Dante's Commedia
Dante's Divine Comedy was surprisingly palatable. I really enjoyed "Purgatorio" especially, and was happy to know that the class didn't solely focus on Inferno. I thought the Inferno was a lot of calling out people Dante didn't personally like, and because I didn't know much of the background as to why he disliked these particular people, it took a while to look up the context to the Inferno to be able to understand it. I feel a little bad for all of the people memorialized in the second most popular book ever--as burning and suffering in a torturous Hell. I do find it so interesting that this book is what many religious people think of as true images of Hell, and the amount of influence Dante's Inferno has had is insane. I enjoyed doing my final project comparing it with a TV show I have watched, "American Horror Story."
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FINAL:
1) One character guilty of pride is Oderisi da Gubbio, who we encounter in Canto 11 of Dante’s Purgatorio, on the first terrace. Oderisi da Gubbio was a painter, and aided Pope Boniface VIII with illuminating manuscripts. He explains that, “‘in truth I would have been//less gracious when I lived—so great was that//desire for eminence which drove my heart.//For such pride, here one pays the penalty’” (XI 85-88). Oderisi further explains to Dante that earthly fame and renown mean nothing, and that his colleagues and those to come harness a greater earthly glory than him; even his pupil, Oderisi firstly exclaims, is more worthy of praise. The painter Cimabue, Oderisi further states, held all the acclaim before Giotto quickly replaced him. Oderisi is explaining that earthly fame is so fleeting that it holds no real importance. After Oderisi’s speech, Dante himself admits to being prideful, and that Oderisi’s wisdom has given him increased feelings of humility. Described as hunched, Dante is shown to even participate in the punishment of the prideful. Later in Purgatorio (Canto 13), Dante says that “‘my soul is anxious, in suspense; already//I feel the heavy weights of the first terrace’” (XIII 137-138). In Canto 13 of Dante’s Purgatorio, he describes the envious of the second terrace. The envious individuals are bodiless voices with their eyes sewn shut. Here, Dante illustrates his encounter with Sapia of Sienna, who “rejoiced far more in others’ hurts//that at [her] own good fortune” (XIII. 110-111). She was joyful when the Ghibellines (who were her fellow Sienese citizens) lost to the Florentine Guelphs at Colle (University of Columbia Digital Dante). She petitions for Dante’s prayers, and to have her name restored among her Tuscan folk. Pride and envy, forms of perverted love, are reserved for deeper exploration in Dante’s Purgatorio, as they are not assigned their own circle in Dante’s Inferno. 2) Sins are atoned for in Dante’s Purgatory by various contrapasso’s, the display of constant remorse, communal prayers and religious singing/chanting. Souls in the process of purgation are less likely to introduce themselves by name, as they are in great efforts to distance themselves from their human identities. The souls in Purgatory plead Dante to pray for them to lower their time in Purgatory, and to spread their names on Earth so that their loved ones know they have been saved—eleven souls throughout Dante’s Purgatorio (University of Columbia Digital Dante) request prayers from him. The act of communal praying for purgation is seen in Canto 11, where the prideful pray a rendition of the Lord’s prayer. Also, rituals of religious chanting/singing are described throughout Purgatorio, beginning with Canto 2, where the souls being shipped to Purgatory are singing a Psalm in Latin. Collective singing/chanting mark the community made by the souls in Purgatory, in stark contrast with the sinners described in Dante’s Inferno. Throughout Purgatorio, Dante participates rather than observes, as he had in his Inferno. Dante participates in a purgation process, firstly, by being cleansed of the stains of Hell by Virgil prior to entering Purgatory, as though being baptized. Dante also participates in various purgation processes along with the repentant souls. One such instance is in the first terrace (mentioned previously), where Dante hunches over in a visual imitation of the souls having to bear the weight of heavy stones on their backs. Also, in the second terrace, where the envious have their eyes sewn shut with iron wires, Dante himself has eyes which briefly “will be denied…here” (XIII. 133), mirroring the envious soul’s purgatorial experiences. Another example of Dante’s participation in purgation is repeated after each terrace; one “P” (representing peccatum, or sin) is cast off of his forehead by an angel. One such instance is at the end of Purgatorio 12, and Dante describes this purgatorial experience as a “‘heavy//weight [that has] been lifted…[so he] notice[d] almost no fatigue’” (XII. 118-120). 3) Dante distances himself from being tied to any particular political or academic factions throughout the entire Divine Comedy; he wishes to speak to a broader audience with his use of his vernacular language. Dante’s political theory centers on his exploration and denunciation of the church’s role in state politics. Moral and political decay are explored throughout The Divine Comedy, and are caused largely by the corruption of the church, which is harshly attacked in Inferno 19. In this particular canto, Dante attacks Constantine (who was the first Roman emperor to get baptized) who was cured of leprosy by Pope Sylvester I (University of Columbia Digital Dante). To show his gratitude, Constantine donated lands in Rome to the pope—this marked the beginning of the Vatican State, and thus the beginning of the political power of the pope. Dante demonizes simonists by exclaiming, “ah Constantine, what wickedness was born—//and not from your conversion—from the dower//that you bestowed upon the first rich father!” (Inferno XIX. 115-117). Cato, who committed suicide due to the termination of the Roman Republic, is presented as an ultimate guide and instructor at the beginning of Purgatorio. This may exemplify Dante’s own opinions about the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire—namely, that the birth of the Roman Empire marked a termination of freedom. Cato is not present in Limbo with other pagans whom Dante respected, but has the privilege of being in Purgatory due to his political quest for freedom. Dante’s negative descriptions of both the empire and the papacy are central throughout many parts of Dante’s Divine Comedy. According to Marco Lombardo in Purgatorio 16, the cause of such corrupt papal and political issues stems from heaven’s bestowal of free will, which is “outside heavens’ sway” (XVI. 81). With this freedom, people turn to love places and things that bring trivial delight, and thus they need guidance to steer their love away from those insignificant entities. The lack of proper, humble guidance (by leaders who definitely would not, as Francis of Assisi was described as doing in Paradiso 11, marry poverty), has caused worldly corruption. According to Marco, the unification of worldly guidance and God’s guidance—church and state—has formed the basis of this corruption. Dante’s continued demonization of the church being entangled in state politics exhibits his views on the causal factors behind many forms of corruption. 4) I definitely agree that many of the issues raised in The Divine Comedy remain significant today. Particularly in his continued advocation for the separation of church and state, Dante remains contemporarily important. Dante harshly criticizes the papacy; in Paradiso 27, Saint Peter calls Pope Boniface VIII, “he who on earth usurps my place…has made my burial ground//a sewer of blood” (XXVII. 22-25). This condemnation of the papacy is still relevant today, as many individuals have criticized popes who have spoken against various sexualities and choices (such as abortion), which are concurrent with Dante’s critiques of a harmful papacy. There are also various problems in the Catholic Church today, including corruption, misbehavior of priests and seemingly influential agents of the Church. Moral and political decay, in accordance with Dante’s denunciations, still remain valid today. Although the United States claims that the separation of the Church and state is constitutional, states have passed laws that are suspiciously concurrent with church practices and Christian ideals. These laws include the recent Texan legislature surrounding transgender individuals and abortion regulations. Furthermore, Dante’s poetry remains significant today as it has provided inspiration for various art forms and ideals. The majority of popular visual depictions and descriptions of Hell from religious and non-religious people alike are laid out similarly to Dante’s descriptions. Just as Homer and Ovid are revered and imitated, whose stories have inspired countless artists, Dante’s Divine Comedy has influenced multitudes. As we have seen through our final projects, various art forms from video game layouts to TV shows to paintings have taken some form of inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Also, Dante influenced a wide-variety of subsequent written works that made use of the vernacular in literature. Dante promoted the notion that vernacular languages could be literary, which influenced and contributed to the Renaissance movement (University of Columbia Digital Dante). The Renaissance marked a period where art and new ideas were made available to the masses, which is quite a modern notion. Dante’s critiques are still valid, and his poetry influenced the Renaissance, which remains important today. Dante and his Divine Comedy remain significant today, which is one of the many reasons why it is important to read! Works Cited: Columbia University. “Digital Dante.” Digital Dante, 1994, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/. Dante, Alighieri, Allen Mandelbaum, and Barry Moser. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: A Verse Translation with Introds. & Commentary. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. Print. |