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The Divine Comedy: Summary and Significant Quotes
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La Divina Commedia - The Divine Comedy:
The Divine Comedy is the masterpiece of Dante Alighieri (* 1265, Florence – † 1321, Ravenna) and tells the story of his journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. The journey takes place in the year 1300.
The structure of the Divine Comedy
It is a poem written in interlinked tercets (Terza Rima) with the rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC and consists of approximately 14,233 eleven-syllable verses.
The work is divided into three parts, known as Cantiche: Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise). Each Cantica consists of 33 cantos (“Canti”)—except for Hell, which has an additional introductory canto, making a total of 34 cantos.
The Language of the Divine Comedy
An essential feature of the Divine Comedy is that it was written in the vernacular, specifically in the Florentine dialect. This decision was revolutionary for the time, as elevated literature was typically written in Latin. With this work, Dante elevated one of the Italian vernacular languages to such prestige that it distinguished itself from all others. In doing so, he laid the first foundation for the unification of the Italian national language based on the Florentine dialect.
The Beginning of the Journey
At the start of the Divine Comedy, Dante finds himself lost in a dark forest, which symbolizes sin and spiritual crisis.
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la diritta via era smarrita. (Inferno, I, 1-3)
In the middle of the journey of our life,
I found myself in a dark wood,
For the straight way had been lost.(Hell, I, 1-3)
While trying to find his way out, Dante encounters three animals that symbolize various sins:
- A lynx (representing Lust)
- A Lion (representing Pride)
- A She-Wolf (representing Greed)
These animals block his path, but then the Roman poet Virgil appears. Virgil offers to guide Dante through the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, thus beginning the epic journey.
L'inferno - Hell
At the entrance to Hell, Dante and Virgil come across a gate with a terrifying inscription. These words mark the point of no return for the damned and emphasize divine justice as well as the eternity of punishment. The last sentence, in particular, is one of the most famous quotes in world literature:
«Per me si va ne la città dolente,
per me si va ne l’etterno dolore,
per me si va tra la perduta gente.
Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore:
fecemi la divina podestate,
la somma sapïenza e ‘l primo amore.
Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
se non etterne, e io etterna duro.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.» (Inferno, III, 1-9)
Through me you go into the city of woe,
Through me you go into eternal pain,
Through me you go among the lost people.
Justice moved my high maker:
I was made by divine power,
By the supreme wisdom and the first love.
Before me nothing was created
That was not eternal, and I endure forever.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. (Hell, III, 1-9)
Hell is a funnel-shaped abyss that was created when Lucifer fell from Heaven. It is divided into nine circles, in which the souls are punished according to the principle of contrappasso.
Dante and Virgil cross the realm of the ante-Hell, where the indifferent souls linger – those who never made a moral decision in their lives.
Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa.(Inferno, III, 51)
Let us not speak of them, but look and pass. (Hell, III, 51)
At the river Acheron, they encounter Charon, the ferryman of the damned souls:
Guai a voi, anime prave!
Non isperate mai veder lo cielo! (Inferno, III, 84-85)
Woe to you, wicked souls!
Never hope to see the sky! (Hell, III, 84-85)
The law of Contrappasso
One of the fundamental principles of Dante’s Hell is the law of Contrappasso, according to which the souls are punished with a penalty that either resembles the wrongdoing they committed or turns it into its opposite.
Famous examples include:
- The Lustful (Inferno, V), who are endlessly swept about in a storm, just as they allowed themselves to be carried away by their passions in life.
- The Soothsayers (Inferno, XX), who must walk with their heads twisted backward because they wanted to see the future in life.
- The Traitors (Inferno, XXXIV), who are trapped in eternal ice, symbolizing the coldness in their hearts. Here, Lucifer forever devours Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, who betrayed Christ and Caesar.
Famous Encounters
- Paolo and Francesca (2nd Circle, The Lustful): Two lovers who are forever swept around in the stormy wind. Francesca tells her tragic story:
Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona,
mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,
che, come vedi, ancor non m’abbandona. (Inferno, V, 103-105)
Love, which allows no loved one to love in vain,
took me so strongly with his sweet embrace,
that, as you see, it never leaves me. (Hell, V, 103-105)
- Odysseus (Ulysses) (8th Circle, The Fraudulent): He speaks of his final journey beyond the Pillars of Hercules, driven by his curiosity:
Fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.(Inferno, XXVI, 119-120)
You were not made to live
like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. (Hell, XXVI, 119-120)
- Lucifer (9th Circle): A gigantic creature trapped in ice, with three mouths eternally tearing apart Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius.
Il Purgatorio - The Purgatory
The Purgatory is a mountain divided into seven terraces, each serving to purify one of the seven deadly sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust).
At the entrance, Dante meets Cato of Utica, the guardian of Purgatory, and later encounters his friend Casella, who sings him a song:
Amor che ne la mente mi ragiona… (Purgatorio, II, 112)
Love, which speaks in my mind… (Purgatory, II, 112)
Dante also meets the poet Statius, who has converted to Christianity, and the painter Oderisi da Gubbio, who speaks about the fleeting nature of glory:
O vana gloria de l’umane posse! (Purgatorio, XI, 91)
O vain glory of human power! (Purgatory, XI, 91)
At the summit of the mountain, Dante meets Beatrice, the woman he loved, who rebukes him for his sins and purifies him in the river Lethe to erase the memory of evil.
Il Paradiso - The Paradise
Beatrice leads Dante through the nine heavens, where the souls of the blessed appear.
In Paradise, unlike in Hell and Purgatory, all souls are in the Empyrean, the eternal dwelling place of bliss. They are arranged in a white rose, at the center of which shines the Holy Trinity.
Before Dante receives the final vision, Beatrice hands him over to the monk Bernard of Clairvaux, who helps him contemplate God. In this highest moment, Dante perceives the indescribable beauty of divine love:
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle. (Paradiso, XXXIII, 145)
The love that moves the sun and the other stars. (Paradise, XXXIII, 145)
Read Dantes Divina Commedia!
Would you like to read Dante’s Divine Comedy? In our shop you will find many different editions of the comedy in the original or translated, simplified for learners and or for children with pretty illustrations.
A riveder le stelle
13,50 €Dante è il poeta che inventò l’Italia. Non ci ha dato soltanto una lingua; ci ha dato soprattutto un’idea di noi stessi e del nostro Paese.
Guida per stranieri alla letteratura italiana (B1-C2)
27,00 €Questo volume propone percorsi di scoperta della letteratura italiana, presentandone i principali autori (da Dante Alighieri a Boccaccio, da Dacia Maraini a Elena Ferrante).
La Divina Commedia
9,90 €Il grande classico intramontabile di Dante Alighieri raccontato da Gisella Laterza. Una grande storia in poche parole!
Sulle tracce di Dante
7,00 €Il libro racconta la storia del padre della lingua italiana. Passeggiando tra le vie di Firenze, i bambini e le bambine scopriranno dove è nato ed episodi della sua avventurosa vita tra amori, amicizie, battaglie e… libri!
Geronimo Stilton: Il mio amico Dante
14,50 €Un divertente viaggio nel mondo dantesco, come non lo avete mai visto!
La Divina Commedia
13,80 €Il libro racconta La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri, dalla selva oscura in cui il poeta si smarrisce all’inizio dell’Inferno, alla visione di Dio che conclude il Paradiso.
Dante Alighieri – Il racconto di una vita
11,00 €La cornice narrativa in cui è sapientemente inserito il racconto della vita di Dante è basata su due licenze poetiche.
Dante – Vita e opere, Brevi graphic novel, Attività (B1+/B2)
11,70 €Questo volume monografico su Dante perché, nonostante siano trascorsi 700 anni dalla sua morte, la sua attualità è impressionante.
Divine Comedy Inferno – Notebook Ultra (23×18 cm), lined
26,95 €High quality notebook with thread binding, inner pocket, ribbon and elastic closure
Dante piccino piccino
10,00 €Dove sono nato? Nella città più bella del mondo: Firenze. Dite che esagero? Può darsi, ma per me lo era davvero.
Letteratura italiana per stranieri B2-C2
22,40 €Letteratura italiana per stranieri mira a far conoscere e capire meglio l’Italia agli studenti che apprendono la nostra lingua.
La Divina Commedia per stranieri – Inferno, B1+/C2
20,20 €La Divina Commedia per stranieri – Inferno è il primo di tre volumi dedicato all’opera più importante e famosa del sommo poeta, Dante Alighieri.
PaperDante
14,50 €Un racconto inedito accompagnato da due intramontabili parodie a fumetti: L’inferno di Topolino e L’inferno di Paperino.
L’ombra di Dante A2
12,70 €Annotated text with text comprehension activities and downloadable audio book.
Poster of Dante’s Inferno, Purgatorio e Paradiso
1,90 €Poster of Dante’s Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
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