meets the ancient poet, Virgil. Virgil explains that in order to reach Paradise, Dante must first follow him on a tour of Hell, and then leads him down through the gates. For Dante, there are nine circles of Hell, each tailored to the sinners who go there. The two poets exit Hell in time for the sunЎЇs rising on Easter Sunday, and that is where Virgil leads him on to Purgatory.

In this place, Dante is marked with seven PЎЇs for each of the sins, and as they climb, these are removed and the climbing becomes easier. Purgatory, too, is terraced like Hell, There are seven terraces to Purgatory, with their corresponding historical and very real figures, and after the seventh he passed through a wall of fire to be guided in Paradise by his Lady, Beatrice, leaving Virgil behind.

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