Dante’s Inferno
Author Biography

Dante Alighieri
 Son of a nobleman
 Born May 1265 in Florence, Italy
 Received early education in Florence
 Attended the University of Bologna
 Fought in the Florence Army in the Battle of
Campaldino (1289), a conflict between the
Guelphs and Ghibellines (supporters of the
Pope and Holy Roman Emperor,
respectively); Dante was 24
DEPICTION OF DANTE
Author Biography

His great love seems to have been
Beatrice Portinari.
 They met when they were children.
 Dante worshipped her.
 Beatrice was Dante’s inspiration for The Divine
Comedy.
 After her death in 1290, he dedicated a book of
verse, La Vita Nuova, or “The New Life,” to her.
 Though each married, they did not marry each
other.
Beatrice
Author Biography
Dante entered an arranged marriage in
1291 with Gemma Donati, a
noblewoman.
 They had four children—Jacopo, Pietro,
Giovanni, and Antonia.
 Records contain little else about their life
together.

Author Biography

By 1302, Dante was a political exile from
Florence: the Black Guelph faction had
finally taken over the city and killed
many of their enemies.
 He probably started The Divine Comedy
after this exile.
 Personages past and present from politics,
history, mythology, religion, literature, and
Dante’s personal life—including Beatrice—
appear throughout The Divine Comedy.
Dante’s Inferno:
Introduction
The Divine Comedy is made up of three
parts, corresponding with Dante’s three
journeys: Inferno (or Hell); Purgatorio (or
Purgatory); and Paradiso (or Paradise).
 Each part consists of approximately 33
cantos.
 Inferno as epic poem = exalted subject
matter, heroic actions, contains long
speeches, begins in medias res
 Terza rima-11 syllables per line

Dante’s Inferno


Dante and Virgil
enter the wide gates
of Hell and descend
through the nine
circles.
In each circle they
see sinners being
punished for their
sins on Earth; Dante
sees the torture as
Divine justice.
THE GATES OF HELL
Dante’s Inferno

The sinners in the circles include:
 Circle One—Those in limbo (basically innocent people;
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unbaptized and unbelievers)
Circle Two—The lustful
Circle Three—The gluttonous (food, drink, other
addictions)
Circle Four—The hoarders (greed as sin)
Circle Five—The wrathful
Circle Six—The heretics
Circle Seven—The violent
○ Ring 1: Murderers, robbers, and plunderers
○ Ring 2: Suicides and those harmful to the world
○ Ring 3: Those harmful against God, nature, art, as well as
usurers (money-lenders)
Dante’s Inferno:
Introduction

Circle Eight—The
Fraudulent
 Bowge (Trench) I:
Panderers and
Seducers
 Bowge II: Flatterers
 Bowge III: Simoniacs
 Bowge IV: Sorcerers
 Bowge V: Barrators
 Bowge VI: Hypocrites
 Bowge VII: Thieves
 Bowge VIII: Counselors
 Bowge IX: Sowers of
Discord
 Bowge X: Falsifiers
Dante’s Inferno:
Introduction

Circle Nine—Traitors
 Region i: Traitors to
their kindred
 Region ii: Traitors to
their country
 Region iii: Traitors to
their guests
 Region iv: Traitors to
their lords
SATAN
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Giant beast frozen
in a lake of ice at the
center of Hell
Three heads
Bat-like wings under
each chin create a
wind that freezes all
other sinners in the
Ninth Circle
Chews on Judas,
Brutus, and Cassius
Dante’s Inferno:
Introduction


On Easter Sunday,
Dante emerges from
Hell (a symbolic
relation to the
Resurrection).
Through his travels,
he has found his
way to God and is
able, once more, to
look upon the stars.
WORKS CITED
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www.wsfcs.k12.nc.u
s/cms/lib/NC010013
95/.../Intro__good.ppt
www.roanestate.edu
/faculty/ccurrie/Dant
e%20Inferno%20Int
ro.ppt