References
- Worldofdante.org good way to read them online
- danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu
Background
Epic narrative poem, written over 13 year span. These last two were at least as detailed as Inferno. Shows just how much time people devoted to this before TV and film. Dante studied poetry, music, art, classics. At age 18, joined group of Italian poets starting a style called Dolce Stil Novo (sweet new style).
History: war between Guelfs and Ghibellines. Guelfs, majority, were supporters of the holy roman emperor. Gibileans were supporters of the pope (Dante was a Ghibellines).
Written in vernacular Italian. Invented the terza rima (tight form). ABA BCB CDC…
His guides are primarily Virgil and Beatrice. Beatrice has been summoned by St. Lucy (meaning light) to aid him. St. Lucy was summoned by Mary, the mother of Jesus.
How to read it? One way is as a metaphor. One of the places you go to when you die. Dante gets to travel through all three, seeing the 3 stages of salvation: darkness (recognizing sin), contrition (paying for sin, penance), salvation (glimpsing God, the completion).
Angel at the gate is standing on 3 steps: marble (polished like a mirror, seeing how you really are), stone (rough, penance), and blood red (arriving, the blood of salvation).
Psalm 114 became the basis of a the 4-part method of Biblical interpretation.
- Literal: Israelites coming out of Egypt
- Allegorical (personal, what you believe): coming from sin to faith
- Moral (acting): no longer acting as a slave, acting as a redeemed under grace
- Anagogical (your future): looking at the future departure of your soul to eternal glory.
In a letter, Dante offered this as a way of interpreting the poem.
- Literal: what happens to men when they die
A. For Dante himself (autobiographical)
B. For Florence and the other Italians
- Allegorical/Moral/Anagogical: men earn the rewards or punishments of justice.
Purgatorio
4 stars at the beginning of the Purgatorio: “These ‘other virtues’ are the four cardinal virtues, also known as the moral or classical virtues: fortitude, temperance, justice, and prudence.” These virtues are shared with the pagans. Later in Paradise he deals with the 3 Christian virtues: faith, hope, and love.
Meets some interesting characters along the way.
V.106: Story of a guy who gets saved at the last minute, a deathbed conversion. “For just one tear you carry off his deathless part; but I shall treat this other part in other wise.”
Negligent rulers: beautiful valley, they always pray for others’ prayers for them. They try to walk up. They can’t pray for themselves to get out of purgatory but they can pray for others to pray for them.
Two angels guard them at night. A serpent comes at night but doesn’t get close, licks his own back. The angels are white, swords are red, wings are green. 3 colors represent faith (white), hope (green), and charity (red).
8.1-6 “It was the hour that turns seafarers’ longings
homeward—the hour that makes their hearts grow tender
upon the day they bid sweet friends farewell;
the hour that pierces the new traveler
with love when he has heard, far off, the bell
that seems to mourn the dying of the day;”
Whips & Bridles. Whips guide them through examples of the good opposite. The bridle is the deterrent that keeps them from the bad thing. Mary is the example of every good thing. Uses David and Jesus, even Romans who are used as models.
In the terrace of the wrathful, he puts some political commentary in about the roles of the emperor and pope with respect to power.
Sloth: addresses free will. Sees sloth as insufficient love, in the middle of the 7 sins. Zeal is personified by Mary who wants wine. And Julius Ceasar. Examples of sloth are Moses’s followers in the desert, and the Trojans.
Going up is loving things too much. Going down is loving people too little.
Why does he end both of these books with “stars”? We think we are looking out at the stars but the medieval man thought he was looking in to the stars. They are used for navigation. Light from the sky symbolizing God, stars being other worldly. You never arrive at a star.
Dante puts lust close to terrestrial paradise, Eden.
Who is Beatrice to him? Vision of divine love, guide through Paradise.
3.40-43: You saw the fruitless longing of those men who would—if reason could—have been content, those who desire eternally laments; I speak of Aristotle and of Plato—and many others” Perhaps further evidence for Ken’s thesis about the classics being useful in reason but not sufficient for salvation.
8.19: He pleads with the reader to pay attention, to look sharp at truth.
9.61–63: another address to the reader.
6.76: Italy as an inn of sorrows. No queen of provinces but of bordellos.
22.73: Speaks to Statius about sketching what he sees.
Paradiso
3.64 Do you desire to be higher up in paradise? No, we long only for what we have. We dwell within the divine will, where his will is our will.
4.16 Beatrice sees that Dante is struggling with free will and human responsibility.
4.34 they feel God’s love according to their capacity.
The Ending
Significant discussion about how satisfying the payoff is here. Is it intimate? How does he represent the beautific vision? Just a light enveloping him?
How would this be different if he included more from a “relationship with Jesus” point of view? Could Jesus have been a guide for him?