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DivinaBy Dante Alighieri
Commedia
About the
Author:
Durante degli Alighieri
Born Mid-May to mid-June, c. 1265
Florence, Republic of FlorenceDied September 13/14, 1321
(aged about 56)Ravenna, Papal States
Occupation Statesman, poet, language theorist,
political theoristNationality ItalianPeriod Late Middle AgesLiterary movement Dolce Stil NovoDante was an Italian poet and moral philosopher best known for the epic poem The Divine Comedy, which comprises sections representing the three tiers of the Christian afterlife: purgatory, heaven, and hell. This poem, a great work of medieval literature and considered the greatest work of literature composed in Italian, is a philosophical Christian vision of mankind’s eternal fate. Dante is seen as the father of modern Italian, and his works have flourished since before his 1321 death.
Dante Alighieri
Stucture: Story Purgator
io(Purgatory)
Inferno(Hell)
Paradiso(Paradise)
The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three canticas (Italian plural cantiche) .Composed of:
- each consisting of 33 cantos (Italian plural canti). An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100.
Additionally, the verse scheme used, terza rima, is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with the lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ....
Sypnosis: Divine
Comedy
Beatrice(2nd Guide)
Virgil(1st Guide)
Saint Bernard(3rd Guide)
Dante Pilgrim has not been a good boy. His dead love Beatrice asks the Virgin Mary to help him see the error of his ways. Mary accepts and Dante is sent on a three-day trip through Hell, and on up Mount Purgatory on the other side of the world, and finally to Heaven in the sky. He is spiritually lost at the beginning of the story, so he needs guides to help him along the path.
*The woman he adored while she lived.
*(Saint Bernard) Namesake of the loyal dog – who takes him to see GOD.
*(Virgil) – author of Aeneid
Inferno [inˈfərnō]▬a large fire that is dangerously out of control.
Structure:
Inferno
The physical aspect of Hell is a gigantic funnel that leads to the very center of the Earth.
According to the legend used by Dante, this huge, gigantic hole in the Earth was made when God threw Satan (Lucifer) and his band of rebels out of Heaven with such force that they created a giant hole in the Earth.
Satan was cast all the way to the very center of the Earth, has remained there since, and will remain there through all of eternity.
Circle 1: Those in Limbo Circle 2: The Lustful Circle 3: The Gluttonous Circle 4: The Hoarders Circle 5: The Wrathful Circle 6: The Heretics Circle 7: The ViolentRing 1:Murderers, Robberers & PlundersRing 2:Suicides and those harmful to the worldRing 3:Against GOD, Nature & Art Circle 8: The Fraudulent
Trench I: Panderers & SeducersTrench II: FlatterersTrench III: SimoniacsTrench IV: SorcerersTrench V: BarratorsTrench VI: HypocritesTrench VII: ThievesTrench VIII: Evil CounselorsTrench IX: Sowers of DiscordTrench X: Falsifiers
Circle 9: TraitorsRegion 1: KindredRegion 2: CountryRegion 3: GuestsRegion 4: Lords
CANTO I The Dark worlds of Error
Dante in the savage wood
The Inferno follows the wanderings of the poet Dante
as he strays off the rightful and straight path of moral
truth and gets lost in a dark wood. And that, folks, is just the beginning.
Dante
At the age of thirty-five, on the night of Good Friday in the year 1300, Dante finds himself lost in a dark wood and full of fear.
CANTO I The Dark worlds of Error
LeopardLion
She-wolf
The panther at the beginning of the ascent The lion suddently confronts Dante The she-wolf appears
Just as three wild animals threaten to attack him, Dante is rescued by the ghost of Virgil, a celebrated Roman poet and also Dante’s idol.
Virgil
CANTO II
The Descent
Virgil and Dante begin their journey
Virgil asked the deceased love-of-Dante’s-life, Beatrice, to send someone down to help him. And voila! Virgil to the rescue! He’s an appropriate guide because he’s very much like Dante, a fellow writer and famous poet.
When asked why in hell he came, Virgil answers that the head honchos of Heaven—the Virgin Mary and Santa Lucia—felt sorry for Dante.
Beatrice and Virgil
Beatrice
CANTO III
The Opportunists(Gate)
Virgil and Dante at the gates of Hell
Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the famous phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” Dante and his guide hear the anguished screams of the Uncommitted. These are the souls of people who in life took no sides; the opportunists who were for neither good nor evil, but merely concerned with themselves.
CANTO III
The Opportunists(Gate)
Charon on the River Acheron
After passing through the
vestibule, Dante and Virgil reach the ferry
that will take them across the river
Acheron and to Hell proper. The ferry is piloted by Charon, who does not want to let Dante enter,
for he is a living beingVirgil forces Charon
to take him however, the passage across the Acheron is undescribed, since Dante faints and does not awaken until he is on the other side.
Charon
CANTO IV
The Virtuous Pagan Circle 1 - Limbo
The doomed souls embarking to cross the Acheron
The first circle of Hell (Limbo), considered pre-Hell, just contains all of the unbaptized and good people born and before the coming of Christ, who obviously couldn’t be saved by him.
CANTO IV
The Virtuous Pagan Circle 1 - Limbo
Homer, the poets, and heroes in Limbo
The first circle of Hell (Limbo) :
Virgil resides here, along with a bunch of other Greek and Roman poets.
Dante encounters the poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan, who include him in their number and make him "sixth in that high company".
CANTO V
The LustfulCircle 2
Minos judges the transgressions and dispatches the souls
Dante and Virgil leave Limbo and enter the Second Circle — the first of the circles of Incontinence — where the punishments of Hell proper begin. It is described as "a part where no thing gleams. They find their way hindered by the serpentine Minos.
Minos
who judges all of those condemned for active, deliberately willed sin to one of the lower circles.
He sentences each soul to its torment by wrapping his tail around himself a corresponding number of times.
CANTO V
The LustfulCircle 2
The souls of the lustful in the infernal hurricane
In the second circle, lustful sinners are tossed around by endless storms.
CANTO V
The LustfulCircle 2
The souls of Paolo and Francesca
Dante speaks to the soul of Francesca da
Rimini, a woman who was stuck in a
loveless, arranged marriage and
committed adultery when she fell in love with a dashing youth
named Paolo.
Paolo
Francesca
CANTO VI
The GluttonousCircle 3
Virgil feeds Cerberus in the third circle
Cerberus - the monstrous three-headed beast of Hell, ravenously guards the gluttons lying in the freezing mire, mauling and flaying them with his claws as they howl like dogs.
Cerberus
CANTO VI
The GluttonousCircle 3
The gluttons battered by eternal rain
Dante then awakes in the
third circle, where the
Gluttonous sinners suffer
under a cold and filthy rain.
CANTO VII
The Avaricious and ProdigalCircle 4
The souls of the avaricious and the prodigal forced to roll heavy stones
Virgil leads Dante on to the fourth circle, where the Avaricious (greedy
people) and Prodigal (reckless spenders) roll
heavy weights in endless circles.
Virgil rebukes Plutus at the entrance to the fourth circle
Circle 4 – Guarded by Plutus.
Plutus
CANTO VIIIThe Wrathful and SullenCircle 5 – The River Styx
The soul of the Florentine Philippo Argenti accosts the poets on the Styx
The next stop on the tour is
the fifth circle, where the
Wrathful and Sullen are
immersed in the muddy river
Styx. While they are crossing the Styx, a sinner named Filippo Argenti reaches out to Dante (presumably for help), but Dante angrily rejects him.
Philippo
CANTOIX-XI
The Wrathful and SullenCircle 5 – The Gate of Dis
Virgil and Dante disembark at the citadel of Dis
Now at the gates of a city called Dis, Virgil takes it upon himself to persuade the demon guards to let them pass. Unexpectedly, he fails.
CANTOIX-XI
The Wrathful and SullenCircle 5 – The Gate of Dis
The hideous Erinyes: Megaera, Tisiphone, Alecto
The walls of Dis are guarded by fallen angels.
Demon guards
This means that instead of continuing on with the journey,
Dante and Virgil must wait for an angel to
come down and force open the gates for
them. The angel opens the gates
CANTOIX-XI
The HereticsCircle 6
Farinata degli Uberti addresses Dante
After passing the city of Dis, our
dynamic duo enters the sixth
circle, where the Heretics lay in
fiery tombs.
Farinata degli Uberti
Dante talks to Farinata degli Uberti, who predicts that Dante will have difficulty returning to Florence from exile.
CANTO XII The Violent against NeighborsCircle 7
The Minotaur on the shattered cliff
This circle houses the violent. Its entry is
guarded by Minotaur.
Divided into 3 rings:
Outer ringMiddle ringInner ring
Minotaur
CANTO XII The Violent Circle 7
As they cross from the sixth to the seventh circle,
where the Violent are punished,
Virgil finally begins explaining
the layout of Hell.
Violent against their neighbors
Circle 7
Violent against themselves
Violent against GOD
Outer ring
Middle ring
Inner ring
*The seventh circle will show all the violent sinners.
CANTO XII The Violent against their neighbors Circle 7 – Outer Ring
Outer ring – housing the
violent against people and
property, who are immersed in
Phlegethon – a river of boiling
blood, to a level commensurate
with their sins.
The centaurs attack the souls in boiling blood
CANTO XIII The Violent against themselvesCircle 7 – Middle Ring
Middle ring – In this ring are
the suicides, who are transformed
into gnarled thorny bushes
and trees.
The suicides in the forest
*The trees are a metaphor; In life the only way of the relief of suffering was through pain (suicide)
CANTO XIV-XVII
The Violent against GOD, Nature and ArtCircle 7 – Inner Ring
Inner ring – All reside in a
desert of flaming sand with fiery
flakes raining from the sky.
Brunetto Latini accosts Dante
Violent against:
GOD – blasphemers,
Nature –Sodomites;
Art – Usurers
Latini
CANTO XVIII
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Finally, Dante and Virgil ready
themselves to cross to the eighth circle.
Dante, at Virgil’s command, summons
the beast Geryon from the depths
with a cord wrapped around his waist.
Geryon
Geryon, symbol of deceit The descent into the abyss on Geryon’s back
Virgil stays to talk with the beast while urging Dante to look at the last of the Violent sinners. When Dante comes back, they mount Geryon and ride the beast during the descent into the eighth circle.
CANTO XVIII
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
The eighth circle contains ten
pouches, each containing different
types of sinners.
Dante’s Inferno
Circle 1: Those in Limbo Circle 2: The Lustful Circle 3: The Gluttonous Circle 4: The Hoaders Circle 5: The Wrathful Circle 6: The Heretics Circle 7: The ViolentRing 1:Murderers, Robberers & PlundersRing 2:Suicides and those harmful to the worldRing 3:Against GOD, Nature & Art Circle 8: The Faudulent
Trench I: Panderers & Seducers
Trench II: FlatterersTrench III: SimoniacsTrench IV: SorcerersTrench V: BarratorsTrench VI: HyprocritesTrench VII: TheivesTrench VIII: Evil CounselorsTrench IX: Sowers of DiscordTrench X: Falsifiers
Circle 9: TraitorsRegion 1: KindredRegion 2: CountryRegion 3: GuestsRegion 4: Lords
CANTO XVIII
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Bolgia I : Devils and seducers Bolgia II: Paramours and flatterers in the eighth circle
Panderers and Seducers walk in separate line in opposite direction, whipped by demons.
Flatterers are steeped in human excrement.
CANTO XIX-XX
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Bolgia V Dante rebukes Pope Nicholas III i Bolgia VI: Sorcerers and false prophets
Simoniacs -Those who committed simony are place head first in holes in the rock, with flames burning on the soles of their feet.
Sorcerers and false prophets- they have their heads twisted around on their bodies backward, so they can only see what is behind them and not in
the future.
CANTO XXI-XXIIIThe Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Bolgia V : Devils torment the barrators Bolgia VI: Hypocrites
Corrupt politicians( barrators) are immersed in a lake of boiling pitch, guarded by devils, the Malebranche
Hypocrites listlessly walking along wearing gold-gilded lead cloaks.
lol
CANTO XXIV-XXVII
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Bolgia VII : The thieves tormented by serpents Bolgia VIII: Evil Counsellors
Thieves are bitten by snakes. Snakes bites make them undergo various transformations and some resrrected after being turned to ashes.
Evil counsellors are encased in individual
flames
*The’re watching the flaming spirits of Oddyseus and
Diomedes (Trojan War)
CANTO XXVII-XXXI
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Bolgia IX : Sowers of Dicord Bolgia X: The falsifiers and forgers tormented with itching
A sword-wieldded devil hacks at the sowers of discord.
As their wounds heal, the devil will
tear their bodies again.
Groups of various sort of falsifiers are
afflicted with different types of
diseases.
The severed head of
Bertrand de Born speaks to
Dante
CANTO XXVII-XXXI
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Ephialtes in manacles among the giants
As they leave, Virgil points out
the sinning giants who are
immobilized around them in
punishment.
CANTO XXVII-XXXI
The Fraudulent Circle 8 –
Nimrod of the giants
Nimrod—who was responsible for building the Tower of Babel—has lost the ability to speak coherently. His words are gibberish.
Virgil requests that one of the unbound giants, Antaneus, transport them in the palm of his hand down to the last circle of Hell. He complies.
The giant Antaeus lowers Dante and Virgil into the last circle
Nimrod
Antaneus
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 –
The ninth circle of Hell, where traitors
are punished, contains four
different zones.
Dante’s Inferno
Circle 1: Those in Limbo Circle 2: The Lustful Circle 3: The Gluttonous Circle 4: The Hoaders Circle 5: The Wrathful Circle 6: The Heretics Circle 7: The ViolentRing 1:Murderers, Robberers & PlundersRing 2:Suicides and those harmful to the worldRing 3:Against GOD, Nature & Art Circle 8: The Faudulent
Trench I: Panderers & Seducers
Trench II: FlatterersTrench III: SimoniacsTrench IV: SorcerersTrench V: BarratorsTrench VI: HyprocritesTrench VII: TheivesTrench VIII: Evil CounselorsTrench IX: Sowers of DiscordTrench X: Falsifiers
Circle 9: TraitorsRegion 1: KindredRegion 2: CountryRegion 3: GuestsRegion 4: Lords
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9
Traitors, distinguished from
the “merely” fraudulent in that their acts involve
betraying one in a special relationship to the betrayer, are
frozen in a lake of ice known as Cocytus.
The traitors frozen in the ice of Cocytus
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 – The Four Concentric Zones of 9th Circle
Traitors to their Kindred
REGION 1:Caïna
Named for Cain, is home to traitors to their
kindered.
REGION 2:Antenor
aIs name for Antenor of
troy,who betrayed his city to the
Greeks.
REGION 3:Ptolomæ
aIs probably named
for Ptolemy, the captain of Jericho ,
He killed Simon Maccabaeus and
his sons.
REGION 4:Judecca
Is named for Judas the Iscariot,
Biblical betrayer of Christ, is for traitor
to their Lords.
Traitors to their Country Traitors to their Guests Traitors to their Lords
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 – REGION 1:Caïna
REGION 1:Caïna
The souls here are immersed in the ice up to their necks.
Dante addresses the traitor Bocca degli Abati
Bocca degli Abati
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 – REGION 2:Antenora
REGION 2: Antenora
The souls here are immersed the same
level as those in Caïna, except they are unable to bend
their necks.
Ugolino gnaws upon the head of Archbishop Ruggieri
Archbishop Ruggierir
Ugolino
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 – REGION 3:Ptolomæa
REGION 3:Ptolomæa
Where traitors against their guests suffer, immobilized
in ice and their tears frozen against their
eyes.
As they cry, their tears freeze and seal their eyes shut – they are denied even comfort of tears.
CANTO XXXIII The TraitorsCircle 9 – REGION 4:Judecca
REGION 4:Judecca
In the fourth the final zone, Judecca,
where traitors against their
benefactors are punished, Dante
witnesses the king of Hell, the three-
headed Lucifer, giant and frozen at
the core. In his three mouths,
Lucifer mechanically chews on the most
evil mortal sinners—Judas, Brutus, and
Cassius.
Lucifer, king of Hell, frozen in the ice
Lucifer
Dante & Virgil
They’re so tiny.lol
CANTO XXXIV Upper World
The two poets escape
and pass through the
center of the Earth -
Virgil and Dante ascend to the upper world
- emerging in the other hemisphere just before dawn on Easter Sunday beneath a sky studded with stars.
The Guide and I into that hidden roadNow entered, to return to the bright world;And without care of having any rest
We mounted up, he first and I the second,Till I beheld through a round apertureSome of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear—
—Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.
▬ End of Inferno ▬
Purgatorio [purɡaˈtɔːrjo]▬any condition or place of temporary punishment, suffering, expiation, or the like.
The Earthly Paradise
Structure:
Purgatorio
There are seven circles of purgation of the deadly sins, arranged in three groupings, consisting those arising from a perverse desire to see others fail or suffer, namely pride, envy, and anger (Circles 1-3);
that arising from inadequate desire, namely spiritual and intellectual sloth (Circle 4);
and those arising from excessive desire, namely avarice, gluttony, and lust (Circles 5-7). Added to these are the excommunicated, at the base of the mountain, and the late-repentant below the gate.
There are therefore nine major divisions, plus the Earthly Paradise, beyond Purgatory proper, at its summit, making ten in all.
The Lustful
The Gluttonous
The Avaricious and Prodigal
The slothful
The Envious
The Proud
The Late RepentantThe Negligent Rulers
The Un-absolved
The Indolent
The Excommunicate
Purgatory
Ante-Purgatory
CANTO I Mount Purgatory
Purgatorio picks up
right where Inferno left off—Dante and Virgil have just emerged
from their tour through
Hell.
The poets behold the beauty of Venus in the morning sky
The two travelers find themselves on the island of Mount Purgatory at the dawn of a new day.
CANTO II Mount Purgatory
On the shores of the island, Dante and Virgil
watch a boat arrive. Guided by an angel, the
boat shuttles a new batch of penitent souls to
Purgatory.
The celestial pilot lands the boat
Like these souls, Dante is about to climb Mount Purgatory, learning
lessons, and cleansing himself of sin in preparation for ascending to
Heaven.
CANTO III Mount Purgatory
Before beginning to
scale the mountain, Dante and
Virgil must first pass
through ante-Purgatory.
The company of souls upon the cliff
They meet a variety of souls, most of whom are shocked to see that Dante casts a shadow, showing that he's alive.
CANTO III-VI The Excommunicates & The Late-repentant
Along their travels they pass though the First Spur of the Indolent and the Second Spur of the Late-Repentants.
The indolent souls beside the rock The late repenters singing the Miserere
CANTO VII
They travel to the Valley of the Rulers
and meet a bunch of deceased kings.
The body of Buonconte da Montefeltro in the Arno The angels drive the serpent away
In the valley, a serpent appears at dusk, only to be driven away by two angels.
Buonconte
Serpent
CANTO VIII Upper World
The penitent souls are unable to travel in Purgatory at night, so, although Virgil is in a hurry, he and Dante rest until morning.
Twilight Dante, in a dream, is carried off by an eagle
Dante sleeps and dreams about an eagle abducting him.
CANTO IX Portals of Purgatory
When he wakes up, he finds himself at the entrance to Purgatory proper.
Dante and Virgil at the portals of Purgatory
Virgil informs him that St. Lucia came while he slept
and carried him to the gate to Purgatory.
They climb the three steps to the gate, and the angel
guarding the entrance carves seven P’s into
Dante’s forehead.
CANTO X-XII The Proud.
Now in Purgatory proper, Dante and Virgil have seven terraces to pass through, each of which corresponds to one of the seven
deadly sins.
The marble sculptures portraying pride The souls of the prideful, bearing heavy stones
On the first terrace of the Prideful, Dante and Virgil observe in the wall of the cliff sculptures representing humility.
They come across the Prideful penitents, who are being punished
for their sin of pride by carrying massive weights on their backs.
they reach the exit, where an angel erases one P from Dante’s
forehead.
CANTO XIII-XIV
The Envious
Dante and Virgil climb to the second terrace of the Envious.
The souls of the envious
Voices there call out examples of fraternal love. They witness the Envious
penitents being punished by having their eyelids sewn shut with iron wire. Voices call out examples of punished
envy.
Dante and Virgil exit the second terrace, and another angel removes a P
from Dante's forehead.
CANTO XV-XVI
The Angry
Now in the third terrace of the Wrathful, Dante has a vision
containing examples of gentleness.
Black smoke, the punishment of the Wrathful, envelops them,
rendering them blind.
In the smoke, they meet a man named Marco Lombardo, who
discourses on free will and political corruption. Dante and
Virgil meet the angel who removes the third P from Dante’s forehead.
Dante speaks to the soul of Marco Lombardo
Marco Lombardo
CANTO XVII- XVIII The Slothful
As they travel to the fourth terrace of the Slothful, He
(Virgil) continues to lecture on love and free will.
The Slothful penitents, meanwhile, shout examples of
zeal and show that their punishment is to run without
rest.
The multitude of the slothful
CANTO XIX-XXI
The Avaricious (and the Prodigal)
Dante and Virgil ascend to the fifth terrace
of the Avaricious and
Prodigal, where they witness
the penitents' punishment:
The poets ascend to the fifth circle The souls of the avaricious
-lying stretched face
down on the ground and
bound by hand and foot. The
penitents shout
examples of poverty and generosity.
U ok there dude?
Hey Virgil, Paint me like one of your french girls.
Nope.
CANTO XXII-XXIV The Gluttonous
On the sixth terrace of the Gluttonous, they encounter a strange tree. A disembodied voice cites examples of temperance.
Dante recognizes the shade of Forese among the gluttonsThe gluttonous souls crying out beneath the tree
They encounter a man named
Forese Donati, who explains
the punishment of the
Gluttonous as agonizing thirst
and hunger. Forese
CANTO XXV-XXVI The Lustful
Dante, Virgil, and Statius climb to the
seventh terrace of the Lustful.
The lustful pass through fire in the seventh circle
Here among the Lustful, however, they witness the punishment of the penitents, who walk in flames. The Lustful shout examples of chastity.
CANTO XXVII Through the flames. Virgil’s Departure
At sunset, the travelers reach the exit to the seventh terrace, and an
angel removes Dante’s final P.
However, to leave the terrace, Dante must first walk through a wall of flames. He hesitates with fear, but Virgil lures him through with the promise that he will see
Beatrice on the other side.
Past the fire, Dante sleeps. In the morning, Virgil announces Dante’s readiness for the Earthly Paradise.
Virgil and Dante ascend to the seventh circle through flames
CANTO XXVIII-XXIX Dante and Matilda
In the Earthly Paradise, Dante meets a woman named Matilda, who explains the origins of wind
and water in the forest of the Earthy Paradise.
Dante, Virgil, and Statius in the ancient forest of the terrestrial paradise
Beatrice among the angelsDante submerged in the River Lethë
At the banks of the river Lethe, an extraordinary procession passes by,
halting before Dante. Virgil disappears, to Dante’s distress, but
Beatrice appears.Beatrice
Matilda
CANTO XXXX The giant and the harlot
Dante witnesses the
procession's chariot
attacked by an eagle, a
fox, the eagle again, and a
dragon.
The giant and the harlot in the chariot
Then the chariot turns into a whore, courted by a giant. Beatrice prophesies God’s vengeance on the dragon, whore, and giant.
CANTOXXXI XXXIII Dante’s purification
At the closing of Purgatorio, Matilda leads Dante to the river Eunoe, and immerses him in the water.
Dante drinks of the River Eunoë
He is now ready to ascend to Heaven, with Statius and
Beatrice as his guides.
From the most holy water I returnedRegenerate, in the manner of new treesThat are renewed with a new foliage,
Pure and disposed to mount unto the stars.
▬ End of IPurgatorio ▬
Paradiso [paraˈdiːzo];▬a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky.
Structure:
Paradiso
Heaven is made up of nine spheres, corresponding to the heavenly bodies visible from Earth that were known in Dante's time.
Dante meets the souls of the dead in each sphere, organised according to the good works they did while on Earth. Dante questions Beatrice on what he sees and is questioned by the inhabitants of Heaven as well.
The nine levels of Heaven correspond to the Ptolemaic view of the planets' rotation around the Earth, and in each one Dante is shown a different category of souls
CANTO I-II Dante’s divine task
Paradiso opens with Dante's invocation to Apollo and the Muses, asking for his divine task. He and Beatrice ascend from the Earthly Paradise. Beatrice outlines the structure of the universe.
Dante and Beatrice arrive in the First Heaven, sphere of the Moon. Beatrice vigorously quizzes
Dante and then corrects his views on the cause of the moon spots. Dante first sees the blessed souls
as points of light.
CANTO III-IV MOON Those who broke vows
Dante first sees the blessed souls as points of light. He meets Piccarda Donati, who explains the souls' happiness with their places in Heaven. She explains that the Moon houses souls who broke their vows.
The first realm: Piccarda Donati and the souls whose vows had been broken
Beatrice explains why Dante sees the
souls in these heavens, when they
are all located in the Empyrean, (the Tenth
Heaven). Then she explains vows in
terms of absolute and contingent will.
Piccarda Donati
CANTO V-VII MERCURYThose who did good for personal glory
They ascend to the Second Heaven, sphere of
Mercury. Justinian explains the history and destiny of
Rome.
He tells Dante that the souls in Mercury were all
just, but motivated by fame. Beatrice explains God's just vengeance on
Jerusalem.
The host of myriad glowing souls in the second realm
CANTO VIII-XI VENUSThose who did good because of love
They ascend to the Third Heaven, sphere of Venus.
Dante meets Charles Martel, an early French emperor, and he explains why sons can end
up so different from their fathers.
Charles Martel addresses Dante and Beatrice
Dante meets Cunizza da Romano and Folco of Marseille, who points out Rahab to Dante.
Charles Martel
CANTO XII-XIII
SUNPhilosophers
Beatrice and Dante ascend to the
Fourth Heaven, sphere of the Sun.
The rings of glorified souls in the sun
St. Thomas and eleven other souls form a crown around our heroes. Dante denounces the senseless cares of mortals.
CANTO XIV-XVII
MARSThe Church Militant
Dante and Beatrice see the angels with Christ on the crossDante and Beatrice translated to the sphere of Mars
They ascend to the Fifth Heaven, sphere of
Mars. The souls form an image of the Cross.
CANTO XVI MARSThe Church Militant
The soul of Caddiaguida speaks of Florence
Dante meets Cacciaguida, who expounds on the virtue of ancient Florence. Dante indulges in a rare proud
moment over the nobility of his birth.
Cacciaguida talks about the noble Florentine families.
Then, he tells Dante about his destiny of exile, but tempers
it with encouragement to Dante to fulfill his poetic
mission.
Cacciaguida
CANTO XVIII JUPITERGreat rulers
The souls spell out the message Diligite iustitiam, qui iudicatis
terram ("Love justice, you who judge the earth"), and then form
the Eagle.
In the sphere of Jupiter, the blessed souls circle to form letters
Dante and Beatrice move on to the Sixth Heaven, sphere of
Jupiter.
Dante and Beatrice translated to the sphere of Jupiter
CANTO XIX JUPITERGreat rulers
The blessed souls form an eagle in the sky
The Eagle explains Divine Justice and the
inscrutability of God's Mind.
It introduces the six spirits that form its eye and
explains why the Emperor Trajan and Ripheus are
there.
CANTO XX-XXI SATURN
Contemplatives and monks
They continue to the Seventh
Heaven, sphere of Saturn.
Blessed Beatrice in the seventh circle Beatrice and Dante in the sphere of Saturn
CANTO XXVI FIXED STARSThe Church Triumphant
Beatrice and Dante ascend to the Eighth Heaven, sphere of the Fixed Stars. Dante gazes down on Earth and realizes how small and petty it is. They witness the coronation and re-ascension of Mary and Christ into the Empyrean
St. John examines Dante concerning love
St. Peter examines Dante on faith. Dante conveys his hope of returning to Florence one day to be crowned as a poet.
St. James examines Dante on hope. Dante goes blind.
St. John examines Dante on charity. Adam answers Dante's four questions
CANTO XXVII-XXVIII PRIMUM MOBILE OR CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
Angels
Beatrice and Dante then move on to the Ninth Heaven, Primum Mobile. Beatrice prophesies the coming redemption of the world.
The heavenly host singing “Gloria In Excelsis Deo” The scintillating host of heaven
Dante observes the model of the nine
Angelic Intelligences orbiting a shining
Point.
CANTO XXXI PRIMUM MOBILE OR CRYSTALLINE HEAVENAngels
They ascend into the Tenth Heaven, the Empyrean.
Dante sees the illusion and then real Celestial Rose.
Beatrice disappears and is replaced by St. Bernard.
Dante prays his thanks to Beatrice.
The saintly throng form a rose in the empyrean
CANTO XXXIII PRIMUM MOBILE OR CRYSTALLINE HEAVENAngels
Next, Dante gazes upon Mary. St. Bernard
explains the placement of the blessed in the
Celestial Rose, including that of the innocent infants. St.
Bernard prays to Mary to intercede to God on Dante's behalf so that
the poet may look upon God.
The queen of heaven
Mary approves. Dante looks into the Eternal Light, and sees within
it the image of the Holy Trinity. He
ponders the mystery of the Incarnation. God bestows the
answer upon him in a flash of light and Dante's soul is,
finally, at one with God's.
Though he can't recall the rest. I am the same: Inside my heart, although my vision is almost Entirely faded, droplets of its sweetness come
The way the sun dissolves the snow's crust— The way, in the wind that stirred the light leaves, The oracle that the Sibyl wrote was lost.
▬ End of Paradiso ▬
“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
▬ Dante Alighieri
CreditsSpecial thanks :
To coffee for keeping me awake all night. Sincerely, exhausted college student.
To all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free:⊙ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival⊙ Photographs by Unsplash
References
Super awesome illustrations by Gustave Doré http://www.danshort.com/dc/?p=135
Inferno Summaryhttp://www.shmoop.com/inferno/summary.html
Paradiso Summaryhttp://www.shmoop.com/paradiso/summary.html
Purgatorio Summaryhttp://www.shmoop.com/purgatorio/summary.html
Thanks!Got any burning questions?