In 1301, Dante leaves Florence on a mission to gain
support for his and others' opposition to the Black
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321
Born in Florence: middle class
Two poltical parties in the 13th century dominated
Florence. The Guelfs: supported the Pope. The
Ghibellines: supported the Emperor and the
aristocratic families. These two groups had bitter
conflicts; ultimately only the Guelfs survived.
1290's: Guelfs split into White Guelfs and Black
Guelfs. The White Guelf party--associated with the
old Ghibelline party--was composed of merchants
and traders. The Black Guelfs were led by old
banking families.
1300: Dante, age 35, has an important government
post--prior or magistrate. He is closer to the White
Guelf party.
Pope Boniface VIII sides with the banking interests,
the Black Guelfs.
In 1300, the six priors of Florence stated their
opposition to Boniface's plans to have the Catholic
Church control the economies of Florence and
Tuscany. Boniface moves to have them ex-
communicated.
Guelfs. While he is away, the Black Guelfs
completely take over Florence, and Dante is
EXILED from his native city. He refuses to face the
charges and is sentenced to death in Florence. This
keeps him in exile for the rest of his life.
Dante writes all of The Divine Comedy (Inferno,
Purgatory, Paradise) away from Florence. The
Inferno is was completed by 1314.
The FICTIONAL date of this poem is 1300. The
week is "Passion Week" or the days leading up to
Easter, the anniversary, for Christians, of the
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
The work contains "prophecies," but these are real
events that Dante the POET (the writer of the poem)
experiences after his exile that would seem like
"prophecies" from 1300 when Dante the PILGRIM
(the character in the poem) goes through Hell.
The Divine Comedy is written in 100 CANTOS (34,
33, 33). The verse form of the poem is "terza
rima," sets of three interlocking, rhyming lines.
Dante's guide through Inferno is Virgil, the Latin
author of The Aeneid. In Paradise (which Virgil
cannot enter because he is a heathen, though a
"virtuous" one), Dante is met by Beatrice, the woman
who came from Heaven to ask Virgil to help her
friend. She was an admired friend of Dante's in
Florence (she died in 1290), and is idealized in the
poem.
Dante had a friend and patron named Con Grande
Della Scala. In one letter to Con Grande, Dante
explained the plan of The Divine Comedy. This is an
excerpt from that letter:
The title of the work is, "Here beginneth
the Comedy of Dante Alighieri, a Florentine by birth,
not by character." To understand which, be it known
that comedy is derived from comus, "a village,"
and oda, which is "song"; whence comedy is, as it
were, "rustic song." So comedy is a certain kind of
poetic narration differing from all others. It differs,
then, from tragedy in its content, in that tragedy
begins admirably and tranquilly, whereas its end or
exit is foul and terrible; and it derives its name
from tragus, which is a "goat" and oda, as though to
say "goat-song," that is fetid like a goat, as appears
from Seneca in his tragedies; whereas comedy
introduces some harsh complication, but brings its
matter to a prosperous end, as appears from Terence,
in his comedies. And hence certain writers, on
introducing themselves, have made it their practice
to give the salutation: "I wish you a tragic beginning
and a comic end." They likewise differ in their mode
of speech, tragedy being exalted and sublime,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
comedy lax and humble…. And hence it is evident
that the title of the present work is "the Comedy." For
if we have respect to its content, at the beginning it is
horrible and fetid, for it is hell; and in the end it is
prosperous, desirable, and gracious, for it is paradise.
If we have respect to the method of speech the
method is lax and humble, for it is the vernacular
speech in which very women communicate.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Elements of the Story

Characters of the Inferno
Ciaco
The name "Ciacco"--apparently a nickname for the poet's
gluttonous friend--could be a shortened form of "Giacomo" or perhaps
a derogatory reference to "hog" or "pig" in the Florentine dialect of
Dante's day. Dante, who certainly accepts the common medieval belief
in the essential relationship between names and the things (or people)
they represent, at times chooses characters for particular locations in
the afterlife based at least in part on their names. "Ciacco" may be the
first case of this sort in the poem. Independently of what Dante writes
in Inferno 6, we unfortunately know very little of Ciacco's life.
Boccaccio claims that, apart from the vice of gluttony (for which he
was notorious), Ciacco was respected in polite Florentine society for
his eloquence and agreeableness. Another early commentator
(Benvenuto) remarks that the Florentines were known for their
traditionally temperate attitude toward food and drink--but when they
fell, they fell hard and surpassed all others in their gluttony.

Prince William II
(December 1153 – 11 November 1189), called the Good, was
king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William's character is very
indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving,
he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. ... In the Divine
Comedy, Dante places William II in Paradise.

Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher,
Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. An immensely influential
philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, he
is also known within the latter as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor
Communist.
 Beatrice
Although the real Beatrice died at a young age and there is no evidence
that her relationship with Dante ever grew beyond passing conversation,
Beatrice remained the object of Dante's affection and desire throughout his
life. Beatrice serves as Dante's muse and inspiration. In The Divine Comedy
it is Beatrice who, out of love for the poet, initiates Dante's journey because she
believes that he has strayed from a righteous path and she thinks that this divine
journey will save him from himself. Thus, she leaves her seat in Heaven to
descend to Hell where she asks Virgil to serve as Dante's guide. Beatrice meets
Dante in Earthly Paradise (Purgatorio) and acts as his guide through
Heaven. On many occasions during his travels through Hell and Purgatory,
Dante believes that he can go no further but the promise of meeting Beatrice
motivates him to continue. Beatrice amply rewards Dante for his travails when
she leads him into Heaven and grows in radiance and beauty as they ascend
toward God.

Dante Alighieri
Dante, in full Dante Alighieri, (born c. May 21–June 20, 1265,
Florence, Italy—died September 13/14, 1321, Ravenna), Italian poet, prose
writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best
known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina
commedia (The Divine Comedy).

Virgil
Beatrice sends Virgil to Earth to retrieve Dante and act as his guide
through Hell and Purgatory. Since the poet Virgil lived before Christianity, he
dwells in Limbo (Ante-Inferno) with other righteous non-Christians. As
author, Dante chooses the character Virgil to act as his guide because he
admired Virgil's work above all other poets and because Virgil had written of
a similar journey through the underworld. Thus, Virgil's character knows the
way through Hell and can act as Dante's knowledgeable guide while he
struggles alongside Dante when they enter Purgatory together for the first
time. As a spirit, Virgil suffers no physical pain and moves through Hell and
Purgatory without effort. However, he must make arrangements for Dante to
cross chasms, rivers, and walls because Dante retains his physical
form. Dante's physical presence gives clues, such as casting a shadow and
displacing rocks, that indicate to the spirits that Dante is still alive. The fact
that Dante is alive angers many of the spirits, especially the guardians of the
underworld, so Virgil also serves as Dante's protector as he warns Dante's
would-be foes that their journey was predestined in Heaven.
 Introduction
In the late 1200s, what is now northern Italy - the
region of Tuscany - was deep in political conflict.
Control of the region was sought by what remained
of two groups - the Ghibellines (a faction supporting
the Holy Roman Empire) and the Guelphs (a faction
supporting the Catholic Church, or the Papacy). Even
though the Holy Roman Emperor is Catholic and was
appointed by the Pope, a conflict grew between the
two when the Church and Emperor fought over
church administration. Among the families
supporting the Guelphs was one of lesser prestige
and status – the family of Dante Alighieri. The man
who would become Italy’s premier poet was born in
the year 1265 to his father, Alighiero di Bellincione,
and his mother, Bella degli Abati. When Dante was
nine years old, he met his muse and inspiration -
Beatrice Portinari. Even though he only formally met
her twice in his lifetime, Dante carried his love for
her throughout his life. The second time he met
Beatrice (when he was not even twenty years old),
Dante was so joyful at being able to even greet her in
the street that he wrote La Vita Nuova, a collection
of sonnets and other songs about Beatrice and his
love for her. When Beatrice was twenty-four years
old, she passed away.
Besides writing about courtly love and politics,
Dante took part of the struggle for power between the
Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Aside from fighting
with the Guelphs, Dante also held political office.
Even after the Ghibellines' and the Holy Roman
Empire’s influence faded from northern Italy, a
division grew in the Guelphs. The issue that the
Guelphs fought about was how much power the
Papacy would have in Florence. The Black Guelphs
supported the Vatican’s presence, but the White
Guelphs (the party that Dante belonged to) desired
distance between Florence and the Pope.
Setting
The Inferno is an epic poem set in Dante's vision of Hell, which Dante has divided into Nine Circles, ledges shaped
like a nine-layered inverted cone of measured depth and width established under the city of Jerusalem The story takes
place on the evening of Good Friday through the morning of Easter Sunday in the year 1300.
In 1301, Dante and other delegates went to Rome
with the purpose of finding out what Pope Boniface
VIII intended to do with Florence. However, upon
arrival, Dante was the only delegate who was
allowed to stay by the Pope’s request - the others
returned to Florence. Meanwhile in Florence, the
Black Guelphs seized control and installed a new
government. Because Dante did not return to
Florence, the White Guelphs thought he was an
“absconder” (one who hides). As a result, Dante
chose to go into permanent exile from Florence.
It is known that Dante wrote the Divine Comedy
during his exile, but it is unknown when he
conceived of the idea. The Divine Comedy is an
allegorical epic poem, in which Dante himself must
travel through three stages of the afterlife – Inferno
(Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso
(Heaven). As he travels through the afterlife he
designed, Dante is guided by his depiction of his
poetic idol Virgil, and he also meets people who he
knew in his life and people he heard of throughout
mythology and history. The Divine Comedy is a
"comedy" because it has a happy ending, as the
Christian soul journeys to find God. In the first part
of his epic poem and the part that I will be focusing
on, Inferno, Dante condemned those he knew and
believed deserved a place in the literary Hell he
created.
Sometimes the people there truly deserved to sit in
Hell, and you will see that Dante expresses contempt
for them when he meets them. Other sinners are the
objects of Dante's pity, sometimes earning Virgil's
rebukes (Virgil is Dante's guide through the first two
parts of the Comedy). In my versions of these stories,
I will retell the darker nature of real events that
happened during the time that Dante lived.
 Plot
The Inferno is the first of three parts in an epic poem entitled The Divine Comedy that chronicles Dante's journey
through Hell and into Heaven. His journey is prompted by a spiritual crisis in midlife, when he wakes to find himself lost in
the woods and wandering fearfully disoriented and alone, symbolizing his own sense of confusion and darkness. He sees
the Sun rise over a mountain in the distance (symbolizing Heaven) and attempts to approach it, but is thwarted by three
beasts of worldliness: The Leopard of Malice and Fraud, the Lion of Violence and Ambition, and the She-Wolf of
Incontinence. These beasts drive him back into the darkness of error. Just when all seems lost, a spirit appears. It is the
ghost of Virgil, Roman poet and Symbol of Reason, who has come to guide Dante back to his path to the top of the
mountain. Virgil informs him that this path will take them through Hell and eventually to Heaven, where Dante's beloved
Beatrice awaits. It is she, and two other holy ladies, who have sent Virgil to Dante, seeing him lost in the Dark Wood of
Error. Dante readily accepts Virgil as his Master, Mentor, Guide, and voice of reason. They begin the journey through the
Nine Circles of Hell.

Characters
The main character and protagonist of The Inferno is Dante himself. Dante chose to present his fictional poem as
an account of events that actually happened to him, and thus creating a large gulf between Dante the Poet and Dante the
Character (i.e. Dante the Character is sympathetic to the suffering of souls in Hell, while Dante the Poet placed them there
and devised their punishments himself). Beside him is Virgil, Dante's Guide through Hell. He is all-knowing and infinitely
wise, representing Human Reason. Beatrice is another prominent character in Dante's Comedy. She assisted Dante by
asking an angel to bid Virgil to help guide Dante through Hell. The ultimate goal of Dante's divine journey through Heaven
and Hell is to eventually be reunited with her. She is the allegorical representation of spiritual love.

Rising Action
The rising action of The Inferno would be Dante's journey of rings six through eight. At first Dante and
Virgil are denied access to the sixth circle of hell. Because the sixth circle of hell is the point at which upper hell
becomes lower hell, also known as the City of Dis.

Conflict
The main conflict of The Inferno is Dante's journey to find God in his life, while those sentenced to punishment in
Hell hinder him from the True Path. He also struggles with the pity he feels for those he sees punished in Hell; pity he
knows he should not have towards the sinners. This results in Dante's inner turmoil (self-conflicting).

Resolution
The Inferno is only the first part of three in the Divine Comedy. The main conflict has not truly been resolved yet.
However, Dante has learned to banish all feelings of pity he feels towards the condemned; he understands that the
punishments they receive are self-inflicted with the sins they committed.