Dante: Divine Comedy - Book Report/Review Example

Dante: Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) Divine Comedy has been considered as the single most fundamental epic poem of Italian literature and the prominence of this illustrious piece has crossed the boundaries of the land, people, and literature to be known as one of the most essential pieces of world literature. Written by Dante between 1308 and his death in 1321, Divine Comedy attained immense approbation for its presentation of the creative and allegorical apparition of the Christian afterlife. This theme of the book also celebrated the medieval world view, especially of the Western Church, developed over several years’ philosophy and theology. In fact, a reflective analysis of the illustrious themes of the work proves that Dante has been presenting his position on various topics which is dictated by his personal religious, political, social preoccupations and beliefs. In a profound research on the functionality of the first Canto as an introduction to the Inferno as well as to the Divine Comedy as a whole, one comes to realize that Dante had imperative idea about several crucial topics of the time such as love, politics (including the Church/Pope), courtly life, search for knowledge, and betrayal etc. It is mainly due to such an essential treatment of the different issues in the most convincing way that the author of Divine Comedy, along with the epic, lives in the minds of the modern people. “Rarely has a writer left a more indelible mark--and under less favoring circumstances--than Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). His major work is considered one of the crowning achievements of human expression. It lives even today, nearly seven hundred years after its making, as one of the two or three greatest poems ever written.” (Hollander, 30) This paper undertakes an investigation of the initial canto of the Divine Comedy as an introduction to the Inferno as well as to the entire epic in order to realize Dante’s position on the subjects such as love, politics, courtly life, search for knowledge, and betrayal, which may be seen in his personal religious, political, social preoccupations and beliefs. At the outset, it is important to comprehend that the Divine Comedy incorporates three canticas, i.e. Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso each consisting of 33 cantos and that first canto serves as a prologue to the entire epic in general and to the Inferno in particular. A careful analysis of this initial canto confirms how effectively Dante has introduced his major subjects of discussion, apart from introducing the first cantica and the Divine Comedy as such. Thus, the initial canto of the book serves as the first of the thirty four cantos in the cantica Inferno as well as an independent canto and introduction to the entire Divine Comedy. “In the midway of this our mortal life, / I found me in a gloomy wood, astray / Gone from the path direct: and e’en to tell / It were no easy task, how savage wild / That forest, how robust and rough its growth, / Which to remember only, my dismay / Renews, in bitterness not far from death.” (Dante, 4) The canto introduces the main action or the drama of the poem, i.e. the journey of a man towards God. In fact, the epic is all about the story of how the poet is drawn to salvation by God through the agency of Beatrice. The main moral of the poem is that God will draw every man to salvation just as He has done to the man who undertook his journey towards God. The minimum qualification for human beings for the salvation is that they undertake the journey as the poet has done. It is also significant that a careful reader of the poem notices that the poet wants to distinguish between the two types of uses of the first person singular in the poem. Thus, one of the singular forms in the poem designates Dante, the pilgrim whereas the other refers to Dante, the poet. Significantly, the first is a character in the story which is invented by the second and the first canto introduces the general characteristics of the poem as a whole. “The events in the narrative are represented as having taken place in the past; the writing of the poem and the memory of these events, however, are represented as taking place in the present. For example, we find references to both past and present, and to both pilgrim and poet, in line 10 of the introductory canto of the Inferno: ‘How I entered there I cannot truly say.’” (Musa, xxxi) Therefore, the first canto of the book presents the overall nature of the poem by representing the past events in present tense and by introducing Dante as the poet as well as the pilgrim. Here, the first canto is not only an introduction to the first cantica, but, more importantly, to the entire poem as a whole. There have been several other testaments of this feature of the first canto which is also an introduction to the entire poem. “This opening canto is an introduction to the entire Divine Comedy. This is made clear in the closing lines, when Virgil tells Dante that he can guide him only so far towards Paradise, and then another guide will have to take over because Virgil, being born before the birth of Jesus Christ, cannot ever be admitted to the “Blessed Realms”... This canto, which is the introduction to the entire Comedy, sets the scene for the long journey of which the Inferno is the first part.” (Summaries and Commentaries - Canto I) In another characteristic development in the story of the poem, the fictional pilgrim many often embodies the features of the poet himself. This feature of the poem helps the poet present many of his crucial topics of discussion. In fact, Dante had a significant technique to deal with the important topics of his discussion. Dante insists from the beginning of the poem that the story must be treated as having actually occurred which makes it clear that that he does not in fact suppose that the readers will deem the journey to be real. There are even moments when the poet is sure that the readers cannot help regard it as a fictional narrative. “In such moments, we may sense that the poet realizes that his reader will not grant for an instant that such things really have occurred, but will recognize the reason for which the poet must make the outrageous claim. Dante does not want his poem categorized as a mere fiction…” (Hollander, 30) In the first canto itself the poet deliberately expresses his desire to get the attention of readers who are serious in analyzing facts that he presents all through the poem. It is of paramount significance that the epic poem Divine Comedy is regarded more than just a fiction and in fact it is not a fictional work in any simple sense. Therefore, the modern readers find it important to realize the historical, cultural and philosophical aspects of the work. The historical sense of the poem helps a reader in sharpening his understanding of the problems that the poet faced. This also reveals the subtlety of the answers developed by the poet in his poem and the historical interpretations of the poem help the reader in realizing the political, religious, cultural and social vision of the poet. However, it is imprudent to regard the work as a mere philosophical treatise, political pamphlet, Florentine chronicle, or a mere fictional piece. “Mistrusting the accuracy of Dante’s science and philosophy, a modern reader will often speak with Samuel Beckett of the ‘misinformed poet’, or even – considering Dante’s treatment of his fellows in the Inferno – agree with I A Richards that the Christian theology of judgement on which the poem is built is among most ‘pernicious’ in the annals of the Western culture.” (Kirkpatrick, 4) Therefore, the poet merges the historical, cultural, political and fictional elements in the most convincing and appealing manner. This feature of the entire poem is evident to the reader at the very outset while engaged in reading the first canto of the work. This canto, apart from introducing the Inferno and the events in the specific cantica, gives a thorough introduction to the entire poem and its characteristics. The first canto of the Divine Comedy also introduces the poet’s ability and desire to blend intellectual and literary elements which would make his arguments clear to the readers while keeping the fictional features of the work. “In Inferno I, Dante establishes standards of intellectual and linguistic clarity to which he will refer throughout the Comedy. And Virgil is always the exemplar of such virtues. One may ask whether the historical author of the Aeneid is accurately reflected in Dante’s reading of him. But by placing Virgil in his poem Dante has performed an act of literary interpretation. This will allow him as the Comedy goes on to develop a progressive examination of the kinds of language and narration he associates with Virgil...” (Kirkpatrick, 4) This specific design of the poet is evident to the reader from the first canto of the epic and here the canto acts an introduction to the entire poem. Dante brings out his ideas concerning several crucial topics of the time though the poem and the concepts of the poet concerning politics, in particular, are found in the entire work. The first canto serves as an introduction to such key concepts of the poet. He was involved in the major political issues of the time including the politics of the church and the Pope and these experiences are reflected in the fictional narration in the epic which are hinted in the opening canto of the works. Importantly, Dante was occupied in politics which in due course (in 1300 presented him with the political office as one of Florence’s six Priors. “Within a year, perhaps after an encounter with Pope Boniface VIII in 1301--Dante may have been part of a political mission to the Holy See--he was sent into exile when an opposing Guelph faction in Florence took over the city. Refusing the humiliating compromises offered by his enemies, Dante saw his exile eventually become permanent… If his life seems fairly unremarkable except for the bitterness of the exile and of his unfulfilled political hopes, it resulted in an overpowering single work, the Comedy.” (Hollander, 30) Therefore, one of the strong influences behind the narration of the great epic is the poet’s experiences in the political life and the first canto of the work introduces this subject in an effective way. “It were no easy task, how savage wild / That forest, how robust and rough its growth, / Which to remember only, my dismay / Renews, in bitterness not far from death.” (Dante, 4) The stiffness of his political experiences can be evidently sensed in these lines. In reading the opening lines of the canto, one may consider it as a realistic journey through a strange and eerie place. However, it soon becomes apparent that everything narrated in the story will be in terms of an allegory. This allegory, definitely, has a clear connection to the political experiences and ideas of the poet. Along with the political concepts of the poet, the theological ideas that deep-rooted in the poet are presented in the piece and there is clear introduction to this subject of the poem in the opening canto. “Throughout the poem, Dante is advocating a strict adherence to medieval Catholic theology: Man must consciously strive for righteousness and morality. In its simplest terms, Man can often become so involved with the day-to-day affairs of simply living that he will gradually relapse into a sort of lethargy in which he strays from the very strict paths of morality.” (Summaries and Commentaries - Canto I) Therefore, the political and religious ideas of Dante are extensively presented in the entire poem, which are introduced in the opening canto of the piece. The first canto of the epic Divine Comedy introduces almost all the central topics that are discussed in the poem and, therefore, it is not only an introduction to the Inferno but more generally to the entire work as well. The Canto, in conjunction with introducing the basic themes of the complete poem, also connects the themes to the other parts of the piece. “The purpose of Dante’s journey through Hell is precisely this: to learn all there is to know about sin as a necessary preparation for the ascent to God. In fact, from the opening canto of the Inferno to the closing one of the Paradiso, Dante the poet presents his pilgrim as continuously learning, his spiritual development being the main theme of the entire poem. His progress is slow, and there are even occasional backslidings.” (Musa, xxxii) In conclusion, in this discussion of the functionality of the first Canto as an introduction to the Inferno as well as to the Divine Comedy as a whole, one finds that Dante strongly proposes his position on the subjects such as politics including the Church and the Pope. Therefore, the first Canto of the epic needs to be regarded as an introduction not only to the first cantica but to the entire poem as well and the analysis of the major topics of the poet in the poem should begin from this introductory Canto. Works Cited Dante, Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. William F. Ennis and Geoffrey Langdale Bickersteth. (Transl). Plain Label Books. 1965. P 4. Hollander, Robert. “Dante: A Party of One.” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life. 1999. P 30. Kirkpatrick, Robin. Dante, the Divine Comedy: The Divine Comedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004. P 4. Musa, Mark. “Introduction.” The Portable Dante. Dante Alighieri and Mark Musa. New York: Penguin Classics. 2003. P xxxi. “Summaries and Commentaries - Canto I.” The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Cliff Notes. 16 Feb. 2009. . Read More