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Dante
Alighieri
Dante
Alighieri (1265-1321), Italian poet, and one of the supreme figures
of world literature, who was admired for his spiritual vision and for his
intellectual accomplishment.
II Early Years
Dante was born in Florence, and the most significant
event of his youth, according to his own account, was his meeting in 1274
with Beatrice, the woman whom he loved, and whom he exalted in his later
works. Little is known about Dante's education, although his works reveal
a knowledge that encompassed nearly all the learning of his age.
III La Vita Nuova
Dante's first important literary work, La vita
nuova, (The New Life) was written not long after Beatrice died. Combining
verse and prose, it narrates the course of Dante's love for Beatrice and
his ultimate resolve to write a work that would be a worthy monument to
her.
IV Dante's Political Life
Active in the turbulent political life of Florence,
Dante was elected one of the six priors, or magistrates, of Florence, a
post he held for only two months. The rivalry between two factions within
the Guelph Party of Florence (see Guelphs and Ghibellines) became intense,
and one of the factions, in 1302, banned Dante from Florence for two years
and fined him heavily. Failing to make payment, he was condemned to death
should he ever return to Florence. Dante spent his exile partly in Verona
and partly in other northern Italian cities.
V Last Years
In 1316 the city of Florence invited Dante to
return, but the terms offered him were those generally reserved for pardoned
criminals. Dante rejected the invitation, maintaining that he would never
return unless he were accorded full dignity and honor. He continued to
live in exile, spending his last years in Ravenna.
VI The Divine Comedy
Dante's epic masterpiece, La divinia commedia
(The Divine Comedy), was probably begun about 1307 and was completed shortly
before his death. The work is an allegorical (see Allegory) narrative in
verse of the poet's imaginary journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven.
It is divided into three sections named the Inferno (Hell), the Purgatorio
(Purgatory), and the Paradiso (Paradise). In each of these three realms
the poet meets with mythological, historical, and contemporary characters,
each of whom symbolizes a particular fault or virtue, either religious
or political. Dante is guided through hell and purgatory by the Roman poet
Virgil, who is, to Dante, the symbol of reason. The woman Dante loved,
Beatrice, whom he regards as a manifestation and an instrument of divine
will, guides him through paradise. Dante intended the poem for his contemporaries
and wrote it in Italian rather than Latin.
VII Influence and Inspiration
In the centuries following the invention of printing,
almost 400 Italian editions of The Divine Comedy were published. Editions
have appeared illustrated by Italian masters Sandro Botticelli and Michelangelo,
English artist William Blake, and French illustrator Gustave Doré.
It has been translated into more than 25 languages. The work of modern
poets throughout the world has been inspired by Dante, especially that
of Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Gabriele D'Annunzio, and Paul Claudel.
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